Anyone Decided on a Mic for the AF100?

dbwolfe said:
the panasonic cameras do basically have a -10dB pad right? I mean you can select -50dB or -60dB sensitivity in the recording settings, so isn't that an in camera -10dB pad?
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No, thats not a pad and the audio will distort no matter if it is set to -50dB or -60dB when/if the signal is hot enough. That problem is solved with a pad that one can adjust the incoming signal with -10dB. Sometimes -20dB is necessary, and in extreme cases even -30dB. :)
 
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Has any one here experienced the need to use a inline pad with their camera mic on a HVX 200, 170 or 150?
If you are able to record undistorted audio on those other Panasonic cameras why will it be necessary to use a inline pad on the AF100?
 
Yak said:
Has any one here experienced the need to use a inline pad with their camera mic on a HVX 200, 170 or 150?
If you are able to record undistorted audio on those other Panasonic cameras why will it be necessary to use a inline pad on the AF100?
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I must use pads when i record music concerts with the 151 or 171, set to either -10dB or -20dB. If i not use the pads the signal is distorted. I use a AT825 stereo microphone. That mic does not give a hot signal.

I have not tested the 101 yet, so i cannot speak for the audio circuits in that camera. :)
 
Hi there -

i´ve read through nearly EVERYTHING, that is connected to the AF100/Mic question and till now didn´t find a CLEAR conformation about ONE unit, that could be used with the AF100, just out of the box.

How is that possible?!?
 
Shooter said:
I have shot plenty without a recordist but in that case.. I give a mic on a boom to anyone I can use including a client ...or use a radio mic with lav.
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"Recordists" .. that sounds like it garners more respect than our "Sound Guys" get :-)

But, I agree .. we're using the Rode NTG3 on a boom (which sounds almost as good
as the Sennheiser 416 and is waterproof!) .. or the Sennheiser G3 wireless lav (which is nicely quiet).
On the 300's we're using Lectro's .. which I dearly love.

On camera just picks up way too much environmental ambiance to hear dialog clearly (unless you're in a really
quiet space close to subject(s).

jeff
 
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mediaplexx said:
Hi there -

i´ve read through nearly EVERYTHING, that is connected to the AF100/Mic question and till now didn´t find a CLEAR conformation about ONE unit, that could be used with the AF100, just out of the box.

How is that possible?!?
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I'm not aware of any camera manufacturer that recommends or qualifies microphones for use. They publish the specs .. and if you know what you're
doing, you can find a mic that will work with it. Heck, even when you get an audio interface from Digidesign or something, they don't qualify them
for specific microphones.

jeff
 
jmarkham said:
"Recordists" .. that sounds like it garners more respect than our "Sound Guys" get :-)

But, I agree .. we're using the Rode NTG3 on a boom (which sounds almost as good
as the Sennheiser 416 and is waterproof!) .. or the Sennheiser G3 wireless lav (which is nicely quiet).
On the 300's we're using Lectro's .. which I dearly love.

On camera just picks up way too much environmental ambiance to hear dialog clearly (unless you're in a really
quiet space close to subject(s).

jeff
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Which inline pad/attenuator are you using with the RODE NTG-3 and the AF-100? (Shure?)
 
you know .. i bet at the -50dbu gain setting, the NTG3 would probably be OK .. it's just the mic-pre's
on cameras are pretty noisy.

jeff
 
Holy smokes. Jeez, now I know what a pad is!

Sound!
Okay, I read the entire post, and here's what I'm hearing.
For an AF100 on-cam mic, I'll need a -20 or -30 pad.

How about for a boom, still need a pad?

And the question of what mic is good is still up in the air.
For instance, let's say I'm doing test footage, or an audition.
I need audio. What mic is good for on-board?

Really, it's the only camera you have, and you want to shoot on a whim,
but you don't want it to sound like you just shot on a whim just in case you
record something you will end up using for something important.

For me I need something that I can put on the camera and also use as a boom.
In my uninformed mind, I was going to go ME66 K6 for indoor and the 416 for outdoor
and run straight into the AF100 as we did with the HPX170.
 
Unless you have a very sensitive mic, I don't believe you're going to need a pad with the AF100 for a mic with -30dbu or below (given the -50dbu
setting on the camera).

