I need a little help here..
 

Hello all. I'm new to this site but I'll tell ya it's quite a resource. I appreciate all the work you've put into this and can only hope to be a part of this community for years to come. Okay.. here's my questions...

I'm relatively new to the wedding videography business and I'm interested in improving my sound quality. I currently own a GL2 and am quite pleased with the picture. On the other hand, the audio side of things definitely needs some work. I just ordered a wireless lapel mic (haven't been able to play with it yet) but I have a few concerns about the rest of the sound. When I plug the wireless receiver into my camera will it cut out the rest of the sound that would normally be picked up by the cameras built in mic? I've seen a few options with the DM-50 mic and the other mic adapter but I'm not sure what to do. Basically, what options do I have with this camera? I have another wedding coming up in a couple weeks so I'm kinda freakin out here. Thanks for your help!

Well, you are limited with the GL2 unless you have a pro audio adapter, ie Beachtek DXA-4P. It will split the audio allowing you to record your wireless on the left channel and the ambient noise on the left channel. I switched to the PD170 from GL2's and XL1S cameras. The XL1 has pro audio built in but I like the picture and low light on the sony product, either with pd170 or vx2100(no pro audio)

The audio adapter is $169 through b&h and I see them on eBay form 125 to 150. Well worth the investment if you are going to buy xlr or want to be able to record 2 audio sources on your GL2. I suggest that you purchase an iRiver to record the ambient audio. They are $150 or less new and do a great job. Their are a bunch of threads here if you do a search on iRiver. I think they do as well as wireless but you can't monitor them like you can your wireless on camera.

We setup on iRiver on the readings, one on officient, wireless on groom and we use our pd's for ambient sound. It works really well.

We sync them with our cameras with a clapper and editing is easy when you have 3 cameras to sync. We also record video straight to disc which makes editing so much easier and you can start when you get back, no capturing tape :)

Good Luck

Jon

Thanks for the input Jon.. I really appreciate it. What is the difference between the Beachtek DXA-4P and the Canon MA-300 Mic adapter? Are they basically the same thing? Or if I decide to invest in one of these audio adapters can I hook up the wireless and use the built in audio of the camera.. or would I have to hook up a mic thru one of the XLR inputs on the adapter?

John,
When you plug in an external mic, the internal microphone will be switched off. That said you don't need to have an xlr adaptor to record two channels of audio. All you need is a correctly wired adaptor to allow you to direct the wireless mic to, for example the left channel and you can plug another mic into the right channel - either a shotgun, second wireless or whatever. I plug two wired lavs or a wireless and camera mounted shotgun into my camera this way and you can mix them together later.

You just need to make sure the levels are set ok so, for example, the wireless is not clipping and the shotgun is quiet. This is where a beachtek may help so you can adjust the channels separately. My wireless lets me adjust the level so I can easily match the shotgun's level.

The major advantage of the Beachtek or similar device is that you can use balanced audio signals.

If you are trying to save money, I'd recommend making/buying an adaptor, connect your wireless to one channel, plonk another (wired) mic on top of the camera and plug it into the other channel.

Otherwise, do as above but also include the iRiver approach because the wireless will only pick up sound close to it, and the camera mounted mic will only pick up sound near the camera and in the direction it's pointed which might not cover everything you want to hear.

Cheers.

I haven't used a ma-300 but it doesn't look like you can adjust the levels on the canon product. I like the beachtek because it fits right under the camera and works great. I used it on my GL-2 and I am now using it on my VX2100.

You could definately rig an adapter to split the channels but as listed above, you would have no way of regulating the inputs.

Jon

The MA-300 doesn't need to adjust levels - it just converts the signal from XLR to RCA. You then use the controls on the CAMERA to adjust the signal levels. I use the MA-100 on an XL-1 and it works well.

If you go the xlr adaptor route:

I read here http://www.dvinfo.net/canongl2/articles/topfive.php that the MA-300 isn't designed for long cable runs: "the MA-300 is intended for unbalanced nearby sources" It sounds from this report that it doesn't utilise the balanced audio anyway. If this is correct you'd be better off using a Beachtek for true balanced audio and external level control.

I don't know - never used it, it's just what I read.