D7100 audio - next step?

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nikonme

Member
I do video of nature outdoors - mostly birds. Right now I'm just using the D7100 as is and I'm very much a novice when it comes to editing. All my recording is done in quiet places, that is with no human caused noises. However they all have the annoying constant background hiss noise (not wind), and the bird sounds are not as clear/loud as I'd like. Most of the time I'm trying to record the "landscape" rather than a single bird.

I imagine an external mic is the next step to achieve better audio quality. Are the Rode shotgun mics a big step up, or should I look at something else for this type of shooting? I'm guessing they're not ideal because I need to capture sound coming not only from the front, but sides etc too, i.e. when birds are flying about in a flock.

Am I better off with an external audio recorder of some sort, then mix in the audio during editing (will big a big learning curve for me but I'm keen)?

I don't have a huge budget for gear but I definitely want to get better audio than I'm currently able to. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
 
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If you want to capture audio from all around you, then don't get a shotgun mic. Even on a low budget, you can get a portable recorder for ~$100 that's significantly better than what's internal to the camera. Of course, if you can spend more you'll get better results. Be sure to also get a cord to connect the recorder to the camera so that it will be easier to sync. Read the audio section for recommendations.
 
Thank you.
I've done a lot of reading over the past day. I'm thinking a Juicedlink preamp might be the way to go (also looked at Tascam and Zoom H6 but perhaps to complex for my amateur needs at this point). The question will still remain as to mic/s.... even a shotgun, for when birds are directly in front, is unlikely to have the range/distance required for the purpose without spending $xxxx. I'm generally shooting between 300-500mm focal length.

For more environmental recording, something like this looks interesting, but I'm going on very little knowledge at this point.
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/772101-REG/mitra_corp__arm3dmpv3_3d_mic_pro.html

Still lots of learning to do clearly...
 
I'd advise you research capturing stereo sound for what you're doing as well. Lots of production gear is focused on "the interview" or an actor's dialogue and eliminating extraneous sound. I imagine you want to capture an aural "sense" of the environment. If there's a way to do that at high quality, and also send a feed to the camera for synch, seems optimal to me.

You would need to develop a process to keep files organized - start the recorder, start the camera, say " shot one" or something, and have a visual reference (like a clap board or clapping hands) that's in the video and the audio. An assistant really help with that, but you may be able to come up with something... maybe just tossing stick against a tree...

Even a cheap wireless mic could be rigged to get the sound from the recorder into the camera and save a cable, unless everything is attached to you. The sound going to the camera doesn't need to be stereo or great quality... just enough to align the sounds when you edit.
 
Thanks Michael. Some good things to think about there.
I ended up getting the Juicedlink RM333. I should be able to give it a test this weekend but I have not purchased any decent mics yet, until I can figure out the basics.
I've certainly noticed that most material I read is about recording people talking, rather than natural sounds outdoors. Yes, the question is is there a way to do that at high quality and capture it in camera (via juicedlink). I still don't know which mic (or mics, ideally one for surround sound, another to target a specific bird/animal) would be suitable. But I am considering the Sennheiser ME67 as a long directional shotgun for subject targeting.

This is probably as close to what I need as I've found. They do professional audio nature records, no video. Out of my budget for now but I think it might be the direction to go, if it'd work with video?
http://www.listeningearth.com.au/bl...al-microphone-for-nature-soundscape-recording
 
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Post your question in the audio section. There are a lot of very knowledgeable people there, and you will get some good suggestions.
 
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