do you need an audio mixer or is recording directly to the AF100's XLR's adequate???

N

Nicholas Natteau

Veteran
I was going to post this in audio but this is really more of an AF100 audio question.

If you have an excellent or top quality microphone like the Schoeps CMIT 5U, Neumann KMR 81i, Sanken CS3E, or Rode NTG-3, can you go straight to the AF100's XLR's inputs, or are you much better served getting a field mixer?

In other words is recording audio directly into the AF100's XLR inputs sufficient, or is a field mixer vital to ensure clean audio being recorded to the AF100?

And if so, what field mixer would you recommend for the AF100??? From the best or top quality to middle of the road to budget?
 
The Panasonics with XLRs have always had excellent sound recording capability.

Using a mixer in the line is a different proposition and done for other reasons.
 
As shooter said, a mixer is not absolutely necessary. You should be able to get clean audio without a problem directly into the camera.
That said, mixers are often used for a variety of reasons - it all depends on your situation, setup, and budget.
 
Nicholas Natteau said:
In other words is recording audio directly into the AF100's XLR inputs sufficient, or is a field mixer vital to ensure clean audio being recorded to the AF100?
Click to expand...

I agree with both of the above and add - are you a one man band or have an audio guy on hand?

Ive seen people almost hang themselves doing one man band stuff with a field mixer. Personally Id always prefer the sound guy and mixer, but hey - budgets are what they are.
 
That said, I would always expect higher quality from a dedicated mixer. I don't think a separate audio recorder is necessary, the AF100 does support 16-bit 48KHz LPCM uncompressed, but the preamps in an SD442 are almost unquestionably going to give you a noticeable improvement over using the preamps in the AF100 itself, just like the same situation on the DVX/HVX/HPX170.

That said, I would estimate that probably 90% of DVX/HVX/HPX170 shoots never bothered to use an external mixer and just recorded directly in-camera.
 
I use a Sound Devices 744T for my recording when I use my GH2, other DSLRs, or when I'm recording sound for other people. What I like about having a camera with XLR inputs again is that I can now record a variety of options for audio by including my 744T such as:

- 1 boom and up to 5 wireless lavs
- up to 6 wireless lavs
- 2 booms and up to 4 wireless lavs

Nice to have those options, but now I have to order more wireless lavs and another mic.
 
Thanks everybody. I forgot to mention that this would be strictly for one on one interviews where I'm interviewing only one person. I gather then that hardware wise, investing in a decent to top quality microphone is sufficient to get good audio into the AF100.
 
Nicholas Natteau said:
Thanks everybody. I forgot to mention that this would be strictly for one on one interviews where I'm interviewing only one person. I gather then that hardware wise, investing in a decent to top quality microphone is sufficient to get good audio into the AF100.
Click to expand...

I would imagine that would depend on the client's expectations and needs.
As an example... I have clients where a Sennheiser G3 wireless with Countryman mic run directly into the camera is fine for a quick interview.
I also have clients where a sit down interview involves a hidden Lav mic for backup, a boom mic, and a mixer. Clients like this generally know that by starting with a higher quality audio product in production, they will need to spend less time in audio post work.
I think the key here is to know your client, and equip accordingly.

All the Best!

Dave
 
Unless i have an audio guy with his own mixer, i ALWAYS have an sd302 to control audio levels. The preamps are better, and there us also less of a chance of nudging the camera adjusting the pots on the af100, since it is such a small camera.
 
OK, but if this is strictly for one on one interviews, am I covered with the Sound Devices 302 or even the Mix Pre? I believe the 552 with its 5-channels is more than I would ever need.

My interest in the mixer would be to diminish the noise level I continue to hear even after I lower the volume level on the AF100 Channel 1 XLR input. This weekend, I used a Shoeps MK41 with my AF100, and even after lowering the Channel 1 volume, I was still getting quite a lot of noise. Would the SD 302 or SD Mixpre for example allow me to get much cleaner sound coming into my AF100???
 
24 bit is the standard. 16 bit can be good, but for many reasons falls short of 24 bit.
What Panasonic does is give you solid audio that is a cut above most in-camera audio--so it is a step up that comes closer to outboard 24 bit sound.
It doesn't give you the flexibility of 24 bit or multitracking in post. Panasonic generally has pretty good 16 bit converters.
 
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