At 2:36 PM +0000 2/6/07, gyr64fal wrote:
>Hello--
>
>I apologize for throwing a bunch of questions out all at once. I've
>been lurking here for a
>couple of months, and have tried to do a decent amount of research
>on some of the
>options. Still, I find myself with a lot to ask about...
>
>I've been recording birds and wildlife (mostly visuals, both still &
>video) for a couple of
>decades
>now. The audio I've done has been recorded with a Sony TCM-5000 or
>various MD units
>with a Sennheiser ME66 mic. So I'm not totally green, but pretty
>close, especially as
>regards some of the newer equipment.
>
>I'm now interested in producing a series of podcasts and video
>podcasts, and am looking
>for advice on audio equipment. I own a Canon GL1 miniDV camcorder.
>It captures audio,
>of course, but not all that well, and with lots of motor noise. I no
>longer have a good mic,
>but am considering another ME66. Should I:
>
>1. Get an XLR adapter for the GL1 (eg, Beachtek DXA-4P), and mount
>the ME66 onboard
>the camera.
Hi Jeffrey--
A Rolls PB224 for front end powering of condenser mics for unbalanced
mic input camcorders may out-perform the Beachtek units. I took one
listen with headphones to a Rolls and then a Beachtek (both connected
a Sony camcorder with manual gain) and I the former was clearly less
noisy. The Rolls requires an adapter cable like this for Rolls->
Camcorder Mic input:
http://www.audiogear.com/cgi-bin/shopper.cgi?key=AdptMniSP2Fxlr&preadd=action)
>
>2. Get a standalone recorder (I've looked at the Marantz PMD660, and
>the m-Audio
>Microtrack) for use with the ME66.
We now use the Rolls/Hi-MD recorder combo for every film/video sound
application we once used $1500+ "pro" recorders for. This seems to be
borne out by Raimund's chart and recordings he posted earlier this
week http://www.avisoft.com/recordertests.htm should money and the
number of units you need be an issue. Leaves us more $ for mics.
>
>Other than the obvious advantage of straight to disk storage of
>option 2 (no capture from
>DV tape needed) are there going to be massive quality advantages to
>a standalone
>recorder?
Recording "double system" is not the pain it once was with visual
waveforms to line-up in a timeline. I put separate lav/Hi-MD units
on every sound source I need and sync them all up later. One can
record, non stop, for nearly 8 hours with Hi-MD.
In terms of noise performance between your GL1's mic pre and the
HiMD's mic pre, you can determine this by conducting an "A/B" test
with a Rolls PB224: (A) low noise condenser mic -> PB224 -> GL1 mic
in and (B) low noise condenser mic -> PB224 -> Hi-MD mic in.
> Enough to compensate for having an extra device to fiddle with? Will the ME66
>still be plagued with motor noise if mounted onboard the GL1?
>
>My goal is to have audio of on-camera speakers & singers (human,
>avian, etc) that is not
>only clearly intelligible, but really adds to the experience of
>watching the video, and would
>be high enough quality to stand alone as an audio podcast.
>
>Finally, are there any other mics I should take a look at that would
>work for both
>interviews and bird songs?'
I use Panasonic WM-61a lavs -> (PIP) Hi-MD for interviews ("Low Sens"
setting) or a large condenser mic on stand. Mics for voice, location
ambience and isolated effects/calls in the field are often different
selections. Rob D.
>
>My sincere thanks to anyone attempting to tackle even a portion of this.
>
>Best,
>
>Jeff
>
>Jeffrey Gordon
>Lewes, DE
>USA
>www.jeffgyr.com
>
--
Rob Danielson
Peck School of the Arts
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
http://www.uwm.edu/~type/audio-art-tech-gallery/
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