newbie lame question
 

Hello, I just got a vx2000 yesterday and have fooled with it some. I know the audio speaker is capable of little volumn. I recorded bout 15 minutes of video around the house and can tell no discernable difference in the audio automatic and manuel settings. In fact with volumn turned up voices can barely be heard. How do Increase audio recording level. I set to manuel but seemed to make no difference when I increased or decrease level.

not stupid jes ignert

Please try to use describing titles regarding what the post is
actually about when creating a thread. There are no newbie/
lame questions here. So a better title in this case would have
been "audio recording problems" for example.

I don't have your specific camera so cannot help you out in
this regard. If no-one else joins in in a couple of days create
another thread with a more correct title. Thank you.

Good luck!


<< from Chris -- I edited the thread title -- C.H. >>

You do have to monitor sound with earphones because, as you noted, the on-board speaker is almost useless.

Once you do that, the changes in volume should be apparent when you change levels in manual mode.

Thank you Mike. Would a relatively cheap pair of headphones suffice. I'm in the process of reading the user's manuel but for someone who has never used a video camera it's kind of frustrating when the fundamentals & terminology isn't understood. I have seen a video that explaines camera operation of the vx2000. I was wondering if this is something that might be helpful.

Thank for any help you might provide Mike.
Rob in the future I'll try to be more aware of thread protocol.

These products don't come with operating manuals that are even as good as software manuals.

Go to the local library and see what they have. They probably have both books and video tapes on camera operation. Not specifically for your camera but sort of a generic coverage.

For Web-based information, this is a good starting site:
http://www.urbanfox.tv/workbooks/index.htm
Not specifically on the 2000 but on the Pro-brother, the PD150.

The cheapest headphones you can find are better than nothing. Even ear buds will work.

What you want out of a set of headphones is a full ear cup that cuts out environmental sounds and a good headphone response so you can hear the nuances of the sound.

Truth is what you really want is to be able to use the headphones to:

1. Set levels
2. Notice and find 'bad' noise like a refrigerator before you record the video.

As Mike points out, you'll come to realize that it's really not just the level you're trying to look out for, it's 'bad' sounds. Charles a couple of things to look out for as you read up on the sound part of videography. First, the automatic gain on the camera will sometimes cause pickup of unwanted sounds when the sounds you want to pick up (like voices) are quiet for a moment. For any serious recording you'll want to use the manual control with the sound level displayed on the LCD for you to see (there's a separate button that brings the level indicator into view).

Second, depending on whether you're just using for home use or not, you need to understand how the mic works relative to the video. The built in mic is ok for home use, etc., but you will pick up noise whenever your sound sources are any distance away from the mic (because their level relative to other 'bad' sounds will decrease quickly). Professionals solve this problem by using separate mics that are closer to sound sources, and either hook those mics separately into the camera (usually through use of XLR adaptors -- Beechtech, etc.) or by just recording sound separate from video and combining the two in postproduction editing.

If you're just getting started and want to use it for the family, a reasonable set of headphones and the audio level display should get you by. (Note that 'good' headphones for your stereo, etc. are often open-ear to improve bass response -- those don't do well for use with the camera because you don't want to hear outside sounds).

Lots to throw at you, and lots of interesting things to learn. Hope that helps.