So is there a VDSLR with good internal audio?

[Oller Visuals]

Reviews hardly ever touch this subject. They usually just mention "great this has a headphone jack!" but that's it... no mention of noise floor etc and if it actually sounds good.

For example I've heard that GH3 is pretty poor with clicking & sound clipping before it actually clips? I hate syncing audio and all the extra gear to bring to a shoot. Yes there's sync plugins but still a hassle...

No, I can't afford a decent video camera. AF100 goes very cheap right now but not a big fan of it... DSLR brand doesn't matter, could jump ship to Nikon, Sony or whatever.

Suggestions?

edit: This is an old thread, I'm quite happy with the GH3's interal audio with videomic's +20db.

 

[mcbob]

The Sony A7/7R supposedly will have an optional XLR module.

Though I really like my AF, I understand many have hang ups about it, and it can be very unforgiving. FS100 is getting very affordable used. Heck, used F3's can be had for equal money to the inferior C100.

For what it's worth, I've recorded professional interview sync sound on the Gh2/3 (not broadcast, mind you, but fairly high profile internet content). Trick is to set camera audio level at its lowest and feed a clean strong signal. Add a small external pre-amp to get better control and sn if you like. Something like the Tascam DR60 can serve well as a good preamp feeding back to camera sync, plus internal HQ recording if you need.

Naturally, sounding "good" or "good enough" can vary by the person and project.

 

[Ted Ramasola]

I did this doc using a 5D amkII and 7D, the interviews and all the talking parts were all from the 5D, I did pass the mic signal to a cheap preamp to boost the signal from the mic, I used am akg shotgun.

A pic of the set up I used.



Note that in order for me to be able to control the audio and video on the 5d mkII I used magic lantern.

It allowed me to:

1.Monitor sound from cam via headphone.

2.Allow me to split the stereo channels on the cam. L= Internal mic R=balanced Ext source this gives me security in case the ext source screws up.

3.Auto restart recording so I can focus on the interview and not worry about recording stopping at 4gig. (I used h264 NOT raw)

 

[Bruce Watson]

So is there a VDSLR with good internal audio?

Depends on what you mean by "good internal audio". For me that means at least two channels of XLR inputs with fully manual and independent gain controls. These XLR inputs would have to be mic / line level switchable with mic level providing providing switchable phantom power, and line level bypassing the cams preamps. Then of course, it's got to sound decent and have a reasonable noise floor. Finally, we need at least a 3.5mm headphone monitoring output with full manual gain control.

I haven't found a VDSLR that meets these requirements yet, so my answer would have to be "no".

 

[Darren Levine]

the rx10, though still in testing, is showing a lot of promise, it has the optional xlr adapter, and 3.5mm port which i plan to try soon. the internal mic is at least as good as any dslr out there(yea i know not saying much) but might actually even be a step up and very usable in the right situation/purpose:

 

[Propertv.be]

If it is still a vdslr to you, the nex vg10/20/30 has amazing internal audio!

 

[M. Gilden]

Reviews hardly ever touch this subject. They usually just mention "great this has a headphone jack!" but that's it... no mention of noise floor etc and if it actually sounds good.

For example I've heard that GH3 is pretty poor with clicking & sound clipping before it actually clips? I hate syncing audio and all the extra gear to bring to a shoot. Yes there's sync plugins but still a hassle...

You are right, people don't talk about internal audio on these much, and I think that's mostly because everyone just automatically assumes it will be terrible.

When I first started experimenting with Canon DSLRs, everyone told me you have to sync dual system sound no matter what. To be honest, the sound was pretty bad back then (this is during the classic AGC noisy Canon preamps stage), so the general accepted view was not to bother with it. However, I experimented with Magic Lantern to turn the camera's preamps off and got headphone monitoring to give me some extra confidence, and found myself pleasantly surprised for simple talking head interviews. Granted, the range was extremely limited and the workflow far from ideal, but in a pinch it was usable.
I even did a piece for an upcoming guest on a network television talk show with it (was told that the audio needed to be embedded since my DSLR lacked timecode).

The GH2, meanwhile, has been claimed to have a noise floor similar to the HMC-150. It also rarely clips, since there is some sort of gain control on peaks that acts more like an audio limiter when it gets too hot. Since it does not have a headphone jack to monitor however, I always bring along a Tascam recorder as a backup, and split the signal between the two.
In most corporate scenarios (talking head, interviews, documentary-style, etc), the audio out of the camera was nearly identical, or at the very least good enough that I didn't feel the need to use the Tascam recordings. But this isn't foolproof and the dual system recording has saved me before, particularly when there is a range of volume. I've never shot with a GH3, but one of the things I like about the specs is the headphone monitoring jack. Assuming it has similar levels of noise floor and sound quality to the GH2's audio, I would consider using it solely on simple interview type corporate gigs.

I actually haven't heard about clicking and sound clipping before it actually clips- granted, I don't have experience recording sound with one. Is this really a documented problem around here? Because I'd be rather disappointed to be honest coming from the GH2.

 

[pmrphoto]

The Sony A99V has an optional balanced audio unit called the Sony XLRK1M XLR-K1M. It gives you a true balanced audio and allows for two separate XLR inputs and provides 48V Phantom power. This unit will work on the A7 and A7r as well. Audio meters are right on the articulated LCD and it offers killer focus peaking in three different colors and with three different intensities. I rarely use an external monitor for focus pulls anymore as their system is so good... No one is watching Sony right now. I just bought the A7 which allows me to use anyone's lenses that I want from PL mount to Canon EF, to Nikkor's, to ancient Olympus and Canon FD lenses. So, yes, there is a DSLR out there that gives true balanced audio and it's been on the market since 2010.

 

[vtwiz]

For example I've heard that GH3 is pretty poor with clicking & sound clipping before it actually clips?
Suggestions?

The GH3 audio is pretty good I've found. As long as you turn the GH3's audio level to 1, it won't use its internal limiter. Any other level will have an AGC applied. I set the GH3 level to 1 and use a beachtek and adjust the levels on that. Results are more than good enough for broadcast work.