So, after playing with them at NAB I came home and ordered a Saramonics UWMIC10 set (two bodypack transmitters, one dual-channel receiver) to see how they compared with my Sennheiser G3 and Sony UWP setups.
So far, so good. The dual-channel works as-advertised once you set the menu option that outputs the two channels in stereo. By default, the receiver receives both channels and then mixes them down into a single mono output, but the "stereo" menu option changes that behavior so it puts transmitter A on one side and B on the other side of a stereo output. Recording this to my Zoom H6 using the 3.5mm stereo input worked pretty well. There is a little bleed between the channels, but I had to give the off-channel quite a bit of gain in Audition to get it to a "hearable" level. For the most part, the bleed is going to stay in the noise floor.
I need to buy or make a 3.5mm stereo to 2x XLR cable to test them this way, but the dual-channel receiver is a HUGE deal. It's so nice not to have to find a place for two receivers on the camera (I'm using a C100 Mark II on my way to an FS5).
Build quality is excellent. They feel like the little metal brick shithouses they are. They look like a spitting image of the old Sony UWP bodypack/transmitters. The antennas are all flexible though rather than the rigid ones on the Sony receivers.
Haven't run out of a set of batteries yet. I hear about two hours when you're using both channels in the highest power setting, but we'll see.
The included lav mics sound ok... they're huge though. I'll probably be upgrading them.
Overall, for $399 for the kit (two bodypacks/lavs, one receiver) they're a steal if you're on a budget. I can't wait for the plug-on transmitter to drop... supposedly it's "coming soon."
So far, so good. The dual-channel works as-advertised once you set the menu option that outputs the two channels in stereo. By default, the receiver receives both channels and then mixes them down into a single mono output, but the "stereo" menu option changes that behavior so it puts transmitter A on one side and B on the other side of a stereo output. Recording this to my Zoom H6 using the 3.5mm stereo input worked pretty well. There is a little bleed between the channels, but I had to give the off-channel quite a bit of gain in Audition to get it to a "hearable" level. For the most part, the bleed is going to stay in the noise floor.
I need to buy or make a 3.5mm stereo to 2x XLR cable to test them this way, but the dual-channel receiver is a HUGE deal. It's so nice not to have to find a place for two receivers on the camera (I'm using a C100 Mark II on my way to an FS5).
Build quality is excellent. They feel like the little metal brick shithouses they are. They look like a spitting image of the old Sony UWP bodypack/transmitters. The antennas are all flexible though rather than the rigid ones on the Sony receivers.
Haven't run out of a set of batteries yet. I hear about two hours when you're using both channels in the highest power setting, but we'll see.
The included lav mics sound ok... they're huge though. I'll probably be upgrading them.
Overall, for $399 for the kit (two bodypacks/lavs, one receiver) they're a steal if you're on a budget. I can't wait for the plug-on transmitter to drop... supposedly it's "coming soon."
