What is the Best Way to get good Audio to my HDR-FX1? at DVinfo.net

Steven Houser · November 5th, 2006, 01:59 AM

Any one have a good sugestion about the audio on the HDR-FX1?

Have Nice Boom Mic ... should I get seperate phantom power supply and go from mic to it to HDR-FX1?

I Need Good Sound! Im Trying to make a Low Budget Film Over Here!

Any help would be great!
Thx!

Gareth Watkins · November 5th, 2006, 03:01 AM

Hi Steven

You need a Beachtek or Sign Video adapter... both work fine in the FX1...
Both screw under the camera and can be left in place...both have threads to add you tripod plate...

Google search for their sites and check out the sponsors of this site Zotz ans B&H where you can buy online...

regards

Gareth

Steven Houser · November 5th, 2006, 10:15 AM

Thx Gareth!

That is Exactly What I Need!
Woohoo!!

Giroud Francois · November 5th, 2006, 10:49 AM

the only way to get a good sound is to feed a good sound to the camera.
for prosumer camera, there is no way to count on the electronic in the camera, it will be bad.
so , the rigth way is to plug your mics into a good mixi table (preferrably with all symmetric signals) anf get a line level out of the mix table to feed camera.

Steven Houser · November 5th, 2006, 11:00 AM

mixi table? A mixer?

Ben Winter · November 5th, 2006, 01:24 PM

Not really sure what giroud is talking about, but gareth's solution I know is a good one. Just get a beachtek. I have one with my FX1 and love it.

Steven Houser · November 5th, 2006, 01:26 PM

Great Im ordering one Monday!
Thx Ben!

Giroud Francois · November 5th, 2006, 03:32 PM

sorry for the typo, yes a mixer that output line level (not mic level).
amplifier from the camera is bad, and there is no way to properly control left and right channel separately.
with a mixer you can do anything you want and feed the cam with a rock solid high level signal.
A good mixer will allow to display input levels so you can see what is going on while recording. the display on the FX1 is just a joke for that purpose.
A mixer can be remotely operated by a sound engineer (or your wife, for cheap production).

Alex Raskin · November 7th, 2006, 11:26 AM

I'm with Giroud on this.

The cam's mic pre-amps are atrocious - too much noise.

Since you're on the budget... get an external mixer board - like Mackie 1202VLZ with fantastic mic preamps - and feed its output into your camera. Mic, obviously, goes into the mixer board.

This way, the most delicate part - pre-amping the sound at low noise - is taking care of, and you can record the line-level mixer output on-camera for sound sync.

I'd of course recommend to NEVER use this camera for any serious sound work since even at line levels, the sound is so-so.

Instead, use double-system.

Better yet (but NOT a budget solution): multiplex analog video output of the camera (Z1) in HD with mixer's analog sound output - by using a Blackmagic Multibridge, then capture that multiplexed signal over HD-SDI.

What you get is essentially all the benefits of the professional DOUBLE system, PLUS the joy of *not* having to sync in post... since it's multiplexed and sync'd already!

Enjoy.

Chris Barcellos · November 7th, 2006, 11:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ben Winter

Not really sure what giroud is talking about, but gareth's solution I know is a good one. Just get a beachtek. I have one with my FX1 and love it.

Same here. I am using an old one that I got for my VX2000 original (DX4a, I think) and it is great for the FX1.

November 5th, 2006, 01:59 AM	#1
Steven Houser Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: New Castle IN. Posts: 178	What is the Best Way to get good Audio to my HDR-FX1? Any one have a good sugestion about the audio on the HDR-FX1? Have Nice Boom Mic ... should I get seperate phantom power supply and go from mic to it to HDR-FX1? I Need Good Sound! Im Trying to make a Low Budget Film Over Here! Any help would be great! Thx! __________________ Steven Lee Houser http://vimeo.com/testwork

November 5th, 2006, 10:15 AM	#3
Steven Houser Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: New Castle IN. Posts: 178	Thx Gareth! That is Exactly What I Need! Woohoo!! __________________ Steven Lee Houser http://vimeo.com/testwork

November 5th, 2006, 11:00 AM	#5
Steven Houser Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: New Castle IN. Posts: 178	mixi table? A mixer? __________________ Steven Lee Houser http://vimeo.com/testwork

November 5th, 2006, 01:24 PM	#6
Ben Winter Trustee Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Hollywood, CA Posts: 1,675 Images: 1	Not really sure what giroud is talking about, but gareth's solution I know is a good one. Just get a beachtek. I have one with my FX1 and love it. __________________ BenWinter.com

November 5th, 2006, 01:26 PM	#7
Steven Houser Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: New Castle IN. Posts: 178	Great Im ordering one Monday! Thx Ben! __________________ Steven Lee Houser http://vimeo.com/testwork

November 5th, 2006, 03:01 AM	#2
Gareth Watkins Major Player Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: France Posts: 578	Hi Steven You need a Beachtek or Sign Video adapter... both work fine in the FX1... Both screw under the camera and can be left in place...both have threads to add you tripod plate... Google search for their sites and check out the sponsors of this site Zotz ans B&H where you can buy online... regards Gareth

November 5th, 2006, 10:49 AM	#4
Giroud Francois Inner Circle Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: switzerland Posts: 2,133	the only way to get a good sound is to feed a good sound to the camera. for prosumer camera, there is no way to count on the electronic in the camera, it will be bad. so , the rigth way is to plug your mics into a good mixi table (preferrably with all symmetric signals) anf get a line level out of the mix table to feed camera.

November 5th, 2006, 03:32 PM	#8
Giroud Francois Inner Circle Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: switzerland Posts: 2,133	sorry for the typo, yes a mixer that output line level (not mic level). amplifier from the camera is bad, and there is no way to properly control left and right channel separately. with a mixer you can do anything you want and feed the cam with a rock solid high level signal. A good mixer will allow to display input levels so you can see what is going on while recording. the display on the FX1 is just a joke for that purpose. A mixer can be remotely operated by a sound engineer (or your wife, for cheap production).

November 7th, 2006, 11:26 AM	#9
Alex Raskin Trustee Join Date: Sep 2003 Posts: 1,435	I'm with Giroud on this. The cam's mic pre-amps are atrocious - too much noise. Since you're on the budget... get an external mixer board - like Mackie 1202VLZ with fantastic mic preamps - and feed its output into your camera. Mic, obviously, goes into the mixer board. This way, the most delicate part - pre-amping the sound at low noise - is taking care of, and you can record the line-level mixer output on-camera for sound sync. I'd of course recommend to NEVER use this camera for any serious sound work since even at line levels, the sound is so-so. Instead, use double-system. Better yet (but NOT a budget solution): multiplex analog video output of the camera (Z1) in HD with mixer's analog sound output - by using a Blackmagic Multibridge, then capture that multiplexed signal over HD-SDI. What you get is essentially all the benefits of the professional DOUBLE system, PLUS the joy of not having to sync in post... since it's multiplexed and sync'd already! Enjoy.