Will plugging a mic directly into the camera effect the quality if audio?

Rylan Zolinski

Rylan Zolinski

Well-known member
I can not afford a mixer, so I have to plug the mic directly into my camera (XL2).

I just bought the Rode NTG2, so I am curious...

Also, I need help with buying the accessories with the mic itself. What else do I need for it?
 
it does , but you cant aford better solution,
you need suspension mount wind protection and boom if you like work with mic not on the camera .
 
Oleg 2 said:
it does , but you cant aford better solution,
you need suspension mount wind protection and boom if you like work with mic not on the camera .
Click to expand...

How big of a difference in quality should I expect?
 
big one if you consider recording quit seans and need to push the signal or extrimly loud signal and avoid from clipping you need some better preamp
sorry nothing new under the sun , companies who build optics really dont bother to suply you not the image part.

the canon has the worst preamps between all the dv cameras exept the sony 150/170
.
quit depends on the situation you are and what is the final product and where do you show it ,
if it for wedding or eng stuff - it really doesnt matter , if you consider go to cinema release find other solution
better mics is also something to consider .
 
Morox,

As far as the additional accessories go, please read the stickies at the top of the forum. They are all outlined there.

Phil
 
Oleg 2 said:
big one if you consider recording quit seans and need to push the signal or extrimly loud signal and avoid from clipping you need some better preamp
sorry nothing new under the sun , companies who build optics really dont bother to suply you not the image part.

the canon has the worst preamps between all the dv cameras exept the sony 150/170
.
quit depends on the situation you are and what is the final product and where do you show it ,
if it for wedding or eng stuff - it really doesnt matter , if you consider go to cinema release find other solution
better mics is also something to consider .
Click to expand...
I don't know how people can afford all of this stuff. I am a student going to school in the fall and on my spare time, I want to make films, but I will be extremely poor. I am trying to grab the necessities. I purchased a boom pool for the mic and all I need now is a windshield.

Oh yeah, I don't know if I should get a deadcat or just a regular windshield?
 
Last edited:
One thing you can try if your XL2 can record seperately on two channels from one mic, set one channel in the range that you would normally record at and the other considerably lower. This way if you get sudden louds noises like doors slamming or cars backfiring or someone shouting, you have an audio track that won't be blown out like the normally set channel will likely be. You can mix those two channels in post as needed.
 
The Rode dead cat fits over the standard foam that comes with the mic. It is a good $40 solution in low-mid wind enviornments. I got one when I was starting out and thought it was a smart buy. The next step up is the k-tek kzepp and it is $3-400. I think if you are low on cash the dead cat will work.

Try to get some good headphones (Sony 7506 $100) then you will know right away if you are getting wind noise and cancel/move the shot.

People afford this stuff the same way that you got the XL2, they just put more priority on audio. Remember, sound is 50% of your film!
 
saneproductions said:
The Rode dead cat fits over the standard foam that comes with the mic. It is a good $40 solution in low-mid wind enviornments. I got one when I was starting out and thought it was a smart buy. The next step up is the k-tek kzepp and it is $3-400. I think if you are low on cash the dead cat will work.

Try to get some good headphones (Sony 7506 $100) then you will know right away if you are getting wind noise and cancel/move the shot.

People afford this stuff the same way that you got the XL2, they just put more priority on audio. Remember, sound is 50% of your film!
Click to expand...
Oh, so the mic actually comes with the standard windshield?

I have another question. What kind of cable will I need for the mic? I noticed that the onboard mic for the XL2 is a dual prong. I am not too educated in this department. I am sort of confused as what to get...
I am struggling to figure out everything I need... Some of the stickies just make it for confusing...
 
saneproductions said:
Yes, but the foam windscreen is only good for dead calm days. Wind will ruin the shot.

You need to get the MA-300 Microphone Adapter (2 XLR inputs) in order to hook up a professional microphone.

You really should get Jay Rose's book (I did)

http://www.dplay.com/book/pgs2e/index.html#buy

There is only so much info you can get here
Click to expand...
The XL2 already has two XLR inputs though? Or am I missing something?
 
Last edited:
I don't know, the xl1 had to have an adapter like this. Does your xl2 have xlr inputs? I looked at the canon website and I couldn't tell. XLR inputs are round with three holes.

Are you going to get Jay's book?
 
Morox said:
Oh, so the mic actually comes with the standard windshield?

I have another question. What kind of cable will I need for the mic? I noticed that the onboard mic for the XL2 is a dual prong. I am not too educated in this department. I am sort of confused as what to get...
I am struggling to figure out everything I need... Some of the stickies just make it for confusing...
Click to expand...

this threw me off about the xlrs, sorry.

follow the link to amazon, so jay gets the sale. I am sure you can get it without too much hassle.
 
It is a good idea to get star quad XLR cables to reject interference (jay's book explains why). All of the cable that they sell at trewaudio.com is star quad and they have a canadian location.

I am only hasseling you because I really love this book and it will answer almost all of the questions you could have. You will be here within a week answering everyone else's questions (and telling then to get jay's book)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top