My Canon C100s hate lav mics

roxics

roxics

Veteran
I don't now what is going on. I have three different kinds of 3.5mm connected lav mics and they all work great with my GH4 and my three different Zoom recorders, as well as my iPhone. But none of them will work with the 3.5mm mic jacks on my two C100s. So yesterday I ordered a couple of female 3.5mm to male XLR adapters off Amazon. My XLR shotgun mic works fine on the XLR inputs of my C100s so I figured this would solve the problem. Nope. Still no audio. Kind of pulling my hair out here. I've been thinking about buying some Rode Wireless Pro mics but since they also connect with a 3.5mm jack, I'm afraid that won't work with my C100s either. I don't want to spend the money on those when none of these work. I may not even need them if I can get these to work.

Any ideas?
 
I don’t think that the C100 minijack outputs plug in power. You’ll need a lav with an in-line battery or mini Jack to XLR adapter that steps down the voltage.
 
The lavs require plug-in power (typically 5v or less) to operate. The C-100’s MIC input does not provide this. From page 76 of the user manual:

Use commercially available condenser microphones with their own power supply and a Ø 3.5mm stereo mini plug.
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You can use an XLR adapter, but you need to get one that can convert +48v phantom power to the lower-voltage plug-in power. The RØDE VXLR+ will fit the bill, but make sure you get the plus version as the regular VXLR does not offer the power conversion. The VXLR Pro will also work (actually with a slightly cleaner signal, but whether or not you want to pay the extra cost is a little more subjective).
 
Thank you guys so much. The dumb thing is, I know one of my lav mics requires the plug-in power, because I read that it does. So I expected that one not to work, and it didn't. But it never really occurred to me that all of them do. I don't know why.
 
Is there a reason you don't use a wireless mic either xlr or mini (btw the mini receivers don't use plug in power)?
 
I just never bought one. I've been thinking about it for years. I'm eyeing one of those little Rode Wireless Go/Pro systems.
I probably should. I probably should have a couple years ago.
 
Maybe use a Beachtek preamp with the C100 (that's what I did):


Get some more life out of your mics and could even use two or three 3.5mm lavs at once (and have much better audio quality).

I have an extra for sale for $55 if you want it (a version before the one above without the top plate, wanted it to sit right below the camera, or anywhere else with a 1/4-20 thread available).
 
roxics said:
I just never bought one. I've been thinking about it for years. I'm eyeing one of those little Rode Wireless Go/Pro systems.
I probably should. I probably should have a couple years ago.
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The internal batteries can drop below the minimum voltage for the BMS to recharge them if they’re not used for a few months. I’d look for the old Rode AA version or a Sennheiser G4. The Sennheiser AVX is really nice, but it’s expensive, & has 20ms latency.
 
roxics said:
I just never bought one. I've been thinking about it for years. I'm eyeing one of those little Rode Wireless Go/Pro systems.
I probably should. I probably should have a couple years ago.
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Just depends on what you need there is a whole slew of 2.4ghz mics out there.
I have both
- DJI Mic mini that is a clip with no lavs but a windscreen and it is amazing how small and easy. I used it on a wedding was perfect.
then I have the traditional UHS mics
- They're bigger heavier, require a lav and more setup but more reliable no interference issues. I often use them in theater work where I can receive a board feed that's not near the camera or set up stage mics. These mics aren't popular anymore for more casual youtube stuff so you can find them used for very little.
 
Honestly guys I don't do a ton for client shoots anymore, so I'm hesitant to drop any more money into new gear. I mostly work as just an editor these days. But I've been trying to get motivated about putting out some youtube videos on a regular basis and I really don't want to have to do sync sound for those like I do my client shoots. Which is why I was looking for an easy and cheap way to wire my existing lavs into my C100. And the only reason I'm using one of my C100s instead of my GH4 is because the AF is better and it's just me shooting and in front of the camera for those. But in order to save a ton of money I maybe just use the GH4 because I know my lavs wire into it no problem.

As for the wireless mics. It's complicated. I keep telling myself I'll buy some. Then I realize it's a luxury for me and not a necessity and I don't. But I kind of want some. I think at this point it's more gear lust than anything and maybe I'll give into it one day.
 
roxics said:
Honestly guys I don't do a ton for client shoots anymore, so I'm hesitant to drop any more money into new gear. I mostly work as just an editor these days. But I've been trying to get motivated about putting out some youtube videos on a regular basis and I really don't want to have to do sync sound for those like I do my client shoots. Which is why I was looking for an easy and cheap way to wire my existing lavs into my C100. And the only reason I'm using one of my C100s instead of my GH4 is because the AF is better and it's just me shooting and in front of the camera for those. But in order to save a ton of money I maybe just use the GH4 because I know my lavs wire into it no problem.
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If it’s just you sitting in front of your camera, there’s no reason a wired lav won’t be a practical solution. You don’t have to worry about latency, dropouts, or any of the other issues that can come from (especially cheap) wireless. Seriously… grab your self a RØDE VXLR+ or two and you’ll be good to go.

roxics said:
As for the wireless mics. It's complicated. I keep telling myself I'll buy some. Then I realize it's a luxury for me and not a necessity and I don't. But I kind of want some. I think at this point it's more gear lust than anything and maybe I'll give into it one day.
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If it’s not going to be making you any money, do you really need it?
 
