countryman b3 directly connected to 5d mark III

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payal_choksi

Well-known member
hi folks,

i just got countryman b3 lavalier with the locking 3.5mm in the end. when i connected it directly to my 5d mark iii, it was able to record it. i thought b3 lavaliers required phantom power to turn it on, but this lav starts recording when connected to 5d, maybe it's getting the power it requires to turn on from the 5d itself.

i just wanted to know, that if this works with 5d, can it work with zoom h1? i will be needing extension wire since the wire provided with the b3 is very short in length.

if i use extension wire and connect it to 5d, am i committing some mistakes?
 
Most 1/8" "mic in jacks" supply "plug in power". That is basically what the lav mic capsule needs (I know brad generalization but close enough for this point). Phantom power is designed to travel a distance on a balanced mic cable and then get knocked down to what the capsule needs by circuits in the mic itself.

Not all lav mics are wired the same and you should never, in the audio world anyway, plug something in just because it fits. I'm not sure what protections are built in but just plugging it in to see if it works always runs the risk of damaging one or both devices.

I know sound companies and theatres that used tree prong twist-Lock connectors for speaker connections. But pluging that speaker cable into a lighting socket would be a very un-fun thing to do.

That mic plug will also fit in a headphone jack. Do that and play some loud music and you probably could fry the mic.

Just because you can doesn't mean you should.

Since it survived I'm guessing it's compatible. As far as I know there is only one flavor of Plug-In Power so it should work with other 1/8" mic jacks.

Couple of things though. Those jacks are generally stereo inputs. So depending on how things are wired internally and how the connector connects, you will be getting signal on only one side. What is on the other could be anything from silence or quiet static to nasty noise. The danger is if the dead side is getting strong "junk" on it you might get some breed over to the channel you want. So I would test first.
 
"Those jacks are generally stereo inputs. So depending on how things are wired internally and how the connector connects, you will be getting signal on only one side. What is on the other could be anything from silence or quiet static to nasty noise. The danger is if the dead side is getting strong "junk" on it you might get some breed over to the channel you want. So I would test first."
Yes test first. If there's no bleed, the unused track can usually be easily removed in your NLE.

"i just wanted to know, that if this works with 5d, can it work with zoom h1?"
-Yes, providing the 'plug-in power' is enabled. On some of the Zoom recorders, the 'plug-in power' must be activated via the software menu. (a nice feature IMO)

"Pluging that speaker cable into a lighting socket would be a very un-fun thing to do."
- FWIW: When I was a little kid (many moons ago), I wired an AC plug to my older brother's 12 inch speaker cabinet.. and plugged it in.... BANG!
 
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the guy at the store first inquired about the cam and specifically gave this lav that can be used with 5d mark III.
 
you would want a mixer (sound devices,tascam, beachtek, etc). or a single mic amp. or simply go wireless and plug receiver into 5d. either way phantom power and a way to make the signal hi z to lo (or vise versa, i can never remember).
 
If the mic has a mini-plug, it can be connected directly. An XLR needs a preamp or mixer with Phantom Power and mic level output, (low.. -50 to -60dB nominal) connected in an unbalanced config. Either way, the audio capabilities suck on DSRLs and it won't sound stellar by any means (depending on one's expectations of course).
 
payal_choksi said:
the guy at the store first inquired about the cam and specifically gave this lav that can be used with 5d mark III.
Click to expand...

Lav's come in different flavors, you can probably get any to work with any thing IF you wire them correctly. Which was my point. IF it's wired for one it may not be wired for the other. Not aperently a problem now but you should keep it in mind for the future.
 
Rick R said:
If the mic has a mini-plug, it can be connected directly. An XLR needs a preamp or mixer with Phantom Power and mic level output, (low.. -50 to -60dB nominal) connected in an unbalanced config. Either way, the audio capabilities suck on DSRLs and it won't sound stellar by any means (depending on one's expectations of course).
Click to expand...

rightly said rick...my lav doesn't sound stellar when connected to my dslr...will it make a difference in the sound quality if i connect it to tascam digital recorder? does recorder make a difference to the quality of sound recorded?
 
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Yes. Or at least it can. DSLR's have poor audio sections because, well they are for taking pictures and sound is kind of an extra. Just about any audio recorder will have better audio circuitry. The second issue is that many (all?) DSLR's record audio in a losy compressed format. So the double hit is lower quality coming in and then that signal is crunched down.

Mic placement though will in general have a bigger impact. A well placed mic recorded at a good level into a DSLR will probably sound better than a badly placed mic at a les good level into a high end recorder.
 
"will it make a difference in the sound quality if i connect it to tascam digital recorder?"
- It should

"Does the recorder make a difference to the quality of sound recorded?"
- In this case, yes. Otherwise a high quality preamp.. many variables. This has been discussed a great length here and elsewhere. Search. no easy answers with budget gear.. The operator's skill level still makes the most difference..
 
when i connect my b3 directly or through extension, into the 5d i get audio in only one channel, even though the 3.5mm is stereo. why is it so?
 
The 3.5mm is NOT stereo it is TRS (Tip Ring Sleeve) for the mic that is. Your camera is expecting a stereo signal on the TRS input, but your mic is mono.

This goes back to the just because it fits...

However if you are not getting really nasty junk on the "dead" channel you can just remove it in post. You will also want to center the one you do use.
 
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