Alex, if you only need one track of audio then the R-44, which is a fabulous recorder will be overkill. Units like the H4n or Tascam DR-100 would work great for field run and gun use. they are small and rather robust for their price range.

Plus with both you can record 1-4 tracks of audio, so they're versatile, and sound pretty good as well.

Must-have accessories
 

Hi guys,

Just noticed that you are talking about must-have accessories for the new Canon Rebel T2i / 550D.

I wrote a review / shot a video ("February") with a pre-production 550D earlier this week that you might have seen.

I've just started a new series on my blog talking about essential accessories for this camera, especially considering if you're on a budget. I started out with lenses:
On a budget? Pimp your new Canon EOS Rebel T2i / 550D with essential accessories! Part 1: BASIC LENSES | Nino Film - Blog - Nino Leitner

Looking forward to feedback! Please write me if you feel I missed a lens that is a "must-have"! Thanks!

Absolutely. I'm actually surprised to see you ask that though, the 20D isn't new which means you've been an SLR user for a few years already. Crop bodies like the 20D and T2i/550D are compatible with the whole range of EF and EF-S lenses.

Nigel this is awesome.. is there a thread on how to mount and power this thing?

Scott there are lots of posts all over the internet on these thing right now.
You can poser them via 12v if needed.

And the monitor itself has a 1/4 thread at the bottom of it so it should be easy to mount on a noga arm or such.

I am thinking about picking one up and using an Ikan Sony battery sled attached to the back.

BTW, I'm excited that I was finally able to order some extra 550d batteries and the battery grip the other day, via Amazon. I should have it in a couple of days.

It's amazing that B&H doesn't have these in stock yet but some smaller shops do.

I've got some rails from my old Redrock M2 system that I'll use with my T2i. Where can I find ways (plates, arms, whatever) to mount things to the rails? I've never looked into this kind of thing before.

Redrock has some mounting plates, but would like to start looking at all that's out there.

Would be looking to mount a 7" monitor, wireless mic receiver, external audio recorder.

I don't even know the terminology to search for.

Canon Battery Pack Lp-e6
 

Does anyone know if you can use Canon Battery Pack Lp-e6 (For The Eos 5d Mk Ii) with the 550D?

As far as I know you can't use the older Lp-e6, but rather the new LP-E8, as well as the new batteries.

2 things-

1- I forget with of the two viewfinders I used on the 5D, but I found that it made focusing more difficult. It just seemed to magnify the pixels to a point where nothing was ever really sharp, so it was hard to tell what was "sharpest". When I'd yank the viewfinder off, I found it easier to focus just on the screen (which is totally counter-intuitive to me, but that's how it worked best.) Perhaps I wasn't using the more expensive viewfinder?

2- The H4N is great, but only takes 2 inputs. I have little use for the onboard mics and would rather have a similar device with no mics and 4 inputs; anyone have a suggestion? One that's comparable in price, I mean. I know what the high-ends go for.

If you're near-sighted like I am, you can just look over the top of your glasses at the LCD. Much quicker, better and clearer than any viewfinder setup. Of course you need a hood in bright sunlight.

In the LILLIPUT Touchscreen,7 Touchscreen,7 LILLIPUT Touchscreen,lilliput screen web site yopu can find a battery pack for about $60. I got it about two weeks ago, and it works fine. You can mount it deirectly in the back of the display, al little heavy, but it works. Just make sure that, when NOT in use, you unplug the cable that goes from the battery pack to the monitor...it will completelly draw the battery out!

Carlo Zanella
The Santa Fe TV Show

I'm thinking of getting a 550d next to my HV30.. but I don't know yet what to do with the audio. I don't need top of the line audio to record a band or something, and until now my sony external mic has always done the job. Now I've read a lot about the automatic gain control and that everybody is using separate audio recording devices like the H4N or the H2. It shouldn't be too hard to synchronize in post, which is probably true, but still takes a lot of time for 300 shots for a short film or something..
But I think the real problem is how to review your shots on location. It must be awful to try to playback audio and video at the same time, just to see whether a dialog is good. What are your experiences with this and is there an alternative? Is there a good workflow for this? Does the AGC make working with an external mic impossible? Is it worth waiting for a firmware update just like for the 5d?

Here's a very simple solution which I use with my video cameras all of the time.
Setup your recorder for the shoot with proper levels, mic placement etc.

Form the recorders "Line Out" (I use an Edirol R-44 (dual RCA Line Out) or Zoom H4n (1/8 Line Out), send a wireless feed from the recorders "Line Out" to your camera.

This serves 2 purposes...
1. Redundant audio recording on camera for backup/sync purposes
2. Wireless feed from recorders lets you monitor what is "exactly" being recorded.

As I said I have used this method with my video recorders, for years and it has NEVER failed me. 90% of my audio is off camera anyway, except for (if setup to work with wireless and onboard mic) some ambient audio from camera.

Plus your wireless receiver into the 1/8 mic input on the T2i. In my case I am making sure that I have the "Line" output form the recorder padded in some way to balance my signal before it gets to my camera. In the case of my Sennhesier G2s,, I simply apply a -30db pad at the transmitter and this suffices. For some added peace of mind I might also apply a -10 DB pad on the receiver on the camera. I would rather the signal be a little soft than too loud.

Since I am relying on my off camera audio, I am not too concerned with the AGC in the camera. If needed I can tweak it in post during my edit.

New blog about ND filters: "A MYSTERY resolved: Depth of Field, Aperture & ND filters
 

Hey guys,

Check out my new blog on the depth of field and ND filters: "A MYSTERY resolved: Depth of Field, Aperture & ND filters", Nino Film - Blog - Nino Leitner | a video production blog

This is the 3rd part of my budget accessories series for the T2i / 550D, but everything is of course also applicable for other cameras.

Comments and suggestions always appreciated!

Cheers!

I did tests today with my older Zoom H4 and my wireless and it was fine when syncing with PluralEyes. I'd suggest buying PluralEyes. My free trial runs out next month and I'll have to buy this great piece of software.

But I agree with Michael, I have the G2 wireless and at Sundance this year, I merely plugged it into my buddy's 7D and set it to -30 and had no real problems.

Of course, we couldn't monitor the audio. I think that my old NADY's had a mic plug on the receiver, but the Senn one does not. I sold those clunky but effective NADY's, which is kind of a shame now, ha!

Anyone else just use the mini-plug and step down the mics? I've found that -20 or -30 on my mics is the best way to go with any camera. Sound has always been a problems for my projects.