How are you recording/monitoring sound?

[Thane Silliker]

Originally Posted by Robert Rozak

4-segment R/L meter

Just curious as to why the DT454 has left and right meters if audio is only recorded to one channel. (noise being recorded to the other)

[Pat Flores]

So I saw a few videos using a certain set up with a Fiio headphone adapter and what the guy forgot to mention was that it REQUIRED magic lantern to make it happen....so I checked online to see if there was a way to monitor without ML and this diagram showed up.....but on my 60D for some reason I cannot get the sound in my headphones....any ideas?

[Nigel Barker]

Originally Posted by Pat Flores

So I saw a few videos using a certain set up with a Fiio headphone adapter and what the guy forgot to mention was that it REQUIRED magic lantern to make it happen....so I checked online to see if there was a way to monitor without ML and this diagram showed up.....but on my 60D for some reason I cannot get the sound in my headphones....any ideas?

That looks just to be a simple splitter that sends audio from the mic to both headphones & camera simultaneously. You are not actually monitoring what the camera is recording whereas Magic Lantern on the 60D & 550D/T2i does enable this.

[James Donnelly]

Originally Posted by Nigel Barker

That looks just to be a simple splitter that sends audio from the mic to both headphones & camera simultaneously. You are not actually monitoring what the camera is recording whereas Magic Lantern on the 60D & 550D/T2i does enable this.

By splitting the signal this way, you will also affect the signal going to camera, depending on the input impedance of the headphone amp.

[Pat Flores]

Originally Posted by Nigel Barker

That looks just to be a simple splitter that sends audio from the mic to both headphones & camera simultaneously. You are not actually monitoring what the camera is recording whereas Magic Lantern on the 60D & 550D/T2i does enable this.

is there any way that I could monitor or get as close to monitoring the sound without using ML?

the set up with the splitter does not work for me unfortunately...I attempted many different configurations and none seem to work when it comes to listening with the headphones...

[Erick Perdomo]

THE BEST PORTABLE RECORDER TO USE LINE OUT DIRECTL INTO DSLR
Hi guys...I'm looking for a way to get good if not excellent sound into my Canon T3i while being able to monitor audio in some way...I cannot use Magic Lantern on a Canon T3i. So I have looked for other solutions.
First, let me clarify that I have a wireless Sennheiser G2-lavalier set and when I connect it directly to my Canon T3i the sound is perfectly acceptable for interviews etc and I set the volume manually of course as is possible on the T3i. But i can't monitor audio or even look at the levels once I start recording...
So, I tried the Zoom H1 with a special expensive cable with a -25db attenuator built in and a splitter so that one line can go into the mic in the T3i and the other one go a set of heaphones. My objective is to get the best possible sound into the camera while avoiding having to use Plural Eyes to sync the audio from the H1 later.
So, i did some testing with the Sennheiser connected to the Zoom H1 and then running the cable into the T3i. I watched a video on the internet that recommended setting the line out level of the H1 to 80db and the mic in to 50db. The idea being to get a hight input into the T3i and by pass as much as possible the internatl preamps in the Canon which are reportedly very noisy. I also recorded the sound going into the H1 for comparison later.
Finally, I did a separate test recording directly from the Sennheiser into the Canon T3i without the H1 in between.
Then I listened while having my imac connected to my Yamaha RXA1000 receiver and my 5.1 set up.
1- The sound recorded in to the T3i coming from the Line out in the Zoom H1 shows hiss for sure. The sound is not horrible. No, but it displays a hiss and the voice quality is not as good as i know the Sennheiser can provide.
2-The quality of the sound as recorded into the H1 internal card coming from the Sennheiser mic was excellent. I don't plan to use the H1 built in microphones to record interviews as I have the wireless sennheiser for that.
3- As I already knew, the quality of the Sennheiser mic plugged in directly into the Canon T3i was also very good. On par with the H1's internal recording. But unfortunately this set up doesn't let me monitor audio in any way.
So, the H1 is not my solution as the sound that comes out of its line out is hissy...I'm reading about the new and improved Tascam DR-100mkII which claims to have improved pre-amps (the DR-100 reportedly had noisy pre-amps too-similar to the H1 and H4n I suspect) and also features separate headphone out jack and mic/line out. Has anyone tried connecting it to a DSLR and testing the quality of the sound from the line/mic output?
This could be the answer to my prayers! I just wish to avoid syncing in post-I'm not making a feature film but I would like good sound for sure.
Thanks for you attention
Erick

