Mic Adapter

[DavidBeier]

Want to be able to plug my boom mic into my 60D as I don't have enough cash for a zoom H4N just yet. Can someone suggest a decent adaptor to go from XLR to whatever the 60D takes? Also, have you guys found a major loss in quality by going through such an adapter vs recording to a dedicated audio recorder or camera with XLR inputs (like EX1 or HVX200)?

 

[brunerww]

David -- you need an XLR female to 3.5mm stereo male adapter. The Hosa XVM-249 fits the bill ($8.50 from Adorama).

With the 60D's manual gain control, you shouldn't lose any detectable amount of quality over plugging it straight into an EX1 or an HVX, but, on the other hand, a dedicated 24-bit/96kHz audio recorder with a pre-amp (like the $299 Zoom H4N) will be audibly better than the 16-bit/48kHz sound from the 60D, especially if you're recording something like live music or vocal performances.

For dialogue or ambient sound, I wouldn't worry about it too much.

Hope this is helpful,

Bill

 

[Alex H.]

David -- you need an XLR female to 3.5mm stereo male adapter. The Hosa XVM-249 fits the bill ($8.50 from Adorama).

Cables are okay, but this won't help if phantom power is a requirement. A better bet would be an adapter box, as from JuicedLink. Or, an external mixer with an output made specifically for DSLR cameras, such as the MixPre-D. Of course, now we're in the budget range of a decent external recorder.

With the 60D's manual gain control, you shouldn't lose any detectable amount of quality over plugging it straight into an EX1 or an HVX, but, on the other hand, a dedicated 24-bit/96kHz audio recorder with a pre-amp (like the $299 Zoom H4N) will be audibly better than the 16-bit/48kHz sound from the 60D, especially if you're recording something like live music or vocal performances.

For dialogue or ambient sound, I wouldn't worry about it too much.

In-camera DSLR is still not the best option. It's come a long way in the last year or so, and the manual gain control helps in proper gain staging and thus in minimizing noise, but the fact is that the camera still has a weak/sub-par pre-amp. The DVX100, the HVX, and other Panasonic camcorders have long been regarded for their above-average pre-amps for professional camcorders, and even though external recorders can still yield better results, they aren't bad at all for recording in-camera.

24-bit/48kHz vs. 16-bit/48kHz doesn't matter as much as clean pre-amps (and a clean audio chain around the pre-amps). Once the audio is mixed and mastered, it will be 16-bit/48kHz. 24-bit won't necessarily sound noticeably better than 16-bit. Where you'll hear the difference there is when you start pushing the audio in post with plug-ins and processing.

 

[brunerww]

Much better answer than mine, Alex :smile: But this quote from David:

...I don't have enough cash for a zoom H4N just yet...

leads me to believe that he is looking for something a little less expensive than a JuicedLink or MixPre-D.

Some shooters have had success with the battery powered $79 ART USB Dual Pre 2 Channel Preamp. This could be an affordable solution --especially if, as you suggest, David's mic needs phantom power.

Bill

 

[krotoflik]

I'm currently trying out the FiiO E3 ($8) and E5 ($21) headphone amplifiers to remove the hiss noise I get from using my xlr shotgun mic into my T3i. After only a couple tests I have noticed a HUGE quality difference since I was able to then move my manual audio controls to near zero. But I will need to test more and once I'm done I will post a video on the differences.