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Re: Newbie question: XLR for camcorder vs. digital recorder

Subject: Re: Newbie question: XLR for camcorder vs. digital recorder
From: "Rob Danielson" danielson_rob
Date: Tue Feb 6, 2007 8:52 am ((PST))
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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