For static indoor vlogging people use USB dynamic straight into the computer.
There are many ultra cheap Chinese brands of this type. For example for $39 https://a.co/d/9TSTxtI

A cheaper alternative if you already have a SM58, plug that into your camera.

For very little on the used market there are xlr lav mics that come with the adapter
ebay.us

Audio-Technica AT831 Condenser Cardioid Lavalier Microphone + AT8531 Pwr Module | eBay

You are looking at an Audio-Technica AT831 Condenser Cardioid Lavalier Microphone + AT8531 Power Module. Power module will work with either one AA battery, or +48V phantom power. Includes tie clip for the lavalier microphone.
ebay.us

But if your budget is zero then you probably can figure something out with what you have.
 
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A side note. On non 48v power. I got bummed yesterday. So C70 has a Rode as a scratch, doing scratch all morning. go to lunch start more interviews. And no sound is being recorded. Seems the rode needed 'restarting' after having the 5v removed. total garbage. XLR or onboard mics I say!
 
Alex H. said:
If it’s just you sitting in front of your camera, there’s no reason a wired lav won’t be a practical solution. You don’t have to worry about latency, dropouts, or any of the other issues that can come from (especially cheap) wireless. Seriously… grab your self a RØDE VXLR+ or two and you’ll be good to go.



If it’s not going to be making you any money, do you really need it?
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Yup. At most it's a luxury that will save me time in post syncing interviews for client location shoots. I think that's a big part of the reason I haven't bought any yet. Plus I have two other people that use my gear and bring me footage back for editing, and I would need to train them to use the wireless system as well. So I don't want to risk making the shoots more complicated where they forgot to plug it in or turn it on or something. The system we've been using for the last six years has worked and we only do a handful of client shoots per years, so it just doesn't seem worth the cost and effort. But... gear lust. Lol!
Peter C. said:
For static indoor vlogging people use USB dynamic straight into the computer.
There are many ultra cheap Chinese brands of this type. For example for $39 https://a.co/d/9TSTxtI

A cheaper alternative if you already have a SM58, plug that into your camera.

For very little on the used market there are xlr lav mics that come with the adapter
ebay.us

Audio-Technica AT831 Condenser Cardioid Lavalier Microphone + AT8531 Pwr Module | eBay

You are looking at an Audio-Technica AT831 Condenser Cardioid Lavalier Microphone + AT8531 Power Module. Power module will work with either one AA battery, or +48V phantom power. Includes tie clip for the lavalier microphone.
ebay.us

But if your budget is zero then you probably can figure something out with what you have.
Click to expand...
I do have an old audio-technica shotgun mic I that I was using the other night. I've just gotten used to using lavs the last several years and I like the idea of being able to move around a bit in front of the camera with them, without my audio dropping off the way it tends to with the shotgun.
morgan_moore said:
A side note. On non 48v power. I got bummed yesterday. So C70 has a Rode as a scratch, doing scratch all morning. go to lunch start more interviews. And no sound is being recorded. Seems the rode needed 'restarting' after having the 5v removed. total garbage. XLR or onboard mics I say!
Click to expand...
See it's issues like this that I kind of worry about with my other camera ops and why I've wanted to keep things simple for them. Where I'm not there to troubleshoot it, and even if I was, maybe I would not have figured it out until asking you fine folks. Like I did with this issue.
But on the other hand... those Rode wireless mics do seem pretty cool when they work and the audio quality seems nice from what I've heard. :)
 
Yes keeping stuff simpl;e is king .. thats why my srcatch mic (a cheap rode) has no switch or batteries.. but maybe onboard is safer -= its only gotta put a bump on the WFM when there is a clapper
 
I got by with a couple of Rode Filmmaker wireless lavs with my C100 for a few years, you can pick them up pretty cheap used now, probably because they're a bit bulky. Perfectly ok though, never given me any problems, dead simple to set up and I still use them for interviews with farmers (no 2.4ghz interference in a field plus they seem to withstand fairly rough handling). For indoor interviews though I prefer to keep the lav wired. Learned that one from experience.
 
morgan_moore said:
Yes keeping stuff simpl;e is king .. thats why my srcatch mic (a cheap rode) has no switch or batteries.. but maybe onboard is safer -= its only gotta put a bump on the WFM when there is a clapper
Click to expand...
I've got an NTG1 as a scratch mic, cost me £30 used. Perfectly ok and as you say, no switch or batteries.
 
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