GH3 M&M: Mac and Mixer Questions for GH3

Ianscreations

Well-known member
Now that I have the GH3, I need to upgrade some equipment.
I currently use two Senneheiser G3 Wireless Lav mics. Can someone recommend a good (small) mixer that I can
use on my cage to mix the two receiver feeds into the camera?
I am using this cage:
http://www.photographyandcinema.com/products/gearbox-video-camera-accessory-cage

Also,
I need to upgrade my computer! I am moving from a PC to a Mac.
I would prefer to use a notebook, but I know that limits memory, etc.
I have Premiere to edit with, not FCP. Fortunately, Adobe will let me switch to
the Mac Version as part of my next upgrade.
Can anyone recommend a good Mac Notebook (or Desktop) for me?

Thanks!
 
I'm curious if you need a mixer. Can you just get a dual-mono 1/8" splitter and send the audio from each receiver to a different channel? I realize you wouldn't have individual control over the volume for each channel but that seems a small price to pay for portability. Does anybody know if this would actually work?
 
I'm curious if you need a mixer. Can you just get a dual-mono 1/8" splitter and send the audio from each receiver to a different channel? I realize you wouldn't have individual control over the volume for each channel but that seems a small price to pay for portability. Does anybody know if this would actually work?

I sometimes use a splitter cable with my GH2 and 2 Sennheiser wireless receivers. The receivers each have an output level controls on them, so I can set levels by watching the cam's VU meters.

The GH3 should be better for this since it also has a headphone jack.

The advantage of using an external mic mixer (such as a JuicedLink or SoundDevices MixPre) is that the preamps are far superior to the ones built-into the camera (and the mixer supports XLR, phantom power, etc.). I sometimes use my old MixPre with my GH2 and it works well.
 
Peter: Ya, I use my Mixpre with the GH2 at times too but it can be quite cumbersome to try to manage for run & gun documentary. I've used it successfully several times with my DR100mkii and Mixpre on interviews.

I'm curious for your splitter cable, can you just use a standard stereo splitter cable or do you need one that splits it into mono on each end?
 
Oh wow, you don't mess around ;) I was thinking it would just be a 1/8" splitter plug since the sennheiser units have 1/8" outputs on their receivers. That is very cool though, and it's very affordable and I like XLR much better than 1/8". I'll pick one up. Thanks!
 
the best setup is the sound devices mixpre-d, as it has a below camera mount option. it is pricey, but well worth it. great mic pre's and limiters. not to mention easy access to fader controls.
 
So, I bought the 13inch MacBook Pro. I could only get 8GB Ram. I hope that is enough for CS6!
I have also decided to go with the Zoom for one of the Senheissers and a direct feed into the GH3 for the other.
I will use the software that comes with Rode until the end of the year to sync the audio.
----
Curious what lights you use? I need a good LED video light as a back up :)
 
I used the Fostex DC-R302 for a couple months last summer. I would place the build quality and mic-pre's higher than the beachtek or juicedlink but not quite Sound Devices territory, it is totally layed-out to work mounted under the camera and I would run a line-out to one of the cameras as a sync track (I seem to recall that there was an option in the menu for padding the line out signal to mic level but I would check first). Not cheap, but Fostex makes some ok stuff.

http://www.fostexinternational.com/docs/products/DC-R302.shtml
 
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