Xiaomi have been very good at releasing firmware updates to improve the functionality of the Fimi Palm.
While firmware updates generally make things better they can also make things worse. I updated my Fimi Palm to the v1122.02 firmware and then tried out a USB-C lav mic. The audio was terrible and I was about to write off the lav mic in a review. However, responding to a comment, I recognised the person who left a comment. They’d made a few comments about the Fimi Palm on my videos. Out of interest I checked out their videos. They had a short video comparing the v1122.02 firmware to the v1122.05 firmware. The difference was the audio recording had gone back to acceptable.
So before I did the review of the USB-C lav mic, I updated my firmware to v1122.05. It transformed the recording and restored the Fimi Palm to it’s former glory.
It was lucky that I checked out the firmware video, or I would have written off a good product in error.
So with the UK in lockdown, I’ve not been able to get out and do photography. In addition, I’m keen to limit my risk and exposure to Covid-19. For this reason, I’ve had to switch tactic with YouTube video creation. I’ve mainly focused on video editing as this is something I can easily talk about at home without having to venture outside. So here’s what I’ve made recently during lockdown:
Flixier is a new online video editor, which can replace a desktop video editor and is much more powerful than simple template based web video editors like Adobe Spark.
Like a normal desktop NLE, you can edit media on a timeline. The only difference is that your media has to be either uploaded to Flixier from your device or imported from cloud storage like Google Drive. Uploading large video files can take some time, but this is true of any online service and depends upon your broadband provider.
A great feature of Flixier is that you can add stock footage to the timeline instantly. Stock footage is provided through Unsplash, Pixabay and Pexels. You could of course access and download the media from these sites without using Flixier. However, you do not need to download them in Flixier, simply search and then pull the media into your timeline. There’s no lag or need to download. This is great. Unsplash only provides photos, but the other two provide video.
Like other editors Flixier comes with preloaded audio for sound-beding. Overlays, which last between 1 and 3 seconds can also be added to the timeline. Flixier comes with some motion graphics. These include animated subscribe buttons which I would find useful. Preset motion and still text can be added to the timeline. You can even add basic shapes to the timeline.
Specific editor actions like cutting, lengthening or shortening media are easily performed. Transitions between clips are good with Flixier having about 60 different transitions. Tracks can be added, removed, locked, muted/hidden and renamed as you would expect from a good editor.
Recording the screen, webcam and voice over can be done in the app, although I couldn’t get the voice over to work.
From within the editor you can raise support questions and get help through the intercom button.
You can also comment and send people links to the video for review purposes. Online video editors can be used by teams and are good for collaborative working.
There is a good selection of social media templates and videos can be directly exported to many social platforms (like YouTube or Vimeo) saving the need to download from the editor and then upload to YouTube etc.
Flixier costs $8 pcm for an individual. There is a free version which allows a user to export 10 minutes of watermarked video a month.
Flixier is very much like WeVideo, so how does it differ? Flixier’s USP is the ability to work with free stock straight out of the box (without needing to download and upload video). The free version is also better than WeVideos. I’ve remained with WeVideo (over Flixier) because most of what I do, with online video editors, uses my own media. I experienced repeated upload problems with Flixier and being able to upload media is a dealbreaker. If I can’t get my media into Flixier, I can’t do what I need to do.
A minor point is that for the same monthly price as Flixier, WeVideo will export in 4K compared to 1080 from Flixier.
I’ve done a full review video which is on YouTube. Please note I am not sponsored by either WeVideo or Flixier, but I am a member of the WeVideo affiliate scheme.
How the Corona-virus lockdown has affected my photography
The corona-virus lockdown has affected my photography. It hasn’t made it better or worse, rather it has stopped it altogether. My genres of photography are street photography and fashion photography (where I mainly shoot outside on location).
I support the lockdown and I think it is right we make a small sacrifice for our own health, that of our family’s and the wider community. I feel that staying in and altering how I work and enjoy me free time is a small sacrifice to make. Of course I’d like to go out and resume normality, but only when it is safe to do so.
I’m sure many photographers have switched to taking macro photography during the lockdown, but I’m not that interested in doing this for a variety of reasons.
So in short I’m not really photographing anything. For this reason I’ve paused posting my street photography images to Instagram. I don’t think posting images of the recent past is something I want to do or is useful. You may disagree.
As you may be aware, I have a photography YouTube channel and a photography podcast. The podcast hasn’t been affected as, I don’t need to go out and shoot in order to discuss photography. There’s many episodes left to record.
Not being able to go out and shoot has meant that I’ve refocused that time into making YouTube videos. However, these have been on videography topics rather than photography. The reason for this is not only am I also a videographer, but it’s easier to make videos about video production when you can’t go out.
So my photography has been affected and my YouTube production has temporarily shifted to videos about videography rather than photography.
I recently purchased a used Sony AX53 camcorder. I’m very impressed with it. It records in 4K and high bitrate 1080. The camera was released in 2016, but it still holds up well today in 2020. It has some excellent features and some strange features too. The golf swing analyser is a bit niche.
I’ve now created a video review which can be seen here:
In my experimentation with live streaming, I’ve now used a ChromeBook with a Webcam, a PC with LogiTech Webcam software (Logi Capture) and now a phone.
I must say that I felt the phone was the easiest live stream method. All methods gave similar results. One advantage of using a phone for live streaming is that it looked to me that the stream was uploaded after the stream finished. This means a lower likelihood of drop outs in the end video.
I used the YouTube app on iPhone, the FeiyuTech Vlog Pocket gimbal and the Rode Wireless Go.
I live streamed about my shed studio set up and you can see the video here:
