DIY- XLR to 2.5mm Microphone Cable for GH1/GH2

ConnerWilsonMedia

ConnerWilsonMedia

Member
Hey everyone,

I recently made myself a female XLR to male mono 2.5mm audio cable, for connecting my HTDZ-HT320A shotgun mic, to my GH1. So far, it has worked great, and i'm really happy with the results! The cable was surprisingly easy to make, after following a diagram, and doing a bit of soldering.. i was done, and it only cost me $8.50 :D

I have put together a short video explaining the cable, if you would like to put one together for yourself. IMO it's well worth it.. no more ADAPTERS!

Take care, Conner.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LvzBZCf9gic&list=UUgER6vnTcmIgxzWqDcQoNwQ&index=2&feature=plcp
 
Thanks a lot for a useful info. Just what I will need next. Actually I would need it tomorrow morning, but I don't have the 2.5 mm part right now. I noticed you had the MD adapter that starts with F, does your infinity focus come a lot before the focus ring is at infinity? If so, might want to consider Pixco adapter, the F adapter is nearly one millimeter short. Or at least used to be when I compared the adapters a year ago.
 
This looks like a good DIY, but you may run into impedance issues.
You may want to go with a cable like this one http://bhpho.to/HGdpD9 which rises the impedance form the mic to the higher impedance of the jack input. You are then free to adapt it with a micro jack plug if you want.
I know it's not DIY, but it will give you a much better sound.
 
Aki_Hartikainen, Thanks for you response, yes I am using the FOTGA MD to M4/3 adapter, to attach my Tokina 28-80mm. I'm not sure how to accurately test the infinity focus, other than focusing on a distant object, such as trees? I noticed that the trees become into focus, at the 20ft marking on the lens, when using the lens at 80mm. When i focus to the infinity marking on the lens (which is just after the 20ft) things become out of focus. I'll have a look at the Pixco adapter that you mentioned also.
 
Hey Phenixone, thanks for your reply. I don't know alot about sound, so to be honest with you, i'm not even sure what 'impendence' means:huh: But hey, if you say it'll give be better audio, than I guess it can't hurt to check it out, thanks!
 
In layman's words, it has to do with the volume of the signal. The mic has low impedance and the GH2 needs a higher impedance so the sound comes too quiet into the camera, forcing you to push the volume up and bringing in noise. With the impedance adapter, you keep your volume to 1 and you reduce the background noise.
Your cable will work fine for editing sound, but if you plan on using the sound for the final product, I recommend using the impedance adapter

As an image, you plug your ipod into a pair of speakers. if the volume on your ipod is low, you will push the volume on the speakers therefore hear a "shhhhhh" sound with your music. Not ideal.
So you put the volume up on th ipod, and reduce the level from the speakers, then you are good to go and can listen to Rebecca Black in good conditions.
You can ear the music in both situation, only the second one is better quality.
 
Phenixone said:
So you put the volume up on th ipod, and reduce the level from the speakers, then you are good to go and can listen to Rebecca Black in good conditions...
Click to expand...

Haha :grin: Okay, it makes sense to me now, thanks for the explanation :smile: I actually did notice quite alot of noise in the audio, when i played it back. I'm not sure if this was due to the GH1's AGC or the cable :S I'm looking at getting a ZOOM H1 or a Tascam dr-05, then syning the audio in post. Would you recommend using this impedance adapter cable to connect my HTDZ HT-320a to the recorder?
 
If you plan on using an external recorder, you won't need this adapter as the recorder is made for pro mics with XLR.
You may want to go with another cable to plug it to your camera and have a backup sound. Here: http://bhpho.to/IKnnaV (make sure you get the one for GH2 as Sescom has a series of cables that look alike but have different functions. The link is the good one)

Another thing. Make sure to check ou the battery life of the recorders. Those things are battery hogs! (about 1h for the Zoom...)

My solution: I use the impedance adapter with a mic for basic sound.
When I need a better quality, it usually go for a sound engineer who comes with his own pro recorder (liks sound devices). In which case I will plug the Sescom adapter to feed the output to my camera only for backup as not great quality (sometimes through a wireless module like Sennheiser) follow my drift?

EDIT: made a drawing for it ;)
sound.jpg
 
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