GH1 and GH2 AGC (Auto Gain Control)

R

Rider

Active member
If I'm not mistaken, the GH1 had AGC i.e. you could not set the sound levels in camera, and also you cannot monitor audio.

Has either of these things been changed in the GH2?
 
Yes, and it is mentioned on first page on GH2 thread :-)
As for audio monitoring - you need to use HDMI monitor with headphone amplifier.
 
I did read that a few days but it did not click. Thanks! Now given that there are only three levels of adjustment on the audio level of the GH2, and you can't change the levels during recording, it would seem that AGC would be preferable in most situations.

Also, the lack of a level-in (there is only a mic-in): isn't that a lot noisier (more likely to produce a hum)?
 
On the Zoom H2 there are also three levels only (at the analog stage) and they are well chosen to cover most situations - the middle setting covers all 'normal' acoustic levels, the top setting is usually only required for amplified rock. Well, in reality there are only two as the lowest sensitivity setting has the same signal/noise ratio as the middle setting, so not much point in using it. That device does also have digital level control on a 1-127 scale, but there's not much point in using other than the no-gain setting of 100, as lowering digital level when the analog stage is already saturated is pointless.

With luck the GH2 settings will similarly cover most scenarios without overload or unretrievable underload. If so, you'd just need to get to know what the characteristics of each setting are and which therefore is most likely to cover the situation you're in.

Full analog level control on portable audio recording equipment is fairly rare these days, and I wouldn't expect a mostly-consumer-targetted video device to have it.
 
Hey, Peter, fancy meeting you here. Planning on snagging a GH2??? How about the Q3HD?

Fran (from the H2 forum)
 
Hi! A GH2 would meet with domestic disapproval (possibly extending to violence involving the rolling pin) so there will be no snagging. (Then again, it looks pretty similar to the GH1...)
 
Ozpeter said:
On the Zoom H2 there are also three levels only (at the analog stage) and they are well chosen to cover most situations - the middle setting covers all 'normal' acoustic levels, the top setting is usually only required for amplified rock. Well, in reality there are only two as the lowest sensitivity setting has the same signal/noise ratio as the middle setting, so not much point in using it. That device does also have digital level control on a 1-127 scale, but there's not much point in using other than the no-gain setting of 100, as lowering digital level when the analog stage is already saturated is pointless.

With luck the GH2 settings will similarly cover most scenarios without overload or unretrievable underload. If so, you'd just need to get to know what the characteristics of each setting are and which therefore is most likely to cover the situation you're in.

Full analog level control on portable audio recording equipment is fairly rare these days, and I wouldn't expect a mostly-consumer-targetted video device to have it.
Click to expand...

Unless the preamp in the GH2 is extraordinarily clean (for a cheap camera), would the wise approach be to use the lowest setting most of the time and increase volume in post as needed?

Btw, the Zoom H1 has 100 levels. Those are all digital I assume, and in reality you're not changing the gain at all, correct?
 
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