GH2 Beachtek DXA-SLR questions

S

smoke23

Active member
I saw that the beachtek has an aux input on it. I'm not seeing anywhere on there that controls that input. Has anyone used the aux input and how do you control it? What I'm wanting to do is use my phantom powered shotgun mic and my audio-technica Pro 88w wireless mic through the aux input?

If I switch the beacktek to mono will this record each input to separate left and right channels?

What's the difference if I switched it to stereo? Would they both be mixed together then?

Thanks!
 
smoke23 said:
What I'm wanting to do is use my phantom powered shotgun mic and my audio-technica Pro 88w wireless mic through the aux input?
Click to expand...

Yes... you can do this. That's one of the reasons the Aux input is there. I'm not sure if it's the Left or the Right level knob that controls the Aux input, but if I had to guess, I'd say it's the Left.

smoke23 said:
If I switch the beacktek to mono will this record each input to separate left and right channels?
Click to expand...

No. Switching it to Mono will print the Left/Aux input to both channels. If you're using two mics, you defintely want to have it in Stereo mode.

smoke23 said:
What's the difference if I switched it to stereo? Would they both be mixed together then?
Click to expand...

No... stereo doesn't mix the two channels together. It's the opposite. It keeps them separated. When you switch it to Mono, only one input will be active (I believe the Left/Aux input), and it will print that input to both tracks in the camera. The Mono mode is for people who only want to use one mic, and to have that audio printed to both tracks so that they don't have to duplicated the audio in post so it plays out of both speakers.
 
Thanks Sam. Appreciate the information. I read your blog about the beachtek and I'm swaying more that way. I need something for a run and gun situation because I'm mostly using my GH2 for wedding videography. Would you recommend this for a run and gun setup or would you still recommend a dual system (I do have access to a H4 recorder).
 
smoke23 said:
Thanks Sam. Appreciate the information. I read your blog about the beachtek and I'm swaying more that way. I need something for a run and gun situation because I'm mostly using my GH2 for wedding videography. Would you recommend this for a run and gun setup or would you still recommend a dual system (I do have access to a H4 recorder).
Click to expand...

With a paying customer in a situation like a wedding shoot, if I had to choose between the two, I would probably use the H4n with a Sescom output & monitoring cable. The problem with just using the Beachtek is that you only get one copy of audio recorded into the camera. With the H4n you can record a copy into the Zoom, and use the Sescom output cable to record a 2nd copy into the camera. It's more work, and more of a pain in the butt... but, shooting weddings is work. I would opt for making a redundant copy of the audio over trying to make a shortcut for an easier gig.
 
Thanks Sam. I've got an H4 and I noticed it has an input for headphone monitoring already on it. With that being the case, should I just got the regular sescom cable and not the one with the monitoring adapter?

If I do decide to go the dual system route, would there be any reason to get the beachtek then? I've been deciding between it and the juicedlink DT454 and from reading your review, I think the beacktek would be a better option for me if I decide to buy one.
 
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