GZ-HD7 with XLR audio adapters?
 

Hi All,

Anyone using their GZ-HD7 with an audio adapter such as a Beachtek or Studio 1? I've been trying my 2 GZ-HD7s with a Rode NTG-2 with both a Beachtek DXA-4P and a Studio 1 XLR-BP Pro and have noticed that while the audio is coming through quite low, perhaps -6db to -12db worse than expected. Batteries are fresh with the Rode, inputs set to MIC and adapter volume has been adjusted up and down to see if the camera's limiter is kicking in.

Now I realize that the camera's Plug In Power may be causing a compatibility problem, but the Studio 1 has a voltage block circuit that should be taking care of that. Any tips would be appreciated. Also, I'd love to hear about any experiences with this camera and the Beachtek DXA-2s or a JuicedLink box.

Thanks,

Hoi

The situation may be microphone unique. I'm currently using a NADY CM-2s condenser stereo mic (very close to AT's version, but less expensive at $120). This mic's output is quite hot, and needs control. I use a Sign Video XLR adapter. This is similar to, and I think much better, than BeachTek's original XLR-stereo mini adapters. With the pots set around 4-6 on a 10 scale I can manage incoming audio at -12 db, which is where I like the signal to be. Without the Sign Video Adapter incoming audio is completely distorted, in spite of the HD7's limiter.

I'm not familiar with the Rode (most of my experience is with dynamic microphones), but the experience I do have with battery powered condenser microphones is that they send a strong signal that almost always needs to be suppressed when fed to a video camera's audio system. A line input adjusted upwards sometimes yields better results.

Hi Waldemar,

Thanks for the feedback--you're right that this situation may be mic-specific, as I subsequently tested with a Sennheiser ME66 short shotgun and Sony ECM-44B lav with somewhat better results. Still, the ME66 wasn't peaking anywhere near as high as I expected given that it's such a hot mic. Like you, I would expect it to peg the meters regardless of the HD7's limiter.

When I get a moment, I think I'll feed the HD7s some tone from my Wendt X3 through the Studio 1 & the Beachtek set at line to see what happens. I'll report as I know more....

Hoi