Sound Recording Quality on the EX-3

[oliverochous]

Has anyone had great success (as far as experiencing great quality) in recording audio directly on the EX-3 to the point they've foregone the use of a independent audio recorder (i.e. DAT recorder)? I'm looking to budget a project and I'm not sure whether to add a sound man with gear or simply allow all audio to be recorded by the camera.

Thanks in advance.

Lou
(Florida, USA)

[PerroneFord]

If my shoot is important enough to warrant 24bit recording, I shoot to an external recorder. If 16bit is good enough, I roll to the camera unless I need more tracks.

[bob jackson]

Remember you get what you pay for.If the shot is important , a separate audioman/recorder would be worth it.
I recently did a shoot with a F1 racer, and did it by myself.Terrible 60 hz hum would have been discovered and fixed onsite. I had forgotten my headset.

[Ted@TNT]

If you do record in camera, it's a good idea to spend time adjusting the audio trims to your mics carefully beforehand. Then, once the trims are set, you can adjust as necessary with the level controls on the side of the camera.

[Ted@TNT]

Remember you get what you pay for.If the shot is important , a separate audioman/recorder would be worth it.
I recently did a shoot with a F1 racer, and did it by myself.Terrible 60 hz hum would have been discovered and fixed onsite. I had forgotten my headset.

Oh, and don't forget your headphones! ;-)

[bob jackson]

Audio trim takes some time to figure out.
triming -dbu increases volume, +dbu decreases. Been awhile since i set mine.
Prober volume levels ended being -44dbu .

[Huy Vu]

Always add a sound guy if you can afford it. Nobody wants to be distracted trying to monitor sound and the shot at the same time. I'm sure you can get perfectly usable audio from the mic preamp, it's just always better to have a dedicated sound person on set.

[adamr316]

The EX1/3 has audio quality that surpases old Nagra systems (analog) and is equal or better than DAT recorders of yore. This is really one of the overlooked areas of the EX cameras (maybe because the picture quality upstages it?)

What type of project are you working on, Lou? In all honesty 16-bit is fine for most purposes. 24-bit audio has its uses (mainly in music studios where a lot of audio mixing occurs) but I would go to bat and say your budget 24-bit recorder's preamps and circuitry are no better and possibly worse than the EX1/3's audio section. See http://aamserver.dnsalias.com/basspig/CameraAudioTests.htm for more.

[adamr316]

P.S. I would recommend an audio person and plug him/her into the EX3. It's always better to have an experienced audio engineer on hand rather than just hand the boom stick to a random PA.

[oliverochous]

First of all, thank you all for responding, I truly appreciate your time and effort. Second, I'm budgeting for a feature, (a straight to video release) and wasn't sure if I should include a sound man.

This will be my second feature, I do know the value of having an experienced sound man on set. I did my own sound for my first feature, "6 Angels" and it was a handful to say the least. Thank you again and good luck with your endeavors.

Lou
(Florida, USA)

[adamr316]

Yes, budget for a sound man. Audio quality is probably the weakest link in most indy movies. But you can hook his/her mixer that would normally run into an audio recorder directly into your EX-3. As an added benefit you don't need to waste "tape" with clappers and later on syching audio up in post...it's all there you for.

If you were doing orchestral recordings or something I may say different but for dialogue/nat sound and whatnot that's recorded on-location the EX3 is more than fine.