[Brett Sherman]

Just curious why you can't use Magic Lantern on the T3i? Granted it doesn't have audio monitoring (yet). I find at watching levels at least some form of verification. My last shoot I actually shot straight into the camera with a Y-cable connected to a Sennheiser G3 and a Rode Video Mic Pro. Not ideal, but in a pinch...

I'm also looking at the Tascam DR100-mkII. Seems like it would be ideal for this situation. I'm in the same boat, I want decent quality audio, but don't want to sync if I don't have to. The DR100 would be a backup in case something goes haywire with the recording on the T3i. But I'm still holding out for audio monitoring on the T3i.

One option would be to take the output of the H1 straight into the T3i without the attenuation cable. Since you can manually adjust the gain on the T3i, you might be able to get it down low enough that you don't need it. This would reduce the gain on the T3i's preamps, which might be where you are getting some of the hiss.

[Allan Black]

Not to cut across Roberts information, he produces great mixers IMO much better sounding than Beachtek.

But Rode are in the process of releasing this combo, Videomic Pro with a recorder attached, might be worth looking into this rig.

http://www.rodemic.com/news/announci...deo-microphone

Cheers.

[Nigel Barker]

Originally Posted by Allan Black

Not to cut across Roberts information, he produces great mixers IMO much better sounding than Beachtek.

But Rode are in the process of releasing this combo, Videomic Pro with a recorder attached, might be worth looking into this rig.

RDE Microphones - RDE News

Cheers.

This new Rode device looks interesting as they do produce good quality gear. However I am betting that it will cost a lot more than a sub-$100 Zoom H1 that gives identical functionality i.e. attach it to the hot shoe & loop the stereo output jack to the audio input on the camera so that you use the recorder's microphone & record on SD card as well as on the camera.

[Brett Sherman]

This Rode thing looks like it would be ideal. Better capsule than current VideoMicPro. You can plug your wireless into it. Less crap on top of your camera. The only thing is it looks like to doesn't send the mic/line input to a separate channel. Ideally you'd want shotgun on one channel and wireless on the second. Maybe as details come out I'll be proven wrong. But that's what I read from the description. That would be a shame as it looks like an otherwise well designed product. Also, I'm hoping it has actual pots to adjust levels.

[Charles Newcomb]

This is great news. I've long been a Rode fan.

I'm currently using the Sony PCM 10 with my Rode VideoMic Pro, but it will be nice to condense those functions into one unit. The Sony does way more stuff than I'd ever need.

[David St. Juskow]

The best way to get good sound seems obvious to me: first, you need magic lantern on your camera. It's just not a very useful camera without it... and it's free. Even if Canon makes it impossible to upgrade the firmware later, so what- a hacked T2i is still miles ahead of a regular T2i.

Second, you need something that will take in an XLR mic input and spit out a mini input into the camera. A used Beachtek, Juicedlink, whatever you want. But you need that. I just got a used Tascam DR-100 and have been testing audio with it. The preamps are pretty good. Obviously, not as good as what you'll find on a Nagra, but they're amazing for something that cost me $225. If you have a good mic, like a sennheiser ME66, the noise bed is quite low, and your audio is going to sound great. You then can spit that audio out of the recorder and into the camera if you want, using magic lantern to set the gain to -6 (is what I found to match the DR-100 levels). If you compare both audio recordings (tascam to the t2i) they're almost identical in quality this way. For most people, there's no difference at all. This gives you a bonus- 2 distinct sets of audio files, in case one fails (which does happen, especially with SD card devices) and you don't have to sync in post if time is an issue. It also gives you a genuine headphone jack on the Tascam to monitor sound with, and it's a pretty good jack- the levels are strong enough to listen to the audio critically. A good way to monitor audio is pretty essential, otherwise you're flying blind. Plus, the Tascam gives you individual analog gain control, so you can adjust the audio of 2 different mics separately- something the h4n lacks. That was the #1 reason I went with it.

