FS7: Is the hot shoe receiver for the UWP-D microphones available?

Well yes. I have one and I use it. But if I am still having to use batteries and cables for another receiver it limits how awesome the system is with a no batteries and cables because that one more thing I don't need to think about, I now need to think about.
 
For what it's worth, you can power them via USB... so, while it doesn't remove the cable issue, if you have DTAP it's possible to rig DTAP to USB power and have that issue addressed. Obviously, it's not as ideal as a dual receiver.
 
Viddovation said:
For what it's worth, you can power them via USB... so, while it doesn't remove the cable issue, if you have DTAP it's possible to rig DTAP to USB power and have that issue addressed. Obviously, it's not as ideal as a dual receiver.
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I do like that you can power via usb... that is really cool. My sennheiser's are AA slot only. If you want an AC powered receiver you have to buy a stanadlone base station which is kind of excessive unless you do a lot of live staging events.
 
How are you guys designating levels for the receiver if plugged in via the MI? Are you assigning it to Ch.1 or 2 so you can ride levels using the side dials? Using the MI presents another challenge if you want to easily control levels through the three inputs. If you have a a sound guy controlling the levels going in, that could work. But if you need to control three independent sources, one input is going to have to be controlled via the menu.

Obviously this doesn't apply to the XLR-K2M, as it has built in external level dials.
 
I have inputs 1 and 2 going to the shoes and 1 on auto and 2 manual and set slightly hotter.

I hate being like this this but on jobs that refuse pay for a sound person where you are doing the shooting equivalent of spinning plates that is the price they (don't) pay. 9 times out of 10 there isn't a problem.
 
The Sony TX has quite a kind limiter built in, with none of the compander noise that plagued the previous generation.

I'm with t'other Ben. I'm shooting quite a lot of solo stuff at the mo - some of it recently at a school with a teacher varying between close-spoken and projecting (shouting) - and it's all clean as a whistle.

I used to carry a large bag of AA and PP3 batteries, to feed the insatiable Micron TX and RX. The Sony TX is relatively parsimonious in it's power consumption and the RX just takes it's power from my V-Lock, via the camera hotshoe.

It really is a whole lot less for me to think about. I don't want to blow smoke up Sony's arse, but I think this system breaks a few rules - it's cheap, it's good and - so far - it just works.
 
The lack of physical dials for audio channels 3 and 4 on the FS7 is an annoyance in some situations, but generally not a large issue for me.

First, if the production is the sort with a proper audio person, then camera audio isn't master anyway.
If not, then it's going to be a compromise no matter what, because you're splitting the camera person's attention between picture and sound.

But, I do plenty of work that falls into the latter, and I get away with it because...
1. You can map the shoe to inputs #1 and #2 in recording, meaning you can use the physical dials and ride the levels. You can also split so #1 is shoe and #2 is XLR two, or vice versa.
2. The FS7 limiters tend to be quite good if you can't ride the levels.
3. Even if I have 3 or 4 sources, typically only two of them are primary and the others are backup or scratch tracks.
4. When producers hire a camera like the FS7, they only tend to expect to record two channels of audio, so I don't get hires where they expect 4 pristine audio tracks without paying for an audio person.
 
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To be honest point 4 there is a sticking point. There's now certain jobs I say I won't do without a sound person because I can't guarantee quality if I am faffing about with that and not doing my main job.
 
Ben Scott said:
To be honest point 4 there is a sticking point. There's now certain jobs I say I won't do without a sound person because I can't guarantee quality if I am faffing about with that and not doing my main job.
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Yea. Certain jobs. I always talk with the client prior to the job, and if I'm concerned with their proposal I'll say so. I recently did a shoot outdoors in downtown Nashville, and was warned in advance about the locations, and in turn I told them they really needed an audio person due to the numerous noise pollution sources. For budget they ultimately chose to go without one, and it took us probably 4 times a long to get done because of constant retakes.
 
I think it is crazy how little people seem to care about a sound recordist, and how appreciate the difference between 'audio' and 'great audio'.
 
I've tried two different receivers now using the direct hotshoe connection (via SMAD-P3), and both are still making digital noise. I got serial number 1027XX, then asked B&H for one in the 1029XX but they sent me a 1028XX. I guess I will have to deal with Sony then to get a fixed one. It works fine with GPS off, but I don't really want to have to constantly turn GPS on and off all the time.
 
Just out of interest, what use(s) do you have for the GPS metadata? I keep mine off to maximise battery life, and haven't yet found a reason to switch it on. Cheers, jason
 
Definitely make a fuss with Sony about it. They've been quietly acknowledging that it's an issue, but clearly they aren't recalling stock on the shelf with the bad boards. On one hand, I see their apparent logic - the issue is limited to a fraction of the people buying these, but it's really not acceptable for there to be such a big caveat to whether these work properly. The more of us that make it clear to Sony that we find this unacceptable, perhaps they'll notice.

Simply put, they advertise this MI shoe feature of this receiver with the PXW-FS7, so the connection should always provide clean audio, without defect. Mind you, if Sony was smart, but still too stingy to actually fix the boards in all the units, they should just force the fix in firmware - by making it so that the GPS is automatically disabled whenever the MI shoe is active, and then post that caveat as a matter-of-fact limitation in the revised manual. They haven't been that clever so far, and it's a shame, because I'd far rather have my GPS force disabled then not realize my audio recording is trash.
 
jasonbrooks said:
Just out of interest, what use(s) do you have for the GPS metadata? I keep mine off to maximise battery life, and haven't yet found a reason to switch it on. Cheers, jason
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I don't. My largest problem isn't that I demand all features be available at all times, but that when using Sony hardware, there shouldn't be internal conflicts, particularly ones that aren't intuitive. That means that renters or operators you hire who aren't keenly aware of every glitch in the camera can easily make very expensive mistakes that they had no reason to expect would be an issue. If Sony wishes to consider this a hardware limitation - then fine - they should force disable the GPS whenever the user sets the MI shoe to active, so that it's impossible for the user to get these beeps.

For those who haven't heard them - the beeps are bad enough to ruin audio, but not necessarily loud enough to be noticed quickly on set. Nor, if you're not familiar with the issue, is it intuitive to troubleshoot. And, even for those who know it's an issue, it's yet another menu to remember to dig through each time.

And for those of us who do keep the GPS off all the time - I'm still concerned that "all file resets" or camera upgrades would unintentionally turn the GPS on again - resulting in the possibility of user error on the next MI shoe use.

I'm upset because it's something Sony has the power to address for the better, and that they've been very quiet about so far.
 
It's not a hugely important feature, but I could see it coming in handy shooting stock if you want to revisit a particular location. Maybe you're shooting sports and can't remember what field/court/pool, etc you were at. No I might never use it, but I'm still within my 30 day return window, so why not get a fixed unit?
 
David Kudell said:
Were you able to get a working unit? Did you go directly through Sony's service center?
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Yes, the process was a nightmare, but I did get a replacement. The phone support Sony tries to route you to is worthless. I suggest you either work through your dealer, or that you reach a human at Teaneck - whether by e-mail, or if you can figure out how - by phone.
 
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