Adding a shotgun mike to the FX1
 

Ok. Let's face it. Not everybody can afford the Z1. So, what can be done in case a user buy the FX1 and wants to use a shotgun mike on it, considering that this model does not have the ring the Z1 has in which the mike fits? And what if I also need the horseshoe at the same time for an oncamera light?
-EDWIN

phantom power
 

it depends on the microphone. In my case I'll use a Sennheiser MK60 that needs 48VDC (phantom power), so I'll have to provide that. There's some adapters/converters in the market that convert 9V (battery provided) to 48V and have XLR in/out. I have one of those and works pretty good.

Still, is important to know more about the audio specs and operation of this camera. What's the sensibility? Is it adjustable by software? (not harware adjust, like the Z1) and what is the input soket? Miniplug stereo? Two mono miniplugs?. Just basic stuff that I do not know now. If somehone can provide information on this would be very welcome.


Ric

This review answers some of those questions.

www.videomaker.com/scripts/article.cfm?id=10594

I think you guys haven't understood my question completely. I mean, how do I physically attach a shotgun mike to this camera if there's not a place for it? I see the Z1 has a place for its mike, also the XL1, XL2, etc. but not the FX1.

I now realize what you mean. I never had this camera in my hands yet, so I can not comment on that.
Sennheiser sells some accesories to atach mics to anything.

Anyway, when I use a narrow shootgun like the Mk60 or MK70 I rarely mount it on he camera.

Also I think the mechanical problem is nothing compared to the task to provide phantom power and XLR to 1/8 miniplug connection plus attenuation (if that's necessary). Unless of course you use an electrect mic ( less quality than a real condenser).


Ric

search b & h, i bought a cool outrigger rig that allows you mount up to four shoe devices on the shoe.

Now that Ricardo brought the phantom power issue, does anyone has an idea about providing phantom power and XLR to 1/8 miniplug connection plus attenuation?
I know this camera is not out yet except from Japan, but I guess the answer will apply to any model.

FX1 uses HDV-Compliant mpeg 1 layer 2 (similar to MP3, but a tad older) for it's sound recording in HDV mode. If you care enough about your sound that you would use a Sennheiser mic, forget it. Use a DAT.

Donal is right. The audio is compressed, so I'm planning to use different audio setups:
a Dat for some shots .
a pair of Lectrosonics wireless transmiters feeding ProTools in a notebook, for music shots.
and for interviews or non critical stuff, just use the camera thru a Beachtek adaptor(Edwin, that answers your question.) The model DXA-6 is a good unit.

Anyway besides sound quality a good shotgun offers something else, like a well behaved narrow sound pattern. That alone, is enought for me to justify going thru the adapters initial complication.

Ric

Donald: So, if the audio is too bad so it's needless to use a better external mic than the one built in, then what's left for event videographers, who don't want to carry a dat recorder on a belt while shooting? Will the built in mic do the job?
-EDWIN

so any conclusions???
 

Any thoughts on how to bring XLR inputs and therefore a shotgun camera mic to the FX1??

A XLR to mini-plug adapter sounds like the best option.
Where do you then attach the mic??

I'm sure there is plenty of people who want to be able to record good audio with a shotgun mic and/or something like a wireless lapel.

Anybody working a neat solution?

Edwin, I would suspect that the same setup I use would be good. I use a Beachtek DXA-8 attached to the bottom. It has my Bogen 501 quickrelease attach to the bottom of it (DXA-8). I use a hotshoe shockmount (starts with a B) to hold my shotgun mic for run and gun.

Does the "Pro" Z1 use the same audio compression as the FX-1?

Yes. The nature of the format is a very very high compression rate.. But its still compressed.

Strange that they would choose MPEG 2 to do the audio/video compression with. But its such a high bit-rate, that it will seem uncompressed. (Or so they say anyways..)

But to jump to the original question, if your really interested in hooking up XLR connections (Shotgun mics, Lavs etc...), just get an mini adapter that has XLR and Balanced audio inputs.. Kinda like a mini-mixer.. (sorta..)

If you're going to spend $5000.00 on a camera.. Spend the extra $200.00 and get yourself a really decent line input device... It will make a HUGE difference...

-alex

mono uncompressed
 

At least they could offer uncompressed mono in the Z1 if the data rate is not enought for stereo.

Ric

The FX-1 has a shoe-adapter in the box that appears to me to be fairly standard. It's a cold-shoe, of course.

As far as the audio quality of the compressed MPG stream, I've found it to be very good. Most situations would work just fine with this level of compression - it's 384Kbps 48Khz. While I wouldn't master a music production with it, or attempt to use it for studio sound recording, it seems perfectly acceptable for 95% of what you'd ever need it for.

Lots of folks use a combination of Minidisc (256Kbit ATRAC) and on-board audio recording stations for their productions. It all sounds good.

I mean, let's face it. We're not shooting the next Spider Man movie with this gear. There's no need to be overly picky about something that's a non-issue.

