GH3 GH3 answers audio crisis????

J

jrod81

Veteran
Hey guys
I've been shooting with a T2i and T4i off and on for a few years. I use the H4n and have to sync in post (sometimes plural eyes, sometimes just the old school way).
What I do (for a living) is shoot videos for a law firm. It goes without saying that a normal and real video camera would do the job (like the HMC40 or something with actual XLR inputs on the cam)... however, I really want the shallow DOF option of the DSLR (though the law firm could probably care less).
The problem is that the law firm is wanting quicker turn around than I can do. Typically, I have just got my audio all lined up and they are asking for a final edit.
So yes, I might end up going with an actual video camera, but before I spend the money, I wanted to know if you guys could chime in on the GH3 (or even the GH2) being the option to help me.
I am basically looking for a camera that I can run a lav mic straight into and then also have headphones attached to hear the same thing the camera is recording. This cuts post time down big time for me and I can start editing same day as the shoot finishes up...
Thanks so much... I know audio is a big complaint in the DSLR world and a dual system is the typical answer- I am needing something faster though- any help is greatly appreciated...
thanks
 
lately i have been doing in cam audio with the gh3 and im not really liking what it does levels wise. i cant seem to get input any louder even when I max audio level. I get better in cam audio from the gh2 with audio patch. This is going direct from mic to cam by the way, not mixer to cam.
 
To get a good recording with the GH3, you have to feed it a strong signal ( -20 to -10 dB ) and set the camera audio level to 1. To do this you will need to either use a wireless UHF lav mic, like the Sennheiseer G3 system ( set the G3 transmitter to -18 dB sensitivity, and set the reciever's AF Out to either -6 dB or 0 dB ), or connect a high quality pre-amp to your GH3 like the JuicedLink Riggy RA222 which will power and amplify your mic's signal. If you go the Riggy route, you will need to use a lav mic with an XLR power adapter, as lav mic's need much lower voltage than 48 volt Phantom to power them. The Panasonic GH3 also has a headphone jack to monitor your audio with.
 
I find the audio on the GH2 quite sufficient. You could easily hook up your lav to the H4n and send it's output to the input of the GH2. This would give you sound on the clip as well as separate .wav files as a backup. However this won't give you the headphone monitoring you wanted. You could move up to a GH3, which has a headphone jack, but it's twice the price of a GH2. Or you could just buy a $100 mixer from Behringer (they even make battery powered models). That would give you the control you need, the output you need, and the headphone monitoring. You can even send one output to the camera and one to the H4n for backup.
 
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I did a test comparing GH3, 5D3 and Sonys F3. I concluded that although all three could be used to record audio only the F3 gave a clean audio track without any hiss or noise straight from the camera. Both the GH3 and 5D3 where a bit s*%tty but could be tamed so that the end result sounded okay. I found no problem recording audio on the 5D3 but the GH3 left much to desire during the actual recording. First there was an irritating delay. Then the audio would disappear for a brief moment when you pressed record.
 
I'm using the Rode video pro mic for interviews. So far it works really good. I plan on getting a good wireless lav and run it into the camera. For some stuff I might back it up with a H4n.
 
Osslund said:
I did a test comparing GH3, 5D3 and Sonys F3. I concluded that although all three could be used to record audio only the F3 gave a clean audio track without any hiss or noise straight from the camera.
Click to expand...

I haven't tested the 5D Mk3, but the GH3 has a noise floor of -66 dB RMS which is essentially "noise free" under normal listening conditions. To obtain a "noise free" recording with the GH3 you MUST set the camera audio level to 1 and feed the camera a strong audio signal in the range of -20 to -10 dB. This means using a wireless system that can output a strong signal or using a good mic pre-amp.

I don't have a sample of GH3 audio online, but here is a quicki interview I shot at the beginning of 2012 using a Sennheiser UHF mic and my Panasonic GH2. ( the GH2 camera audio level was set to 1 and the Sennheiser receiver was set to -6 dB ) The GH2 camera has a noise floor of -63 dB RMS, which is also pretty much "noise free" under normal listening conditions.

Ronnie Burkett Interview
 
TheDingo said:
Ronnie Burkett Interview
Click to expand...

