C100: How are the canon c100/300 preamps?

MattRobertson

MattRobertson

Well-known member
Interested in hearind how the canon c100 preamps are. This seems to be an aspect of the camera I haven't heard much other than the fact that they have xlr inputs obviously. I own a fostex dc-r302 for the dual system audio I gather when shooting with my panasonic gh2 and the preamps are very good. You can push them quite hard and they won't really budge. How have you c100/300 users found the audio to be? Also, is there options for pan and such with the c100? If I am recording a two person on camera setup and have lavs on each I will pan one to one channel and one to the other, is this possible on a c100?
 
The preamps are excellent, approaching mixer quality if not already there. Check out this thread for actual tests.

You can also record input from Channel 1 to the left track and Channel 2 to the right, if that's what you mean. Works great for interviews.
 
yep, totally solid, i posted several of those examples. 100% happy with the preamps and annoyed that the feature im on we didn't have a wireless from audio guy to the camera. will be solving that on the next feature, which happens to start tomorrow... i guess it's a good thing i took two vacations in a row to prepare.
 
great audio. i'm using rode videomic pro and set it to automatic mode. The noise is definitely much much lower compared to 5d2. Very clean sound.
 
Like i reminded people in the prior referenced thread, there's no sense in comparing a proper external recorder to an in camera recorder, one is for convenience, the other is for productions that have the time/funds/manpower/etc.. for that extra piece of equipment that for numerous reasons other than sheer quality, is superior to on camera recording.

The only thing that can and already is said, is that if for your shoot, it would be more of a hassle to bring in an external recorder, than yes, the internal recorder on the C cameras is more than sufficient for excellent audio.
 
+1 to Darren.

In the greater scope of things, though, the C100's mic preamps have surprised a few seasoned shooter/editors.

Cameramen have, in the past, been a bit of a difficult judge of audio - so long as the meters waggle, hey - that's good audio.

As an editor who ended up shooting, I did keep an ear out for good audio. Some were impressive but odd (Sony Z1 was surprising in its capabilities), some were actually pretty darn awful (EX1, FS100, both had issues). C100 has been really rather good, but also truculent: setting audio levels is quite aggressive, don't want to ride levels during a take! Bottom line was that it was hard to tell the difference between C100's Direct Input and a companion recording on the Sound Devices Pix220.

So much revolves around 'where' you put 'which' microphone, and that's where you get the 'Sound Guy'. But for talking heads and B-Roll, C100's audio is, IMHO, the best I've experienced in-camera - bar none.
 
Yea you've got to have quality mics and know how to use them. Last year I upgraded to the Rode NTG3 and Countryman lavs. Now, I am a better cameraman than audio specialist but these mics sound fantastic when paired with the C300. Like others said, on higher end productions you'll get premium performance from dedicated audio gear, but for run & gun, events, etc, the built in audio on the C300 is great.
 
I recently shot an interview with the C100 and my new Neumann KMR81i Short Shotgun and it was incredible! Though that is probably because of the mic as well as the cam. I used to use a Sennheiser ME66 and the Neumann blows it away. Quite a difference.
 
The preamps in the canon c100 or the c300 sound good when compared to other cameras (like an F3 or other higher end camera). But when you bypass the camera mic pre amps and use something like a sound devices or Zaxcom mixer then it's no comparison. Of course that the way it is with most every camera :)
 
dustylense said:
Shouldn't it be though? But the C cams do handle audio quite well. It's very nice to just record to camera sometimes.
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imdjay said:
Like i reminded people in the prior referenced thread, there's no sense in comparing a proper external recorder to an in camera recorder, one is for convenience, the other is for productions that have the time/funds/manpower/etc.. for that extra piece of equipment that for numerous reasons other than sheer quality, is superior to on camera recording.

The only thing that can and already is said, is that if for your shoot, it would be more of a hassle to bring in an external recorder, than yes, the internal recorder on the C cameras is more than sufficient for excellent audio.
Click to expand...

guys, philip didn't mean external recording.
the thing is to pass the preamps of the C300 by feeding the camera a line-level signal from audio mixer (like sound devices). that's the way i would always do it for interviews/dialogue.
 
nebular said:
guys, philip didn't mean external recording.
the thing is to pass the preamps of the C300 by feeding the camera a line-level signal from audio mixer (like sound devices). that's the way i would always do it for interviews/dialogue.
Click to expand...

Exactly, for portable work we use a $900 Sound Devices Mix Pre D mixer that mounts under the camera. Other people like the JuicedLink solution at approximately $400. You can get up to four inputs on the Mix Pre D feeding into the two XLR inputs. The difference is amazing.
 
I find the audio quality from the C300 just OK, wish it was 24 bit. But that is coming from the Sony PMW-500 with 24 bit with great monitoring an higher quality preamp. I am using the same mics on both. Sennheiser MKH 60 P48 Super Caridoid, and Lectrosonic SR dual receiver with MM400C transmitters and Countryman B6 mics, or Sennheiser 2000 wireless with countryman. But just like all gear you get what you pay for and for the price the C300 is ok for audio.
 
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