MIC ALC on or off

Lensmith

Lensmith

Well-known member
New member.

First post.

I'm a long time freelancer with what might be a silly question.

How good is the limiter?

I must confess I'm not a fan of automatic gain controls of any kind but also a realist when it comes to making sure not to overmodulate digital audio recordings.

This is my first mini DV camera and, with my work, I can never afford to come back with unusable or distorted audio.

On my Beta SP rig I never use the auto switches but...with my new DVX100a...I'm wondering if I'll be losing the highs by having the ALC "on".

Does it clip the high end or can it be trusted?

At present I have it turned off but thought I'd ask those of you with more experience with the camera if I'm concerned about nothing.

I've found it's a little difficult to adjust the audio pots while shooting. Most times I work with a sound tech. We set tone and I'm off but there are a few times I have to work alone and would love to be able to trust the ALC to do what it's supposed to without crushing the audio and losing quality.

Great site here. I've learned a lot just lurking but I'm impressed by the quality of information offered without attitude.

Thanks in advance for any advice.
 
The ALC on the DVX is very good.. that said, if your using a mixer with a boom they will demand that ALC is turned off.
 
If you are working alone, use the limiter. If you have a soundperson, use the limiter in the mixer, if there is one. If you want to be safe, there should be (one) limiter there somewhere in the audio chain.

If the situation is fully controlled/rehersable (drama), then limeter is not needed.
 
Yes, the ALC is very subtle. Same goes with the "focus assist".

Andrew Hoffman
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Specialized Communications Corp.
20940 Twin Springs Dr.
Smithsburg, MD 21783-1510 USA
800-359-1858
Fax: 301-790-0173
andrewh@spec-comm.com
www.spec-comm.com

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