On board DVX100B mic. Please help!

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dvxfilmgal

Member
Hello all,

I can't seem to find the right solution to my problem here so I'll ask it anyhow...

I'm new to the DVX and I have been reading that the DVX100B has some pretty good on board sound capturing. However, I've yet to come across this! I get terrible audio even when I'm 5 feet away...I know this camera can do better and I also know that I'm doing something wrong here...if someone could please give me a crash course on setting up the in camera audio, please lend me your knowledge! :)

Also, I'm looking to shoot at more of a distance of about 10-20 feet while moving around so capturing relativley good audio in that situation is what I'm after.

Thank You!
-Kelly
 
Welcome to DVXUser, Kelly!

The DVX can record some very good audio, but that does not account for the on-baord mic. Which on-board are you talking about, by the way? If it's the stereo mic pair built into the handle, you're going to record lots of mechanical noise and user handling noise from the camera. These mics are made to capture a wide field of sound, and they really aren't designed to be good mics... they're designed on the cheap because you can't sell a camera without some sort of audio pickup. Plus, stereo sound is all but useless on your camera. Dialog is recorded in mono.

If it's the little "shotgun" (either Panasonic or Azden) that fits in the factory-supplied shock mount, you're working with a mic that is really good at capturing lots of sound around it and not very good a isolating. Though marginally better than the mics in the camera's handle (mostly by virtue of not being a stereo pair), it still isn't as good at rejecting extraneous sound as a good shotgun mic.

The other thing to keep in mind is that your camera is the last place you want your mic to be. A shotgun has an effective working distance of about 2 or 3 feet, and the rule is the closer the better. The farther away the mic is from the source, the more of the environment it will record in proportion to the subject. At 10-20 feet (and even at 5-10 feet), you aren't going to get anything usable, not even from the best mic.

Picking up good sound requires getting the mic away from the camera, and moving it as close to the subject as possible. This can be done by having a separate sound person to swing a boom, so that the mic is over the subject's head. It can also be done with wireless mic systems.

There's a great DVD available in the DVXUser Store about sound for TV and film. It's worth its weight in gold for newbies.
 
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dvxfilmgal said:
Unfortunately it is the stereo mic on the handle, as of now. What is the best setting for the stereo mic, have I need to use it? How do I set it up?...I'm not really sure where I should be setting the audio dials on the bottom of the camera...or which one to set (I'm assuming channel 1).
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If you are using the in-handle mic, then you have both channels running. Again, you aren't going to get any usable audio out of that, but for levels you want to set the input adjustments so that the sound is strong (averaging around the reference mark, just before the red segments on the level meters) but not too strong (you don't want the audio to peak, where it overmodulates).

And remember the first rule of audio: always wear good headphones while you record (like the Sony MDR-7506). When you detect a problem, that's the time to fix it. Otherwise, you'll risk unpleasant surprises later when you watch the playback.

dvxfilmgal said:
Also, which shotgun mic would you recommend?
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In the price range of the AT you mentioned, take a look at the Rode NTG-2. If you go through DVeStore you can get a very nice NTG-2 kit that has all the accessories you need to get started. Don't forget to tell them that you're a DVXUser member.

And poke around the Audio forum here. You'll find lots of good information on mics and sound recording there. Read through the stickies first.
 
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