The Rode Videomic is an excellent add on for the FX1, own power and plugs straight in. As said anything more upmarket is probably overkill. Doesn't make much sense to me anyway to save a few bucks compared to the Z1 and then want to put an expensive shotgun on a camera not designed to take it.

The problem with the built in mics is they pickup a lot of camera noise, and operator noise.

You've also got to be careful using the shoe to mount mics, easy to foul the LCD.

I would argue that's it's probably a good policy to buy the best piece of equipment you can whether it's a mike or a C47. Besides the old rule of "you get what you pay for" a good quality item you can make use of for years and across multipule platforms. My Senn 416 is nearly 15 years old but still does a great job. It was well worth the money. IOW, I would never let the limitations of your current set-up determin what you buy. The only factor should be your budget. And you should be thinking in the long term if at all possible. Like my 416, it's lasted a lot longer than many of my cameras, so it's cost spread across that time span made it pretty cheap.

And the other thing about getting good gear - if you have to sell it, it holds it's value a whole lot better. And if you snagged it off eBay, you can often times sell it a year later for what you paid for it (it's FREE!!).

t

"Any job worth doing is worth over-doing."

I need this mic...anyone has a picture of this mic on their fx1, I am curious how far it will stick out over the len's hood.

No pix of it, I guess I could take the time to shoot one on my Z1, but if you're worried about it showing up in the wide angle frame...don't. Even with a .6 wide adapter on the Z1, it doesn't come into the frame at all. Even with my longer-haired furry.

Interesting idea. The data rate for the HDV format is 384 kbps for stereo, 192 kbps for one channel.

CD audio (44.1 khz,16-bit) uncompressed is about 1500 kbps. So mono would be about 750 kbps.

So that's, what, 3-4 times more data.

Regards,

Ty Ford

Been brought up several times in various situations. Unfortunately, the spec doesn't account for it, but it's a grand idea. Now...if the spec could be modified (and it can be, because it recently was) then...we'd have something.

It was my perception of the origin of this thread, the possibility/availability of the shotgun holder that is provided built-in to the z1u. Looking at my FX1 right now, it seems like if one could find the mount used in the Z1U, one could install it...

I have enough stuff to put on my coldshoe, I don't want to waste the space if I don't need to...

Anyone have any ideas?

UPDATE: I just answered my own question...browsed through the "exploded views" on sony's part search page and found the shotgun mount...ordered it, I already removed the rubber stopper where the pieces will fit on my FX1! I'll let you know how it looks when I'm done!

Now all I gotta do is order the XLR ports and switches for the back, order the chip that contains the firmware, and then I'll have a Z1u clone (but in dark grey, instead of black) why do all this? Because I'm joking...but I never sent in my warranty card anyway, and the z1u mount i'm installing can VERY easily be undone...

Thanks for the info...what about the LCD will it still flip open?

FX1 or is it?
 

Well I received all my parts in last Thursday and finally got the chance to put it all together and heres the pics...ENJOY!!!

double-post

Hi Noah!

I had exactly this same idea the minute I got my FX1!

It's great that there's always someone to do the hard-test before you plunge into something. :)

How much did the part cost? And where did you get it from?

Thanks so much for a great post!

Paulo

P.S.: i showed your post to a friend of mine who's an electronics technician and now he's tempting me to go a step ahead and put the XLR inputs also.

I ordered the part directly from Sony's business website, it cost around $65 which is a little high in my opinion for what it was. The XLR inputs would be nice, but theres no way I'm gonna crack open my FX1 to do that (a much more expensive modification also) and since I have my Beachtek DXA-6, I don't really need the built-in XLRs, however the Beachtek is HEAVY. Let me know how your mod goes if you wind up installing the XLRs...

Pic - FX1 + Beachtek DXA-FX + Z1 Shotgun Mount Modification + Rode Video Mic
 

Here's a pic of my current setup with one of my FX1's. FX1 + Beachtek DXA-FX + Z1 Shotgun Mount Modification + Rode Video Mic + Sennheiser Wireless.
It's a little heavy compared to a bare FX1 because of the Beachtek but the sound and control is excellent! The shotgun does not get into the shot when using a Century Options Fish Eye.

Nice work!! Can you get shot of how you mounted the Rode mic on the side, I'm interested in mounting it there rather than using the hot shoe mount.

Z1U Mic Mount
 

I used the Sony Z1U Mic Mount parts. I ordered it as a kit on ebay a couple of months ago. The guy told me it was just the Z1U Mic Mount parts along with a little spacer added to make it fit on the FX1. I'll take a side pic to show you. Installation was very very easy and i'm very happy with it. My only gripe is that the spacer is a dark gold color. I would have hoped it would have been black or dark gray to match the camera.

Here's a link to some info:
http://www.videomaker.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=2341

It does not look like the kits are on sale on ebay anymore though but i'm sure if you really wanted to, you could find all the parts you needed (including the spacer) for much cheaper.