Manual audio question for 5D MarkII users

[jordy2324]

This might be dumb... but I'm asking anyway.

I've been using the 7D and Rebel T2i for most of my video work, which tends to be a lot of sit-down and stand-up interviews. Also have a crappy Azden (3.5mm jack) shotgun, Shure wireless lav and Zoom H4N.

For the most part, I record the wireless lav into the Zoom H4N (with disappointing results. Settings must be wrong) and also record with the Zoom's external mics (these usually turn out nicely). As backup audio, I'll record the Azden straight into the camera just in case of disaster.

I'm not quite in the market for a 5D MarkII yet, but I'm going to trade in my Rebel and buy the 60D and am wondering about some audio functions. Given the fact I haven't experienced manual audio on a Canon DSLR yet, I'm pretty oblivious as to how it works. Reading the specs alone still left some questions.... So here's a few:

- What does manual audio allow you to do? I'm guessing it just allows you to set levels for the internal mic and also whatever external mic you may have plugged into the mic-in jack.
- Does manual audio mean the AGC will be killed? Or will there have to be a Magic Lantern hack for that? (I know there's a Magic Lantern in the works for the t2i, not the 7D yet... and who knows about the 60D)
- If AGC is killed, can you record a wireless lav straight into the 60D's mic-in jack? (using a 1/4 to 3.5mm converter)? If so, how much quality are you losing compared to running it through the Zoom?

Thanks for helping a manual audio newbie.

 

[Timbit]

- What does manual audio allow you to do? I'm guessing it just allows you to set levels for the internal mic and also whatever external mic you may have plugged into the mic-in jack.

From what I've been reading, I think you are correct.

- Does manual audio mean the AGC will be killed? Or will there have to be a Magic Lantern hack for that? (I know there's a Magic Lantern in the works for the t2i, not the 7D yet... and who knows about the 60D)

Yes, as the settings are manual.

- If AGC is killed, can you record a wireless lav straight into the 60D's mic-in jack? (using a 1/4 to 3.5mm converter)? If so, how much quality are you losing compared to running it through the Zoom?

I'm not sure on the losing quality part, but I don't see any problem with recording into the camera with the wireless lav mic.

 

[Alpha Beta Omega]

I think there is a long way to go until one can trust the audio recorded in the Canon DSLR cameras.

For starters you have to dial down the gain on the 5D2 to under 25% to avoid to much noise. It's complicated to do playback and check after each take. You can't judge if the signal gets clipped since there is no headphone out or VU meter. But ML does allow headphones and levels during take so that makes it more useful.

If you have one of the minimixers you can get a strong enough signal into the 5D2 or 60D. But I doubt it's safe to run i.e a wireless receiver straight into the camera without any monitoring. What if there's drop outs?

Get yourself a decent audiorecorder and record in camera at the same time. Sometimes audio is good straight from the camera but often you have to rely on the dual soundrecording for a good result.

 

[Paul Nordin]

But I doubt it's safe to run i.e a wireless receiver straight into the camera without any monitoring. What if there's drop outs?

Get yourself a decent audiorecorder and record in camera at the same time. Sometimes audio is good straight from the camera but often you have to rely on the dual soundrecording for a good result.

Agree 100% with this. I use a Sennheiser wireless feed from the mixer to my camera. But I only use that audio as a guide track, and really rely on the field mixer to provide the reference production audio.

You WILL get drop outs and static hits on any wireless feed unless your using a $3k-$5k all digital system from Zaxcom or Lectrosonic within its operating limits. As an aside, one of the great thing about the Zaxcom wireless lavs by the way is it stores audio in a memory card in the transmitter, so in case of drop out you still have clean audio that can be recovered.

Cheers,
Paul