Sounded totally fine. Did you just monitor the audio via the levels...? I did this ONCE on a low level job, but man, was I sweating...

@jrod81 audio on the t2i with ML is pretty decent too, but no headphone monitoring without some DIY rigging. The 5DIII is the entry level headphone-jack camera when it comes to Canon.
Depending on your existing lens collection it might be worth it though...
 
Spartacus said:
Sounded totally fine. Did you just monitor the audio via the levels...?
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Yes, though levels really won't tell you anything as you could be recording pure noise and the levels will still look fine.

In hindsight I took a huge stupid risk with the audio, but I had 30 seconds to set-up, 10 minutes to shoot, and then we were kicked out of the theater so a big national broadcasting team could have the whole theater to themselves for their interview. ( the broadcast guys were looking at me like I was nuts as I stood right at the edge of the stage with my dinky little GH2 on a monopod with a 4 foot drop-off one inch behind me )

Today, I would have monitored with my GH3 or simply plugged the UHF receiver into an Olympus LS-12 recorder clipped to my belt.
 
Without all the tech specs above, just use a beachtek or juiced link with any good mic, follow the instructions about settings and you'll get good audio. You're just shooting talking heads aren't you. Why bother about external recorders and post-synch - it's a giant pain. Me, I use a set of Sony wireless lavs or the Rode NTG 2 - faultless and worth the outlay. Don't go cheap and get good Sennheisser headphones - not noise cancelling ones.
 
yes the post sync is annoying the fire out of me... it's a waste of time for talking head (one at a time) interviews!
i'm going to look into the juiced link option...
 
jrod81 said:
yes the post sync is annoying the fire out of me...
Click to expand...

I am always surprised by this, as I let my cameras and recorder run for the entire interview, then bring my files into my editor (Sony Vegas) where it takes maybe 10 seconds to sync a clip whether it's 1 minute or 2 hours of footage.

It's a different story if you're shooting narrative, where you end up with hundreds of short takes at the end of the day.
 
I use the GH2 and the Senheiser G3 system of wireless LAVs and it works fantastic. The only thing is no monitoring. It's the single biggest reason I keep thinking about upgrading to the GH3, or the BMPC. However, I know the setup that I need to get great audio, and so it almost always works. The times it doesn't are almost always jewelry or buttons or some hard object that I fail to notice tapping the mic.

I always run a check of a quick clip, and play it back (I usually have an external monitor with speakers and a headphone jack) and then just watch the meters.

Using the G3 wireless system with the GH3 and it's headphone jack should be an absolute breeze.
 
jrod81 said:
Hey guys
I've been shooting with a T2i and T4i off and on for a few years. I use the H4n and have to sync in post (sometimes plural eyes, sometimes just the old school way).
What I do (for a living) is shoot videos for a law firm. It goes without saying that a normal and real video camera would do the job (like the HMC40 or something with actual XLR inputs on the cam)... however, I really want the shallow DOF option of the DSLR (though the law firm could probably care less).
The problem is that the law firm is wanting quicker turn around than I can do. Typically, I have just got my audio all lined up and they are asking for a final edit.
So yes, I might end up going with an actual video camera, but before I spend the money, I wanted to know if you guys could chime in on the GH3 (or even the GH2) being the option to help me.
I am basically looking for a camera that I can run a lav mic straight into and then also have headphones attached to hear the same thing the camera is recording. This cuts post time down big time for me and I can start editing same day as the shoot finishes up...
Thanks so much... I know audio is a big complaint in the DSLR world and a dual system is the typical answer- I am needing something faster though- any help is greatly appreciated...
thanks
Click to expand...
I did legal video for over 5 years. I used the Sony Z5U. Honestly, you have to think what your client wants/expects. IMO, a DSLR is not the camera to use for legal video. Too many variables. With this type of production, you want to keep it simple. Especially if the are asking for fast turn around. I can't imagine where anyone will critique the artistic merits of a deposition or evidence documentation. It is hard for me, too, but I have learned to buy and produce for my clients first and foremost. This helps me keep myself in check when I see the latest and greatest thing or when I am being too self-critical during the editing stage.
 
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