Gear Guide & Technology
Journalism students are required to do reporting, production and multimedia work in the field using mobile technology, and while “loaner” equipment is available to be booked through the EDC, we know many students will be making purchases or adding technology devices to their shopping lists.
We offer these suggestions:
- Laptop – see specifications below
- Smartphone (iPhone or android) with data contract and video and audio capability
- Good quality microphone (see below)
- Good quality headphones (see below)
- USB portable storage device minimum 32GB and a class 10 SD card min 32GB. It is also helpful to have a portable hard drive minimum 1TB
- If you are interested in photojournalism, a DSLR camera Audio and Video capability (microphone input recommended)
- Batteries, always carry extra and make sure your devices are charged
Laptop Recommendations
You should consider purchasing a laptop. Due to the low cost of some of the new technology being used in the School of Journalism, students can now afford to do production and multimedia work in the field. You will be well-armed if you have access to mobile technology when doing reporting and other class assignments. While the school does not require students to own their own equipment, we know many students will be making purchases and we offer the following suggestions for laptops:
MacBook Air M2 or MacBook Pro M2
- M2 Chip
- 13″ or 15″ (15' Recommended) Display
- 8GB or 16GB+ (16GB+ Recommended) Memory
- 256GB or 512GB+ (512GB+ Recommended) SSD
For video editing and design-intensive work we strongly recommend a MacBook Pro M2.
Windows (Windows 10 is our current operating system)
- Intel i7 Processor
- 13”-17″ FHD (1920X1080) or better Display
- NVIDA GeForce GTX 1070
- 16GB+ Memory
- 256GB or 512GB+ (Recommended) SSD
Some examples of Windows models:
Dell Inspiron 16 or New Inspiron 16 or Inspiron 16 Plus, G15 or G16 Gaming laptops.
For video editing and design-intensive work, we strongly recommend 15” or 17” models with dedicated (e.g., NVIDIA) graphics.
You will also find it almost vital for success to have a mobile phone with audio/video recording capability and a USB stick.
Multimedia Gear
These are some good recommendations from the School of Journalism. We are recommending these in comparison to what we use in the School of Journalism for course related production. Most give you video, audio and still photo capability. Smartphones are becoming very popular for electronic newsgathering and we have implemented these devices in our curricular activities. If you are going to use a smartphone, make sure you have a good quality microphone and compatible microphone cables. A good data plan is also highly recommended.
The gear listed below are examples of what you may want to purchase.
Audio Recorders:
Suggestions:
Microphones
An excellent quality mic will provide a clean and crisp sound. These mic suggestions all have a professional-grade XLR (3 pin) connector.
Suggestions:
Electrovoice Omnidirectional mic (external link)
Sennheiser MD 46 cardioid interview microphone (external link)
Sony ECM-44 Omni-Directional Electret Condenser Wired Lavalier Microphone (external link)
Microphone Cables
The mic cable needed will depend on the equipment you are using. Check whether the audio input is a three-pin XLR jack or a mini ⅛ input jack.
Suggestions:
Connecting to mini jack input: XLR female to ⅛ TRS stereo male (external link)
Connecting to XLR input: XLR male to XLR female (external link)
Connecting to an iPhone:
Because iPhones only have a proprietary lightning jack for audio input and output, you’ll need an adapter to connect an XLR microphone. You can use the lightning to mini adapter cable and then something like an iRig to control the audio input levels from the microphone being used. There are also mics available with a built-in lightning connector.
Suggestions:
iRig (external link)
Lightning adapter (external link)
iPhone lavalier microphone (external link)
Headphones
Over-the-ear wired headphones are best to monitor audio quality and for use with school equipment. The cameras and audio recorders available for use do not have Bluetooth capabilities and will only take wired headphones.
Suggestions:
Audio-Technica ATH-M20x headphones (external link)
OneOdio A71 Wired Over Ear Headphones (external link)
DSLR/Mirrorless Cameras
Canon M50 Mark 2 (external link) . This is a mirrorless camera which is smaller and much better than a DSLR. It shoots 4K video which is good for video and photography. It also has interchangeable lens.
Cannon EOS M200 (external link) This is a great intermediate level camera for photo and video. It's great for vlogging and records in 4K.
Wired Mircophone for Camera/Smartphone
Dual Lavalier Microphone (external link)
Tripods
Useful APPS for mobile devices and desktop
You may want to familiarize yourself with some of the following apps and desktop apps as you will be using many of these in our curriculum.
Voice Record Pro, Pixlr, Premiere Clip – desktop app or phone, Google Drive, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google Meet, DV Prompter, File Converter Free, Evernote, ThingLink, desktop app iTalk, Twisted Wave (9.99 – but has editing capability), Easy Voice Recorder, Memo Voice Recorder, Tape-a-call Voice Recorder, Tune In Radio (for listening and recording stations from around the world), Podcast -apple’s own app for downloading and saving podcasts,
We also use WordPress and Adobe Creative Cloud programs.
Always carry extra batteries and charging devices and make sure all devices are charged.