If you don't want to put magic lantern on the camera, then you have to record sound double-system. That is, if you want good quality sound. Any other solution is a bit of a compromise. If you buy a good used pro XLR mic, you will already be ahead of the game, compared to the cheaper new mics that have mini jacks as their connector. There are plenty of 20-year-old shotgun mics that still sound better than the new "made for video camera" stuff, and you can find them used.

my 2 cents

[Erick Perdomo]

hi guys. I thought I should report back my findings.
ok...
I decided to try using a FIIO 5 headphone amplifier with my Sennheiser G2 going into the T3i. Just as the diagram shows in one of the posts. I connected a Y cable-one side going to the T3i and the other one to the FIIO and then the headphones for monitoring. I know that this is not the same as monitoring the sound going into the camera but is close enough...as long as one takes the time and care to set up the audio manually in the T3i. I did some tests and by keeping the manual volume at a low level there is no hiss. So this works.

However...as part of a small corporate video, I needed to record several voice overs at a client's office and I decided to get a Tascam DR-100mkII, a Rode NTA1 mic and I build a DIY "Porta-booth" inspired box! Couldn't afford the real thing but I built one for under $45 cdn...So, since the Tascam DR-100mkII has a dedicated line out (which will go into the T3i) and a dedicated headphone out, there is no need for me to use the FIIO 5. I can say that the Tascam DR-100mkII has good preamps on their mics and there's no hiss with good mics-even dynamic mics sound good but not as powerful as the condenser Rode NT1a.
The next time I really have to record good sound with the T3i, I will try a regular cable from the line out to the T3i and only if the level is too hot then I would get the overpriced ($40!! ) attenuator cable that is meant for the Tascam.
So much work to get decent audio! Hard for a one person show!
My Canon XHA1s sure can do all this just fine! Just recorded it a live show and I combined the built in external mic with sound coming from the audio board to get the whole atmosphere...simple plug and play with some menu adjustments...
It sure is fun.
I wonder if the Canon XF-100 is as good as the XHA1s when it comes to audio options?
hmm
E

[John Gerard]

I just installed ML 2.3 on my Canon 60D a few days ago. I am so excited. I took the composit video cable that came with my camera and shortened it by cutting it and then soldering on a 3.5 jack to the cable. You can also buy a prepaid cable for $50US. So far I can monitor the audio through ear phones very well. There are 2 separate gain/ volume controls as well as setting the left and right channels independently. also you can have many different combinations such as left audio from internal mic and right audio from a extenal mic, balanced audio internal or extenal. You can even with a headphone spitter adapter use 2 mic one for the left channel and one for the right channel.
I have yet to record something to check the gain to noise ratio. So I can't comment on that issue.. But sounds great through my Earphones. I hear no hiss or anything.. ML also auto detects when I plug in the audio adapter cable..
I believe that I had to disable AGC setting in order to get independent Right and Left control.
If you have not made your decision on which camera to buy rear the ML users manual for the 60D to see other great features of this Firmware.

John Gerard

Originally Posted by Brian Tori

Are you using a secondary recorder and syncing in post or are you using a Beactek or Juicelink unit with AGC disabling? I'm considering a 550d with a Beachtek unit for balanced inputs and a headphone jack. I know the 60d now has manual gain, but how are you monitoring the sound since it does not have a headphone jack? I wouldn't consider the 60d based on this fact alone.