Simple question about connecting a mic to a Sony FDR-AX100

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kat.hayes

Active member
I need to do a last minute project tomorrow using only gear available to me. The camera will be a Sony FDR-AX100 and it does not have XLR. I also have two mics available, beyerdynamic M58 N(C) OR a EV RE50N/D-B. I nee to record a live music performance, so my plan is to run an XLR cable with a 1/8 connection into the camera mic and connect that to another XLR cable and then to one of the two mics that will be placed close to the stage.

1. Since I will be using an extension with the XLR will that degrade the quality of the audio at all?

2. Which of the two mics would you recommend for this project?

3. Will this camera and one of these mics do a decent job recording audio without having a field mixer or way to amplify the signal?

Thanks in advance.
 
My personal advice (since you're on a short turnaround time) is that your mic placement and camera settings will be the absolutely most important things to worry about in your endeavor.

I am not familiar with your mics, but you need to monitor/check/keep an eye on the audio levels while setting all of them up, especially the ones closer to the stage if your live performance is loud (music)...especially once the show gets started.

If you haven't done this before and you don't know what to expect, the mics closest to the stage have a very high possibility of blowing out your audio and ruining the sound if you don't control the input.

I wouldn't worry about the cable. I have used a 25' and 50' XLR to 1/8 connection and the results were fine, but your results may vary. (You just never know. Any interference?)

Hopefully some audio professionals will chime in and offer you more/better advice. But it really comes down to one thing when you're working with limited options (in my opinion): no matter which mics or hardware (field mixer) you use, if you blow the audio, it's 99% unusable.
 
Recording audio on a DSLR or any cam with 1/8" inputs is asking for trouble. That said, I would choose the Beyer mic. The omni directional RE50 would likely pick-up excessive indirect sound.
My preferred quick and easy set-up for recording bands is a Tascam DR-40, which can record two stereo tracks. One pair is usually a feed from the house console, the other pair is the recorder's internal mics to pick up the 'live' sound. The Tascam's external line inputs are mic/line switchable, with line being +4dB nominal, XLR or 1/4" TS/TRS, so feeds from most consoles are not a problem. The stereo pairs (4 tracks) can be mixed in post.
 
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