Confused about Lavs with XLR adapter to camera

L

lubesicle

Member
Hey guys,

I'm a little confused about recording levels running from a Sennheiser G2 wireless lav through a Beachtek DXA-SLRPRO through to a Canon 7D (AGC now disabled).

I've been trying to find how to adjust audio levels online...the best I found was Guy Cochran's from dvestore...but with my setup I'm still a little confused.

I adjust the transmitter to my actor's voice so there's half a signal level readout (this case about -18db).
then on the receiver, I do the same thing with the AF out (also -18db).
then on the Canon 7D I adjust it to 25% of manual audio gain (like the Beachtek manual says)
and then I adjust the Beachtek to whatever to get a fat enough signal.

Is anyone else doing it like this? I realize the transmitter probably needs to be adjusted the most b/c the actor's voice volume can change.

Thank you in advance!
Erik
 
lubesicle said:
Hey guys,

I'm a little confused about recording levels running from a Sennheiser G2 wireless lav through a Beachtek DXA-SLRPRO through to a Canon 7D (AGC now disabled).

I've been trying to find how to adjust audio levels online...the best I found was Guy Cochran's from dvestore...but with my setup I'm still a little confused.

I adjust the transmitter to my actor's voice so there's half a signal level readout (this case about -18db).
then on the receiver, I do the same thing with the AF out (also -18db).
then on the Canon 7D I adjust it to 25% of manual audio gain (like the Beachtek manual says)
and then I adjust the Beachtek to whatever to get a fat enough signal.

Is anyone else doing it like this? I realize the transmitter probably needs to be adjusted the most b/c the actor's voice volume can change.

Thank you in advance!
Erik
Click to expand...

First question: how does it sound now? If it sounds great, don't do anything differently.

That said...

IMO the first rule of thumb is to adjust the transmitter first, for the max AF level before clipping on any given actor/talent/situation. You're right - this needs to be set properly for each different talent. If you're using different lav mics, then you'll need to set it for each mic. I'm not sure if "half" is right for the Sennheiser - I would experiment to see how high you can set it before you see more than a few brief OL lights. -12 might be better, or -6. Try for yourself.

If the BeachTek unit wants to see mic level, then -18 out of the receiver is probably OK. Then, as the Beachtek manual says, set the camera input level accordingly.

What do the audio meters in the camera read? You should be getting a nice healthy level that hovers around zero and goes a bit over on peaks, but does not reach the "red" end of the scale.
 
Why are you leaving the transmitter at 50%? You want it as high as possible without overloading. Do not try to influence the output of the receiver by adjusting the transmitter input level. - you want the transmitter to be fully modulated so set it as high as possible, stopping just below where the yellow AF Peak LED is giving the slightest flicker on the peakiest of the peaks. Once the transmitter is set for a given setup, all further adjustments to recording levels are done with the receiver output, the Beach's gain, and the camera inputs.
 
thanks for the replies karlw and steve. much appreciated. going to try what you guys suggested.

the reason i put it the transmitter at 50% was because of this video

https://vimeo.com/2280395

if you start at about 5:05, Guy Cochran says you should let it ride the numbers about halfway.

I don't know much about him, or if he's a sound guy or not, but it seemed like one of the better (and only) tutorials for this on the web. definitely would like to know if it's a misleading video though.

karlw, if i hovered around zero dB, wouldn't i have very little room for safety before clipping?

i shoot a lot of weddings and have started to mic up the groom but have never really known the best levels.
 
lubesicle said:
https://vimeo.com/2280395

if you start at about 5:05, Guy Cochran says you should let it ride the numbers about halfway.

I don't know much about him, or if he's a sound guy or not, but it seemed like one of the better (and only) tutorials for this on the web. definitely would like to know if it's a misleading video though.
Click to expand...

No, it's not misleading. It's a great tutorial on setting up a G2 system. Guy is playing it a little more conservatively with the transmitter levels than I and likely some others would. I set mine so that it peaks around the second-to-last meter segment at the loudest points. You have to have your talent sound check "at performance level," meaning you have the person deliver lines as if for the final take on camera. People tend to sound check at a lower level, and then once the interview or performance begins they're much louder even to the point of clipping. If you can coach your talent past a quiet sound check, you'll be in a better place.
 
I set my Sennheiser G2/3 input levels basically the same as Alex..
The Sennheiser EK100 receiver's AF output adjustment does not change it's meter reading.
FWIW, I set AF out to -18dB or -12dB for a MIC level input. YMMV depending on the transmitter's settings.
 
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