Videography Notes

Changelog

2025-06-15: Initial publication

Mirrorless Camera Videography

This post is a collection of my notes on how to use a mirrorless camera for videography. These notes are specific to the Sony a6500 mirrorless camera but should be adaptable to other models and brands.

This is more of a breakdown of useful information in a terse form.

Important

Danger

SD card needs to be SDXC Class10 or UHS-I to record video with below settings

Tip

To help prevent / reduce overheating issues: fold LCD out and away from the main camera body

Video Recording Without Limits

Setup a capture card to capture HDMI output
Use an external power source for the camera

Tip

A dummy battery or power over micro-usb port are ideal choices for this
PC can be used with OBS Studio

Tip

Be sure to setup / activate a dedicated profile for recording
An Android phone can be used for capture / monitoring
- Best app: USB Camera Pro Android app
  Danger
  Important app considerations
  - The 4GB file size limit option does NOT work on some phones. It’ll save the first chunk of video then silently fail to create new files. You’ll only know it’s broken when stopping video after the first file is saved when it throws an error and starts failing to record outright. Restarting the app clears the error.
  - USB disk blips / hiccups can glitch recording and/or cause disk corruption.
- Record to phone storage if desired for stand alone setup
- Use a USB-C OTG, powered hub (Anker, similar) for longer recording sessions
  - Power the hub to provide reliable, persistent power
  - Connect external disk to USB hub
  - Connect capture card to USB hub

Recording Kit

The kit listed below is broken up into ’types’. These type groupings are present to ensure it’s clear which kit is wise to by together and to help with ‘growing into’ a more robust video recording setup over time.

Essential Kit

This is the bare minimum kit needed to achieve the video recording setup put forth in this document

SD Card: SanDisk Extreme PRO
Rode VideoMicro Microphone
Capture card
- Generic 1080p
- Elgato 4k Capture Card
Power
- External battery via micro usb works per Sony docs, not used due to broken micro-usb on a6500 used for video (details)
- Neewer dummy battery
- Power bank: Anker PowerCore 13000

Modularity Essential Kit

This is the kit that is essential for creating a setup that’s ‘more than just a camera’

Sirui 3T Series Table Top Tripod
USB Hubs
- SmallRig USB Hub SKU: 4598
- Anker 543 6-in-1 USB-C Hub
- Anker 364 10-in-1 USB-C Hub
External disk: Samsung T5 USB-C SSD
SmallRig Sony a6500 Half Cage (or equivalent)
SmallRig Microphone Holder

Modular Attachment Kit

This is the core kit I used to attach ‘all the things’ to the camera and tripod for ‘forever recording’ without needing a PC ‘at hand’

Note

Items like ‘NATO Rails’, mini cold shoe ball heads and similar were left off the list. Attaching everything as one unit requires playing Tetris. See gallery images for ideas on how to tie everything together.

Imaging Edge

Allows remote control of Sony a6500 via phone. There are a ton of quirks, see below for details.

Critical things to note

Must disable mobile data
Must disable vpn (Tailscale & others)
Leaving the phone app resets the connection
Locking the phone resets the connection
Need to restart camera to get re-connects working

Things to note

Imaging Edge seems to keep the phone screen always on
Imaging Edge eats phone and camera power
Video recording seems to stay active when leaving the app on phone

Use

Prep
- Run smart remote control under application list on camera
Initial connect via…
- NFC tap
- QR code
Re-connect via…
- Use Start button for exising camera
- QR code scan
- NFC tap

a6500 Details

Misc Specs

Battery life for recording: less than one hour
Max single video length: 30 mins

Camera available storage

Per UI and freshly formatted SD card

Card Size	Video Duration	Still Images
32gb	1h 6m	916
64gb	2h 13m	1832
128gb	4h 27m	3663

Recorded Video Information

Codec: h264 - avc1
Resolution: 3840x2160
Frame rate: 29.97
Audio codec: twos
Kdenlive preset to use: 4K UHD 2160p 29.97

Settings

Adapted from
- https://photographylife.com/recommended-sony-a6500-settings
- https://www.kenrockwell.com/sony/a6500-users-guide.htm
Movie1
- Movie / S&Q Motion: Program Auto
- File Format: XAVC S 4K
- Record Setting: 30p 60M
- S&Q Settings
  - Record Setting: 30p
  - Frame Rate: 120fps
- Dual Video REC: Off
- AF drive speed: normal
Movie2
- AF Track Sens: Standard
- Auto Slow Shut.: On
- Audio Recording: On
- Audio Rec Level: 26 (Likely needs tuning)
- Audio Level Display: On
- Wind Noise Reduct.: On
Movie3
- Marker Display: Tunable via Fn Menu
- Marker Settings
  - Center: On
  - Aspect: Off
  - Safety Zone: Off
  - Guideframe: Off
Custom Operation1
- MOVIE Button: Always
- Custom Key (Shoot.)
  - Custom Button 1: Application List
  - Custom Button 2: MOVIE
  - AF/MF Button: Focus Mode
- Function Menu Set.
  - Function Upper1: SteadyShot
  - Function Upper2: Audio Rec Level
  - Function Upper3: Metering Mode
  - Function Upper4: Center Lock-on AF
  - Function Upper5: Peaking Level
  - Function Upper6: Shoot Mode
  - Function Lower1: Smile / Face Detect.
  - Function Lower2: Audio Level Display
  - Function Lower3: Focus Area
  - Function Lower4: Zebra
  - Function Lower5: Grid Line
  - Function Lower6: Marker Display
Custom Operation2
- Audio signals: On
Setup2
- Auto Pwr OFF Temp.: High
Setup5
- PC Remote Settings
  - Still Img. Save Dest.: PC+Camera
  - RAW+J PC Save Img: RAW & JPEG

Example Modular Recording Setups Gallery

Please note: the gear shown in the pictures is not explicitly detailed in captions or alt text. The post’s main body has a breakdown of all kit shown in these photos. The photos are more for visual reference of the main post’s information.