Mevo Live Event Camera Review / Test
Today we are talking about another product that you wouldn't expect to see on this channel. The Mevo Live Event Camera. This is a camera designed by the folks over at Livestream.com that allows you to live stream directly to Facebook Live (which is why I picked it up) as well as the Livestream service.
Not only does this camera allow you to live stream in 720p, but it allows you to record your video directly to an internal SD card. I should note that this camera is only compatible with iOS devices, so for the time being any android users are out of luck.
If you are interested in this live streaming camera, it will set you back $400 on Amazon
What's In the Box
MEVO Camera
MEVO Mount
16GB Micro SD Card & Adapter
Power Brick
10-Foot (3m) USB Cable
Specifications
Sony 4k Sensor
150-degree Field of View Glass Lens
Front Facing STereo Microphone
1-Hour Streaming Battery Life (can connect to power brick while streaming)
Dual-Band Wi-Fi
Bluetooth 4.0 LE
Streams at 720p
Performance / Features
The build quality of this camera is all plastic, but it feels pretty sturdy like it would be able to handle travel decently. However, I do wish that it had come with some travel case to ensure that it is adequately protected. The entire top of the camera acts as the power button. You'll need to hold the button down a few seconds to power on/off the device. All around this power button you will find an indicator light to let you know if the camera is getting power, charged, connected to wifi, lacking connection, or if you're streaming/recording. On the back of the camera, you'll just find two ports, the top port is your charging port and the bottom port is your SD card port.
I'm sure some of you are asking why this camera has a 4k sensor, but only streams at 720p. To be honest, the reasoning behind this is the real selling point of this camera. While controlling the stream from your iOS device you can manually direct shots. For instance you can click on a face to zoom in, without effecting the stream quality. You can also pinch to zoom & unpinch to unzoom, as well as drag your finger to pan.
Another really great feature is Autopilot. This will utilize the front facing stereo microphone to determine where the sound is coming from and zoom in on the face of the person speaking. This is a great option if you have multiple people on a podcast and you are unable to focus on directing the shots.
Both of these features give your livestream the appearance of having a multi-thousand dollar camera rig and camera mixer, when you're only streaming on a $400 camera!
The camera's built in microphone is nothing special, but it does allow you to connect an external microphone to your iOS device to improve the audio. Unfortunately, the current microphones/interfaces that are compatible are relatively limited, so I would recommend checking their site prior to buying a microphone/interface.
Pros
Allows you to direct shots
Has autopilot director
Records to SD Card while streaming
Streams directly to Facebook live
Allows for external microphone connection
Compact
Cons
Limited microphone compatibility
External mics sound overly processed
Stream is only 720p
Limited to iOS devices
Conclusion
I think that this is one of the coolest and most innovative cameras I have come across in years. It allows you to direct shots like you have a multi-thousand dollar camera rig. It allows you to stream directly to facebook live & livestream. It allows you to connect an external microphone. It honestly has everything I could want in a live streaming camera; there are just a few small oversights, updates, and compatibility issues they need to work on to make it the go to entry level live streaming camera.
I would absolutely recommend this to anyone who is looking to live stream to facebook. This gives you a professional look and amazing features that will help set you apart from everyone else who is jumping on the live streaming train.
If you have any additional questions about this microphone, leave them in the comments on this site or on the youtube channel, and I will try to reply ASAP.
Buy the Mevo Live Event Camera (Affiliate Link)
Global: https://geni.us/mevo