The Digital Video Information Network - View Single Post - LANC and Mic from a/v on CX7; any advice?

Dave Blackhurst · November 23rd, 2007, 03:15 PM

Bryan -

The A/V jack is apparently standard on the small Sonys (NOT HC1 though, but HC3 or later). SO, the pinout you've got for the 3 should allow you to interface the LANC and mics. I bought some cheapo import A/V cables to hack up to try the interface, haven't had time for that project though. too much stuff on my list.

FWIW, the maximum MS Duo is 8 Gb, which isn't going to be much more than a MiniDV tape in maximum quality mode... but the transfer is fast and Sandisk's 8Gb is due soon from what I hear, which should bring the price down a bit. 4Gb were going for $35 this weekend. Also, be aware I've had a LOT of trouble getting a card reader to work with the 8GB sticks... cam works fine to transfer though once I installed Sony's drivers, but now you're trudging miles through snow uphill both ways <wink>!

Keep in mind too that there will be a delay between the motion sensor turning the cam on and when it starts to shoot? Or do you have a really big battery pack , and the camera will stay "live". Either way the CX will give you the best battery life with the LCD closed, so could be a good choice if the LANC interface can be figured out - I'll see about poking at it a bit this weekend, as I did a test shoot where the LANC would have been handy... after seeing how fast and easy it was to transfer footage, the CX7 sure caught my attention! Way better than dumping tape "real time"!

November 23rd, 2007, 03:15 PM	#2
Dave Blackhurst Trustee Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Apple Valley CA Posts: 1,985	Bryan - The A/V jack is apparently standard on the small Sonys (NOT HC1 though, but HC3 or later). SO, the pinout you've got for the 3 should allow you to interface the LANC and mics. I bought some cheapo import A/V cables to hack up to try the interface, haven't had time for that project though. too much stuff on my list. FWIW, the maximum MS Duo is 8 Gb, which isn't going to be much more than a MiniDV tape in maximum quality mode... but the transfer is fast and Sandisk's 8Gb is due soon from what I hear, which should bring the price down a bit. 4Gb were going for $35 this weekend. Also, be aware I've had a LOT of trouble getting a card reader to work with the 8GB sticks... cam works fine to transfer though once I installed Sony's drivers, but now you're trudging miles through snow uphill both ways <wink>! Keep in mind too that there will be a delay between the motion sensor turning the cam on and when it starts to shoot? Or do you have a really big battery pack , and the camera will stay "live". Either way the CX will give you the best battery life with the LCD closed, so could be a good choice if the LANC interface can be figured out - I'll see about poking at it a bit this weekend, as I did a test shoot where the LANC would have been handy... after seeing how fast and easy it was to transfer footage, the CX7 sure caught my attention! Way better than dumping tape "real time"!