Questions about Rode VideoMic on XH-A1
 

I used my VideoMic for the first time yesterday with the A1. The sound quality was for the most part very nice, but I had a couple of problems.

One, the mic kept sliding out of the holder. This was never a problem with my older Panasonic DVC-30. Any advice? It doesn't seem to fit as snugly as with the other camera.

Also, I kept picking up interference. If I got a balance XLR adapter, would that eliminate this?

If you look on the bottom of the VideoMic there's a round disk. You need to rotate that disk to tighten the VideoMic unto the camera.

What kind of interference? Some can be eliminated by use of balanced connections, some cannot.

Kevin, I know about the tightening disk. I could crank it down so that the mic seating would slip out of the show, but then the mic itself would be loose and twist around.

On the DVC I could always get a balance between the two, but not with the A1. The Videomic either slides out or twists around. Is it because the A1 has a hot shoe? I wonder if it have different dimensions than a regular shoe.

Don, the interference is a short, high-pitched babbling noise, not really sure how to describe it. I hear it sometimes when I'm talking with some someone who's on a cordless phone, so I suspect it coming from a telephone system of some kind. My XLR adapter is coming soon, so I'll see if this helps.

But is it not a stereo mini jack that comes with it?

Your mic should attatch like this:

http://www.kraentertainment.com/phot.../DSC08860e.jpg

You may need to tighten the screw on the bottom of the disc. Mine was doing the same thing the other day (on a VX2100), and tightening the screw fixed it right up.

-Terence

That sounds like RF getting in to the system sonewhere and being rectified. Using a balanced connection might solve it, especially if the pick-up is in the leads/cables. However, if the source is rectifiction of stray rafio frequency fields in the mic or A1 electronics, using balanced may not help.

From what you describe, it might be your cell phone doing handshaking with the local cell tower. (My cell phone breaks into my PC sound card, a cheap FM radio, and some land-line telephones at times if it is within ~3 feet of them.)

If you can readily reproduce the interference effect:
First try the camcorder without the video mic. If no interference, the mic is the likely souce.
Then try the mic on a different camcorder, if the interference is not present, it is an interaction between the A1 camcorder, the mic, and the RF source. If it is present, then try a different mic with the A1. Note that it may be present at the mic input jack, but not at the XLR inputs.

As to using an XLR adapter with the Rode Video Mic, arguably it woud be better to trade it for a NTG 1 or NTG 2 mic which is XLR acapable lready, expecially if you do not need the 3.5 mm connection for another camcorder.

Good luck.

ditch the video mic and get an NTG1

just trust me on that.. the 2 are VERY different beasts and u WILL notice the difference in noise, shock absorbance, mic sensititivy, capsule response to loud plosives, cardoid shape and range.. u name it..

is anyone using or managing to get good use out of their A1 / Rode Videomic?

Thanks, all!
 

Thanks to Terence, mine seems to be working again fine. Tightening the screw did seem to help a lot. And the audio quality I got was good, I thought, with the VideoMic. Only used it for a short time so far, though.

Peter, thanks for the info on the NTG1. I will seriously look into it. I had hoped to get a Canon HV20 as a backup camera and use the Rode on both it and the A1. But if you say the NTG1 is that much better, I might just get that, too, eventually. I've been using the VideoMic for awhile with my DVC30 Panasonic and been quite please with it.

Would I connect the NTG1 right to the A1, or is there a shockmount that I would need to use?

Don, I didn't think about the cell phone! Great suggestion. I did have one in my pocket turned on, as a matter of fact. I'll try turning it off next time, along with trying the XLR adapter for the VideoMic.

Using the XLR adapter with the Video Mic will probably buy you nothing of benefit, audio signal wise, but it may make it easier for you to use the Video Mic with another mic at the same time. Some users have reported that there is no significant difference between the Video Mic and the NTG1/2 sound quality wise, but i can not confirm that. There is the obvious form factor difference, and the NTG1/2 give use options you do not get with the Video Mic. Perhaps someone else has done side-by-side comparisons.

You can connect the NTG1 directly to the A1 XLR input and you will have to enable the phantom power on the jack you use. You can connect a second mic, or wireless to the other XLR input. You can fit the mic in the A1 mic holder if you make the barrel a bit larger diameter. I've used a few turns of black gaffer tape on my NGT2 to make it fit. If handling noise provews a problme for you, there are shock mounts available for the NGT1/2.