Being able to monitor both audio and video is critical.

Last night I received my juicedLink CX231. It was a breeze to try it out with the MicroTrackII recorder. With the 5D2, I was flying blind - no gain control (except with the iPod trick), no meters (yours look promising), and no headphone support. So, yeah, headphone support is critical.

Of course, this assumes that we can still see the video, and that the audio quality is acceptable. With the iPod trick, the audio was barely usable, and certainly not of high quality. Hopefully, your gain reduction firmware produces cleaner results.

Monitoring is definitely up there - personally I'd consider it more important than 24p, but maybe that's just me... even with onscreen level meters you need to be able to listen in order to catch background noises, interference, etc that the mic may be picking up but your ears aren't.

Playing around with the juicedLink last night shows a lot of promise, but with the AGC running it's hard to take advantage of it's full capabilities. I'm not really interested in messing with the iPod trick, if I'm going to that much trouble I'd rather just run dual system, and it seems a waste of time at this point considering Hudson's hack can disable the AGC - any idea how soon we'll be able to get access to this? I'd really like to test the magic lantern/juicedLink combo...

So how'd it go--what do you think of the H4N? I've been using a Microtrack II and it seems a bit noisy, plus I can't always get enough gain. I'm thinking about using a mic-pre or trying a different recorder--possible the H4N.

I have the Microtrack II, and have tested the H4n. The H4n is the much better product.

You can actually get very good sound out of the Microtrack II if you run an active preamp in front of it. It's still not as clean as the H4n, but it's close. And you can then run the preamp into the 5D with Magic Lantern firmware, if you want in-camera audio.

You can hear the juicedLink CX231 into the Microtrack II here:
5D Mark II Audio Exposed (First Results) on Vimeo

And compare the Microtrack II to the H4n here:
5. Canon 5D Mark II Audio Exposed - Noise on Vimeo

I asked this a long time ago somewhere on this forum, but don't think I got an answer. Since this seems like a real 'expert group' I'll try again.

I'm interested in recording separately to the Zoom H4n and simultaneously via the Zoom headphone output to the Canon 5D MK. II. I've read that it should be possible but that I'll need a pad between the Zoom and the 5D. I'm also not sure to what extend the new Magic Lantern software makes this easier.

Can anyone confirm if they've done this successfully and give any info on the pad needed or any other useful feedback?

Thanks.

Thanks for the response.

Is there any difference between the CX211 and the CX231 beyond the 231 having phantom power?

Dana:

I have the CX231, and it looks like phantom is the primary difference on the spec sheet.

Jon mentioned the Sound Devices MM-1 on the first page of this thread--anyone have experiences with that? MM-1 Line Driver / HP Monitor | Sound Devices, LLC It doesn't have a mixer, but it does have a headphone output, mic-pre, peak limiter, and phantom power. And I've heard the Sound Devices stuff is very high quality.

eta: I just thought of a couple disadvantages of the MM-1 compared to the Juicedlinks--the MM-1's output is XLR, so you'd need an adapter for the 5D. Also the MM-1 won't fit neatly under the camera like the Juicedlink. The SD MP-1 is about the same price as the JL CX-231 (with some advantages as well as disadvantages afaik).

While SoundDevices has a great reputation, I think the juicedLink is the better match for the 5D Mark II. As mentioned, the JL output is plug-and-play compatible. Also, the CX-231 is stereo, while the MP-1 is mono for about the same price. My tests show the juicedLink to be dead quiet with clean gain. Even if the SD is cleaner (I haven't used it), the improvement would be negligible, considering the 16-bit A/D in the camera.

Frankly, the only advantages I see with the SD MP-1 would be if you were planning to move to an XLR, line level system, only needed a mono preamp, and wanted the Sound Devices name. For use with the 5D2, two channels worth of value, and direct mounting, I'd go with the juicedLink.

Fortunately, this isn't a trade off between functionality, cost, and sound quality. The sound through the juicedLink is excellent.

managed to convince Singular Software to do a limited 1 month discount of pluraleyes for readers of my blog. Get 20% off until Nov 15th

Philip Bloom Blog Archive 20% off the amazing plug-in PLURALEYS for 1 month only!!! Also Sony Vegas free Beta now out.

Do pluraleyes works only with Final Cut Pro or also with Final Cut Express?


Daniel