Basically .. the ratings are what voltage the microphone will emit at a given tone (usually at 1k so) at a given sound pressure level ( usually measured in
millivolts per Pascal) . A microphone with a higher sensitivity ( say -30dbu vs -60dbu ) will require less gain out of a pre-amp to reach the desired level
(hopefully less than -0db :-) ).

The AF100 can work with mic's that have a *minimal* sensitivity rating of -50dbu (setting 1) .. or -60dbu (setting 2). What that means is
that when you shop for microphones, you should look for mics that have a sensitivity rating *no worse than* -50dbu or -60dbu. When you choose
the -60dbu setting on the AF100, what you're basically doing is raising the noise floor of the microphone (along with signal content) to get
greater gain. Usually, this is a bad trade-off. Mics with better sensitivity ratings tend to have less self-noise .. and require less gain
from the pre-amp (another source of noise).

Let's say you mate a -30dbu microphone (like the NTG3) with the AF100 at its -50dbu setting. Does this mean that that the NTG-3 is
capable of saturating the AF100? Yes .. the AF100 at the max volume setting will clip. But .. if you turn the volume knob down such
that it attenuates at a gain reduction of 20db of the max gain of the pre-amp circuit, you won't. So .. turning the volume
level down means the mic-pre doesn't have to apply as much gain before the A/D converter and saturating it (which is bad).

At mic levels, ( < 0.5v ), the AF100 at -50dbu sensitivity is highly unlikely to saturate .. it's when you get above mic levels
that you'll likely need a pad.

Mics with greater sensitivity are usually more desirable for video work. For audio, mics with less sensitivity (like ribbons) are sometimes prized.. .but
you have to get pre's with large gain and low noise ... (very expensive). Where you may need a pad is if you are in a very noisy
environment (airport runway, etc). In those extreme examples (of SPL's > 100db) .. a pad may be necessary. That's where an
"on-mic" pad may be important to keep the capsule of the mic (itself) from saturating.

Other than that ... remember that the -50dbu and -60dbu ratings are for the *least* sensitive microphones the camera supports.

jeff
 
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My sound guy always has me set mine to -50.

Also, I love the 416 with my AF100, but as I have had to give it back to my sound guy while his is getting repaired, I am looking at getting a NTG-2 to use with mine in the mean time. It is a great bang for buck, but the 416 is def worth the money too.
 
Jan said pretty much uncategorically that the AF-100 needed a pad with mics with higer sensitivity (like the NTG-2 and NTG-3) that were too hot. That's why I bought one.

Jeff - your recommendation of just lowering the volume to compensate seems like it might work, in a way - but wouldn't that then limit your usable range for monitoring and capture, then? Wouldn't it be better (and result in sweeter audio) if you matched the levels and had more "play" and "headroom"?

(I'm not an audio guy, but trying to understand)
 
The 416 is a pretty sensitive boom .. the NTG2 or 3 will be no problem for you. Honestly, I think the NTG3 is very close to the
416, but not as sensitive ... your sound guy is right with the -50 setting .. you probably had to crank it down to a
10 o'clock or lower position.

jeff
 
Steve R said:
Jan said pretty much uncategorically that the AF-100 needed a pad with mics with higer sensitivity (like the NTG-2 and NTG-3) that were too hot. That's why I bought one.

Jeff - your recommendation of just lowering the volume to compensate seems like it might work, in a way - but wouldn't that then limit your usable range for monitoring and capture, then? Wouldn't it be better (and result in sweeter audio) if you matched the levels and had more "play" and "headroom"?

(I'm not an audio guy, but trying to understand)
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Well .. I'm by training an audio guy :-) used to work in a studio an all that and am a Protools certified operator and all that stuff :-).
Basically .. you just need to be sure that the gain applied by the mic-pre can be attenuated such that you don't exceed the
max sensitivity of your mic. Most mic's won't saturate the AF100 at an appropriate volume setting ... and that's by design.

jeff
 
jmarkham said:
you just need to be sure that the gain applied by the mic-pre can be attenuated such that you don't exceed the
max sensitivity of your mic. Most mic's won't saturate the AF100 ... and that's by design.
jeff
Click to expand...

Jeff, could you give a brief sep by step outline how to do it ?

Thanks !
 
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