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I have read more than a few post here about audio distortion, low volume etc. My biggest problem was making sure the audio level was high enough at shoots where I just jump from my vehicle and go to work. Another news videographer clued me in on something so simple I should have done it years ago but my pea sized brain didn't think of it. Now I will never be without it. It is a simple 2 dollar sports headphone (the kind that attatch to the ear and place a small speaker in the entrance to the ear canal), monitoring your audio live is near foolproof. My audio since doing this has been perfect. I am sure a lot of others already do this but if you don't, start immediately. Just plug them in to the earphone slot. This simple change has been so effective that I now have a second pair for the day something happens to the first. These earphones will never come off my camera and putting the earpiece in is a part of putting my camera on my shoulder.

I could use some clarification, Don. Are you saying that if you can hear the audio at all you're ok or can you actually judge the level to be correct with this setup? Both of my Sony's have headphone volume control tied to the LCD volume adjustment. Are you in the same boat? I use the manual audio meter for serious sound recording because it isn't as subjective as "what I hear". Is it the run and gun aspect of the shooting that requires you to skip that step in favour of just being able to hear period?

David Hurdon

I run the gauntlet from boom mics to lav to cube, back and fourth doing voiceovers, interviews and action. I have preset the volume on my audio jack and marked it, yes the 12 db level is perfect but not that important to be exact. I can always change the level when dubbing to get the 12 db as long as I have good audio and that is why listening is so important, you can't tell through an audio meter that a persons clothing is popping the lav, or that a nearby transmitting antenna is creating pops irregaurdless of the frequency you have set. I have known pro's that have had failures or forgot a switch or bumped a switch. In the end, if you want good audio, you have to be listening to it. It's not just the level, it's the content as well.