XL2 Audio improvement

[Guy Godwin]

Hello folks,
I just bought an XL2 last week. Of all the questions that I have lets get what I believe to be the easiest out of the way. My wife loves the picture but can stand the sound. I basically, need to turn my TV up to about 50 for us to hear any thing. I assume the XL2 has an audio setting that will let more sound into the camera.

Does anyone know how to adjust this sensitivity?

thanks!!

[Daniel Ross]

I haven't used the XL2 myself, but when I had my XL1, you could just change the audio levels on the side, in those controls, I think. If not, it was in the menu. But it certainly wasn't hard to find.
Using an external microphone is the best idea, but I doubt it should be SO bad if you don't-- should be not great quality, but shouldn't be so low.

[Chris Hurd]

Moved from Open DV to Canon XL2.

Hard to answer without knowing specifically how you had the camera set up. The microphone that was included with the cam is more than adequate. Sit down with the operator's manual and make sure that all audio settings are on full automatic and it should take care of itself.

[Ryan Chaney]

Make sure the mic attenuator is not on, that could be causing the quiet sound. It's a little switch inside the door that covers all the audio controls.

[Guy Godwin]

Thanks for the direction. I will check it out.

[Bert Smyth]

Originally Posted by Chris Hurd

make sure that all audio settings are on full automatic and it should take care of itself.

Guy, just to let you know, that you may encounter pros out that tell you this is really bad advice, as is using any "automatic" setting. However, the XL2 does well on auto, and this is especially true for audio. I shoot on full manual mode, but will often leave the audio on automatic, even for "professional" shoots. I find that the manual mode for audio on the XL2 tends to be a bit deceiving, as the meter makes it look like your getting a stronger level than you really are. When you have a chance, switch back and forth between auto gain, and manual gain for your audio, and watch the meter. Notice how high the levels read without peaking on auto mode, and it will give you an idea of where you want to be if you're using manual mode. When I first got my XL2, my manually recorded audio tended to be quite low in post.
Also, be aware of how loud any background noise is. If you're getting a lot of background noise (you can see a pretty good level even when the person you're shooting isn't talking), you'll want to adjust your shooting setup to help compensate for this. For instance, use an off camera mic instead of the on-board shotgun, or move the camera closer to your subject.
Good luck, and I hope you love your camera as much as I love mine!

[Ian Stark]

Absolutely with you, Bert. Automatic can work out fine.

I am sometimes just a one person crew on some smaller corporate shoots, particularly interviews, and just don't have the capacity to keep a check on everything that's going on. I wouldn't dream of anything but fully manual on the video side but for audio I think the auto setting works nicely most of the time. However, I rarely use the stock mic and I do spend some time carefully placing/concealing a shotgun or lavalier.

Ian . . .

[Martin Catt]

So far, the autolevel on the XL2 hasn't let me down. For the most part, I use the stock mike with a fur windcover. It's usually just me, so I don't have time to ride the gain control for audio. I've used the autolevel with a shotgun mike, and again had no problems dealing with wildly varied sound levels.

That hasn't stopped me from replacing audio tracks with stuff I recorded with my MicroTrak and having to loop dialog when there was something in the background I didn't want (airplanes, mostly).

Martin

[Guy Godwin]

Originally Posted by Ryan Chaney

Make sure the mic attenuator is not on, that could be causing the quiet sound. It's a little switch inside the door that covers all the audio controls.

This was the fix...thanks!