does inside mic follow zoom in 100a?

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My inside mic is too quiet. Also it does not seem to pick sound starting a few feet away. And does it suppose to follow zoom, cause mine does not? Any settings I need to adjust or is it a known feature? Thanks in advance
 
Re: does inside mic follow zoom in 100a?

Hi Natalie,

Does everything sound quiet or is the problem picking up voices from people not near the camera? Have you set your levels so you're seeing 2-3 red bars lighting up on the level meter?

The DVX on-board mic will not "zoom" with the image.  There really is no such thing as a "zoom" mic, although there are some cheap mics advertised that way.  The on-board mic is ok for picking up a subject right next to the camera or for capturing ambient noise, but beyond that its usefulnesss is limited.  Like most of us on the board, I think you're at a point where you need a separate high quality microphone--try reading the audio FAQ and checking out some of the mic threads in the Audio section.

Whatever microphone you use, it usually needs to be close to the source of the sound--on a close camera, or attached to a boom pole, or attached to the talent (a lavalier).
 
Re: does inside mic follow zoom in 100a?

yeah zoom mics are kinda funky.. its not the mic actually the camera just boosts the signal as you go along. I remember having a cheap Sharp DV cam that had 2 elements, one shotgun and one wide, and supossivly it would switch to the shotgun past a certain zoom point. I dont know if it actually did or not, all i know is it sounded like crap.
 
Re: does inside mic follow zoom in 100a?

I adjusted audio levels on the side of the camera to the highest and still the sound is much inferiour to my previous Sony camera (it's hardly ever go to the red bars if the speaking person is 2-3 meters away). Is there is anything else I can do to improve on-board mic reception (and of course I am going to get a separate mic, found nice tips already, great site:)?
 
Re: does inside mic follow zoom in 100a?

.. well if your levels are at max for the onboard mic i dont really think your improoving your audio as much as making it full of noise.. but no theres nothing else you can do.. its really made to work with external mics more than to rely on its own. but also if you are using a 100 (non- A) remember that the audio levels from the headphone out are sort of low.. so check your footage in an NLE and with some proper monitoring equipment as well.
 
Re: does inside mic follow zoom in 100a?

>> adjusted audio levels on the side of the camera to the highest and still the sound is much inferiour to my previous Sony camera (it's hardly ever go to the red bars if the speaking person is 2-3 meters away).<<

There is something definitely wrong.  I have owned many Sony cameras and in all honesty, the DVX100A's audio is the best and cleanest I have ever heard in a camera of this price range.  As mentioned, make sure you are monitoring via your NLE and not headphones.  The headphones are a bit noisy too.

I hope your not mistaking the Sony audio (some of the cheaper ones) auto gain pumping as sounding "better".  Many of the consumer cameras basically unnaturally compress the audio to full peak db.  Yes this will sound louder, but also much noisier and unnatural with regards to dynamics (soft sounds should sound soft, loud sounds should sound loud).  With the compression/pumping, the gain will alternate up and down depending on the sound source in order to make it sound loud.  This is not a good thing.

Andrew
Crystal Clear Media
 
Re: does inside mic follow zoom in 100a?

Out of curiosity, I tested the onboard mic for the first time.

When speaking normally in a quiet room 1 meter away from the cam with the level dial set in middle position, I never managed to see a red dot. With the level pushed up all the way, I did get one red dot, sometimes two, but that was when speaking slightly louder than normal conversation level.

That was at factory default sensitivity (-50 dB), and turning the ALC on and off didn't change anything.

So, the built-in mic doesn't seem very sensitive. I'd say less sensitive than the one on my old Canon GL2.
 
Re: does inside mic follow zoom in 100a?

It's not designed to be very sensitive.  It is an ambient mic.  Dialogue should be captured with an external mic.  The ALC on the DVX is a limiter (which is good).  Unfortunately, many other camera's ALC is a compressor/limiter which pumps the audio levels...As mentioned before, this is not a good thing in a professional camera as it also pumps up background noise when sources are at a low decibel level.  A consumer camera where you would typically not use external sources and rely soley on the camera mic, it can help make things sound louder.  Albeit, at the expense of sounding natural.

I apologize if I am coming off harsh.  I come from a sound engineering background and certain things about camera audio (and the lack of detail given to it in the consumer/prosumer market segment) drive me crazy.

Hope this helps!

Andrew
Crystal Clear Media
 
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