Live Audio playback options?

A

AlphaCarbon

Member
hey all,

I have a GS500 and it doesn't have a auido out port on it for headphones when i plug in my mic (shotgun, lav's, handheld ect..). This makes it very hard to know if i am capturing good audio while i am shooting. Or to tell if the shotgun needs to be closer or pulled back while shooting moving shots....

what are my options... assume budget isn't an issue (it is an issue but i just need to know what i can do)... the main thing to realize is I shoot in the field alot and a plug or outlet for power will not be available...

would i lose quality if i used an audio splitter for speakers? i always notice that it gets quieter when i use those on my mp3 player....

is there a recorder or something i can place inbetween the mic and the camera with two outputs?

thanks for your ideas and thoughts!
 
AlphaCarbon said:
hey all,

I have a GS500 and it doesn't have a auido out port on it for headphones when i plug in my mic (shotgun, lav's, handheld ect..). This makes it very hard to know if i am capturing good audio while i am shooting. Or to tell if the shotgun needs to be closer or pulled back while shooting moving shots....

what are my options... assume budget isn't an issue (it is an issue but i just need to know what i can do)... the main thing to realize is I shoot in the field alot and a plug or outlet for power will not be available...

would i lose quality if i used an audio splitter for speakers? i always notice that it gets quieter when i use those on my mp3 player....

is there a recorder or something i can place inbetween the mic and the camera with two outputs?

thanks for your ideas and thoughts!
Click to expand...

Oh boy, where to begin? First and foremost, what are you shooting?

"Budget isn't an issue" but would a mic costing twice as much as your camera and a mixer costing three times as much be in the cards? (Not saying that's what you need, just trying to establish what parameters we're really trying to work with here.) Audio splitter for speakers? - where do speakers even enter into the equation?

Even though your question is audio related, as you define the results you're looking for you need to be prepared for the possibility that your camera isn't up to the job in the first place - if sound quality is critical one of the tell-tale signs of that is the lack of headphone monitoring during recording.

So what is it really that you're trying to accomplish?
 
Steve House said:
Oh boy, where to begin? First and foremost, what are you shooting?

"Budget isn't an issue" but would a mic costing twice as much as your camera and a mixer costing three times as much be in the cards? (Not saying that's what you need, just trying to establish what parameters we're really trying to work with here.) Audio splitter for speakers? - where do speakers even enter into the equation?

Even though your question is audio related, as you define the results you're looking for you need to be prepared for the possibility that your camera isn't up to the job in the first place - if sound quality is critical one of the tell-tale signs of that is the lack of headphone monitoring during recording.

So what is it really that you're trying to accomplish?
Click to expand...

I would like to hear audio playback on headphones while recording... my camera does not support that feature... if it costs less then 3K and doesn't require to be pluged into a wall then its an option to fix it, otherwise i will just buy a dvx100B and gain the function...

I am shooting science related content, so I am everywhere, in the Lab, in forests and jungles, planes, boats, ect... i have a couple situations where i have moving subjects.... that prob doesn't help much... but maybe...
 
AlphaCarbon said:
I would like to hear audio playback on headphones while recording... my camera does not support that feature... if it costs less then 3K and doesn't require to be pluged into a wall then its an option to fix it, otherwise i will just buy a dvx100B and gain the function...

I am shooting science related content, so I am everywhere, in the Lab, in forests and jungles, planes, boats, ect... i have a couple situations where i have moving subjects.... that prob doesn't help much... but maybe...
Click to expand...

Would help to know the details of your kit - what external mics you use, etc - to know what may or may not be compatible but here's a thought to get started in the right direction. One logical solution is to feed your mic to a pre-amp or headphone amp worn on your belt and from there on to the camera's mic input. You plug your cans into the preamp for monitoring. Take a look at a Sound Devices MM-1 (~$350) http://sounddevices.com/products/mm1master.htm for an idea of what I mean. This would let you hear what the mic is picking up, etc. It would still be nice to have camera return monitoring so you can know with confidence that what you're sending to the camera actually gets there but without a headphone output on the camera there's nothing you can do about that.
 
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