question for multi-cam/mic field work

[portlandbozz]

my movie im shooting i need to do a 2 cam 2 mic run n gun shoot, indoor and outdoor. both cams and both mics are identical, 1 mic each cam exc. anyway, i want to eliminate what i can for best portability. i was thinkin of axing my field mixers. question is, will eliminating my mixers affect my audio at all? i have expensive mics (2-5k range) so i wasnt sure if the quality of the audio will change running each mic straight to the camera instead. will the audio be noisier? will it sound the same as running through the mixer to cam? ive only used mixers using these expensive mics and when i wasnt using mixers i was using 5-1k range mics. so this never became a problem for me. i was gonna have the channel audio volume set to the same on both cams for the mic. also, any phase/hum/other worldly stuff i should know about using two mics near each other? something i also never do. im just worried i will lose quality in audio from these mics doin the straight to cam. is this a good idea? or is it neccessary to use mixers using these types of expensive mics or any for that matter

 

[saneproductions]

Axing the mixers is a very bad idea. you need to have the level controls off the camera and you need other things the mixer offers like limiters, low cut and clean preamps.

 

[ptalsky]

Portlandbozz,

Just as an FYI, the price of your mic does not necessarily indicate equivalent value. For example, the ME66 is an expensive mic that sounds like crap, whereas the Octava hyper sounds pretty good for a low price.

It's really much more about using the correct type of mic at the right time.

As far as your question goes, it really depends on the quality of your mixer and your camera. If you're using a Rolls mixer, you probably won't notice it if it is missing (other than your sound might actually be a bit better without it). If you are using an SD 302 or other SD mixer, you will probably miss it. But, again, a lot of this is also determined by the quality of the pre-amps on your camera.

Phil

 

[Noel Evans]

Are these mics camera mounted? If so, it wont matter, cause the audio will be rubbish anyway. What cameras are you recording on? I have found the panasonics very good for straight in recording, although I still avoid whenever I can.