Preamp or digital recorder for gh2?

C

craigbuckley

Active member
So I have the azden sgm2x microphone (its alright, $200 bucks on amazon), and I thought I was all ready to go and film, but I found out that there is no headphone jack in the gh2.. This is a problem, especially with this microphone. I have been told either to get a beachtek preamp or juicedlink preamp, but also people say to do with a digital recorder like the h4n.. Any recommendations out there which to go for/better investment? Thanks!!
 
A dedicated preamp would be the way to go if you plan to always be a solo shooter with your mic attached close to your camera. A digital recorder would be good if you have a sound person to run it for you away from the camera and you don't mind having to sync the audio in post. Some digital recorders can be used as preamps too, but a dedicated preamp will usually have better ergonomics, XLR inputs, line/mic level switchability, and better sound quality (s/n ratio). A Beachtek type device can be attached to a camera's tripod mount, but a digital recorder will usually require a rig/cage to attach stably (I wouldn't recommend mounting anything bigger than a Zoom H1 on the GH2's hot shoe).
 
I use a ZoomH2 or ZoomH1 usually mounted on a spare lightstand and placed as close to the "talent" as I can get it without it showing in the frame. Most of the time I've been using the Zoom's built in mics although I've used a Rode SVM or Rode VM plugged into the recorder depending on the "environment".

If working "solo" I set up the audio levels by both the meters and with headphones plugged into the recorder, I start the recorder, move to the camera and start it, announce "audio ON - Camera Rolling. Scene # - Take #, and ACTION". I'm going to synch on the word action and it's spike on both the camera audio and the Zoom audio.

I'll usually "process" the Zoom recorder audio in the free audio editor, Audacity, save the processed audio as a WAV file and put that on a separate audio track on the timeline. Synching is a matter of dragging the waveform spikes for "ACTION" into visual alignment then making small adjustments until the "echo" from listening to two tracks is gone. Then I can trim the start and end points of the clip I'm working on and mute the camera audio. Do the same for the next clip and I wind up with pretty good audio.

I haven't been able to use Pluraleyes because it's not compatible with Pinnacle Studio, the NLE I've been using, so I've become used to synching as described above.
 
I like the Tascam Dr 680, it has preamps, HP jack, digital mixer, everything you need. Standalone pres will not give you better sound quality unless you spend some very serious cash, and even then it is a tiny difference. The Zoom pres may not have the full 48 volts, but many mics don't need it. Zoom is more of a built in mic system than a preamp system like the DR 680.
You can get the new H2 and just use the built in mics, which are good and can do MS.
 
ok thanks guys I will check out some digital recorders. How is the mic on the tascum dr40 and on the zoom h4n (thats my price range, can't be going over $200)? And what kind of mics are in the recorders? is it directional or all around? And would it be stupid to have one of these mics when I already have a shotgun mic (azden sgm2x)? Just trying to find the best bang for my buck, with still having good sound.
 
be prepared to go through a silly amount of batteries if you need phantom power on any of these cheap audio recorders
 
Something you should consider: if the mic is camera mounted; plug the mic into a preamp (JuicedLink CX211 is a decent one for the price). Output from the preamp to the portable recorder. You can adjust it to peak at -12dB or -6dB, then using the headphones output, plug it directly in-camera for *dual* audio recording.
I've done that before and it gave me decent audio, provided your mic performs well where you're recording. I don't know what you'll be recording, but the other option to consider is a Lav+Portable recorder on the person. Sync in post as Bruce suggested.
 
Just typed long reply on my iPad but it vanished, pfffffffff here go again....
I started with external recorders, sucked. Then bought a Beachtek, perfect. But with phantom powered mikes and when using Duracel 9v rechargeable batteries you need to replace them about once every two hours, there is no external power plug on the Beachtek but I'm going to connect it to a power adapter anyway. Apart from that; perfect audio monitoring using a headphone and very clean audio.
 
preamp

preamp

I recently got the juicedlink ds214 which does a great job preamping. sound going straight into the camera, super lightweight, no syncing hassle, allowing me to use 2 sound sources on different L/R channels with a hosa y splitter cable. plus an ajustable headphone monitor jack.
I use it for 1 channel external attached mic and 2nd channel for my wireless mic.
see more info here. you can also get a very cool hotshoe adapter fot 10$ which is been costum made by this guy.
this setup is extremly efficient and lightweight. not to mention the low price...
 
Does the Juicedlink use a lot of batteries too, and can it be powered from a mains adapter? I do know that the Juicedlinks in general are cheaper than the Beachteks while performance is the same. I still bought a Beachtek because I found it very cheap on eBay.
 
I wanted to ask you if that's with phantom powering any mikes but I know see the Juicedlink you use doesn't have XLR connectors. Maybe your set-up works fine but normally usage of non-XLR mikes/cables isn't recommended.
 
There no sound difference XLR versus other connectors. Even using phono plugs, you can wire them with quad wire if you need to. If battery life is key, get a Fostex FR2LE. Excellent pres, AD converters, SDHC disc recording, and you can put an off-the-shelf RC battery straight in the battery housing that will run 8-10 hours--the batteries are super cheap. Plus XLR, if that is important. It is convenient, that's for sure.
 
By XLR I meant balanced. Anything else, with cables longer than 3 meters, will work as an antenna. I even already have that problem with balanced XLR cables, picking up seeking signals from mobile phones. Unbalanced cables will also pick up electric noise produced by passing cars, wireless phones, portofoons, electrical devices, etc. If there are balanced cables with phono jacks, great, didn't know that.
 
Despite the relative noise, compared to other units, I grabbed an H4N and have found that it does a great job with lapel or shotgun. I was going to try a JL Riggy assist but I ended up feeling more comfortable with external sound. The lesson I learned in this is that it truly is important to get great sound and that most units out there will serve a need more than adequately. Best practice is to grab a unit and make some movies.
 
DrDave said:
I like the Tascam Dr 680, it has preamps, HP jack, digital mixer, everything you need.
Click to expand...
Agreed - I use our's on every shoot. Super piece of pro gear that behaves exactly as expected, except for the headphone monitor output which is pretty sucky. But if you get your audio to sound good through your cans, then it will sound absolutely phenomenal in post through your studio monitors.
 
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