G10 and external stereo mic

[Paul Zetter]

I am thinking of getting the new stereomic pro from Rode (when it comes out) for my G10. I have an Audio Technica Pro 24 stereo mini-shotgun for my Panasonic SD700 but when I tried it on the G10 it doesn't work (there is a peak on the meter when I plug it in but otherwise no sound). So my questions are:

1. is anyone successfully using an AT Pro 24 mic with their G10/XA10?
2. is anyone having issues with stereo external mics on the G10?

and

3. When and if someone successfully uses the new stereomic pro with the G10 can they let me know?

The AT 24 Pro works with all my other camcorders so it's not the mic.

Thank you

[Don Palomaki]

I see no reason it wouldn't work, although the output appears to be somewhat lower than many external stereo mics. (e.g., ~10 dB less than the AT2022)
Some things to check
- The mic has a good battery and is turned on.
- The 3.5mm mic plug is fully inserted in the mic jack.
- The camcorder audio input setup is OK.
- Nothing is on the hot shoe that might provide a connction that would fool the camcorder.

[Mark Goodsell]

Is that a shotgun stereo mic?

Will be interesting to hear how it sounds. Fewt stereo mics are shotgun, therefore not used widely on camcorders. I use a Sennheiser MKE400 on my XA10 when I want to go 'Rogue' and not use the XLR. Othertimes I just use the ME66 short shotgun mic. The MKE400 sounds pretty darn good for it's small size.

Lot of choices out there for mics...

[Paul Zetter]

No, not really a shotgun to be fair, Audio-Technica - Microphones, headphones, wireless microphone systems, noise-cancelling headphones & more : PRO 24-CM Stereo Condenser Microphone
It sounds great on my Panasonic sd700 and Sony cx520 (it has a hiss but easy to get rid of in post). I would love to tell you how it works on my G10 but alas it doesn't for some strange reason. Maybe the panasonic and sony mic inputs are just a lot hotter than the canon's.

Please can anyone let me know if they have luck with the new Rode stereomic pro and the G10

[David Chilson]

You need to get an adapter if you are going to try and mount it on the G10 because of the proprietary Canon shoe such as this one:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/742993-REG/Pearstone_CSA_II_CSA_II_Shoe_Adapter_for.html
I have the "old" version Rode Video stereo mic and on the G10 it is as big as the camera. I have much more expensive mics but for me this mic is one of those items in my kit that is worth many times it's purchase price. It's sits on my XF100 pretty much full time and for my application of shoot, edit and post to my website the same day, it's perfect.

I work quite often in a close envirornment (boats) but I am always amazed at how far away audio can be captured. The other day I was out and did a piece on fishing 18 Mile Creek in Niagara County NY and towards the end we came upon another boat that was landing a fish. We kept between 50 and 100 feet away and you can clearly hear the conversation between our boat and theirs which is as-is with no tweaking. Granted, it's over water and sound travels very well in that enviornment but it's "shotgun" effect is very good. Unfortunatley it's toward the end so if you hate fishing it may not be worth your time.

Eighteen Mile Creek Olcott, NY Steelhead & Browns on Vimeo

[Mark Goodsell]

Can I ask, Paul, why you want a stereo mic? Are you trying to record ambient sounds like wildlife? Or, are you looking to record conversations?

If you don't get an answer about the stereo mic you are considering, I would consider calling B&H and asking them about the mic. Everytime I call them I seem to get someone who knows the product and takes time to tell me what they know and gives me honest answers w/o BSing me. If you buy it and it isn't what you are lookiing for, you can send it back. They have a return policy. I've done it before. You might be able to get a better deal from FullCompass.com. They are a huge seller of microphones, maybe the biggest in the country. I buy stuff from them. Their mic prices are usually better than B&H, but they have a 15% restocking fee. You really need to call them to get the best price.

Also, check out youtube for mic tests. Probably someone has posted a test for that mic.

I was going to say that the ONE feature that really bugged me with the G10 is the lack of a proper cold shoe like the XA10 has. I would honestly consider buying a top plate and cold shoe from an XA10 and putting it on the G10. Then you'd have a proper cold shoe to mount a mic onto. The XA10 cold shoe is in the 'right' place IMO.

[Paul Zetter]

Thanks for all the useful posts!

Here is my G10 rig (below) with Rycote mic holder/AT897/passive Beachtek/kiwifotos hotshot adapter

here is the hotshoe adapter I bought - very elegant and well engineered

Kiwifotos Canon Mini Advanced Shoe to Universal Shoe: Amazon.co.uk: Electronics

 

Kiwifotos Canon Mini Advanced Shoe to Universal Shoe: Amazon.co.uk: Electronics

I'm doing a lot of shooting in the mountains of northern Vietnam and rivers in central Vietnam so am finding for B-roll, stereo just gives me so much more space and ambience mywebsite

I bought the G10 as most of the material is for web and shooting with my Sony Z5 on very light skiffs in rivers and up narrow mountains paths was making my life too stressful.

I use sennheiser radio lav or a very nice wired AT803 for interviews.

[Mark Goodsell]

Paul, nice setup. I have a Z5 too (good cam). I understand why you want the stereo mic now. Does your mic have a battery output capability? You might be able to make your assembly smaller by going with a Sennheiser ME66 with a K6 capsule and go right to 1/8" mini? You might need a balancing adapter (but I suppose I could try mine one of these days and see if it works). Then you could lose the Beachtek if you wanted. Probably not worth it if you have to buy a new mic, but just a thought.

Another idea for clandestine shots inside restaurants, busses, etc where you want to shoot more under the radar: try a Sennheiser MKE400. It's small and pretty destrete. I shoot in other countries too sometimes so a little mic can sometimes come in handy. The audio is really good. Again, just a thought. I'd like to hear how the stereo mic works for you when you get it set up.

Good luck with your shooting.

[Paul Zetter]

Hi Mark

Thanks for the post. Yes the AT 897 has an incorporated battery inside but I find the beachtek cleans it up a bit instead of going straight into the mic input on the canon and the beachtek also gives me quick and dirty ability to hook a lav up. I'm using a new videomic pro with my 60D but find it's a bit too hot for the G10.

I have a very embarrassing confession to make and an apology to everyone who was so helpful with this post - the fact my stereo AT 24pro mic worked on my sony and panasonic fooled me into thinking there was still juice in the battery. However both those cams (panny sd700 and sony xr520) have plug-in power so can power low draw mics like the pro 24 without battery. It seems the canon can't because when I put in a new battery it did indeed work with the G10. Sorry to waste all your time. A classic rookie move.

Paul

[Mark Goodsell]

Gee wiz Paul, if I had a dime for every goof-up I ever made, I could put it towards some really fancy equipment.

Doesn't happen too often , but I had one like that happen to me the other day: I was trying out a new LANC controller with my XA10. Everytime I would turn on the cam, it would flash a message like, "Operation canceled, shutting down" then the cam would instantly proceed to shut down. Ok, I figured the battery was dead, even though I had charged it up a couple days before and hadn't shot any video. But I figured maybe I or my wife (blame the wife, huh?) left the cam on somehow and it drained down.

After letting it sit on the charger for a couple hrs I came back and the same thing kept happening. I hadn't used the cam in a couple weeks, so now I'm getting frustrated, thinking to myself, "what the he#@", "expensive camera down the drain...", blah, blah blah, some explicatives here and there, while I continued to check things out. What was thowing me off was the odd shut down message that I hadn't seen before ..seemed like an error message. After a few minutes I unplugged the Lanc controller and lo and behold everything worked ok. Well, there's a camera On/Off switch on the Lanc controller I didn't see that was set to 'OFF. The LANC controller was turning the camcorder off as soon as I turned the main power on just like it was supposed to. I plugged in the LANC unit and turned the LANC switch to "ON" and bingo, camera fired right up. Duh! I just wasn't paying attention. Rookie move. I got a good laugh out of the situation anyway.

Been there brother. :)

[Don Palomaki]

When troubleshooting, unless you have some good previous history on the system, check the simple and easy things first, and move on to more complex if you need to do so.

With all this hi-tech stuff we tend to want to look for a complicated problem in a complicated thing.

The wife's new PC would all of a sudden quit without warning. Reboot had the usual option to start in safe mode. Long searches of the WEB for clues, updated drivers gave no joy. Turns out it was poor contact of the power cord in the power strip, moving to a different socket and no problem since.