Undocumented (?) GH1 feature - mic socket has 'plugin power'
- Thread starter Ozpeter
- Start date
simonclivehughes
Well-known member
Interesting... Panasonic's own mic for the GH1 has an internal AAA cell.
Cheers,
Cheers,
Here's a test file - about 2.5MB
http://www.fileden.com/files/2007/9/22/1451533/Naiant GH1 test.mp3
It contains a short bit of speech to the GH1 built in mic, then a longer bit using a pair of Naiant clip-on / lavalier mics.
These mics have XLR connectors and run on phantom power, but they can also use 'plugin power' via an adapter lead which Naiant supply - that's a "Y" lead with two XLR sockets connected to a 3.5mm plug. You then plug that into the GH1 via a 3.5mm to 2.5mm adapter, and the GH1 then supplies power to the mics.
See attached crude photo of the rig.
Note that this is most unlikely to work with normal phantom power mics - these Naiants are special in this regard.
I'm not sure whether Naiant are still making the same stuff - you could email them - their site is at http://www.naiant.com/studiostore.html - very helpful people.
The recording was made using a 20 foot extension lead for good measure. So the whole rig would (for instance) allow you to film from a distance, but have a mic attached to an interviewer and the other to the interviewee.
The big downside remains the GH1's auto level control for audio, which cranks up the gain in silence (and as these Naiants are more sensitive than the GH1 built in mics, they sound more noisy because the room sound is being cranked up louder than the built ins). And you have to hope that the system is working because you can't monitor the audio during recording. If you bring along the GH1 composite lead and a headphone amp, you can at least do a quick soundcheck and replay it before doing the actual take.
All of this is for those not wanting nor not equipped to do the job properly with a separate sound system.
http://www.fileden.com/files/2007/9/22/1451533/Naiant GH1 test.mp3
It contains a short bit of speech to the GH1 built in mic, then a longer bit using a pair of Naiant clip-on / lavalier mics.
These mics have XLR connectors and run on phantom power, but they can also use 'plugin power' via an adapter lead which Naiant supply - that's a "Y" lead with two XLR sockets connected to a 3.5mm plug. You then plug that into the GH1 via a 3.5mm to 2.5mm adapter, and the GH1 then supplies power to the mics.
See attached crude photo of the rig.
Note that this is most unlikely to work with normal phantom power mics - these Naiants are special in this regard.
I'm not sure whether Naiant are still making the same stuff - you could email them - their site is at http://www.naiant.com/studiostore.html - very helpful people.
The recording was made using a 20 foot extension lead for good measure. So the whole rig would (for instance) allow you to film from a distance, but have a mic attached to an interviewer and the other to the interviewee.
The big downside remains the GH1's auto level control for audio, which cranks up the gain in silence (and as these Naiants are more sensitive than the GH1 built in mics, they sound more noisy because the room sound is being cranked up louder than the built ins). And you have to hope that the system is working because you can't monitor the audio during recording. If you bring along the GH1 composite lead and a headphone amp, you can at least do a quick soundcheck and replay it before doing the actual take.
All of this is for those not wanting nor not equipped to do the job properly with a separate sound system.
Attachments
Thanks so much for continuing these tests. I've just obtained a wireless lavaliere microphone system myself. I was hoping to be able to get by without a separate audio recorder, just to start with...but it's sounding more and more like I need to scrape the bottom of the barrel for just a little more cash to make that happen.
Maybe not though -- these microphones have no real way to control their output level, whereas the system I'm receiving will be capable of adjusting the output...so I might be able to trim it down and make it work, for a little while anyway.
Do you know what the low pitched, constant noise is with the microphones you tried in this test? It sounds like maybe a car off in the distance, being picked up by the microphones since they're being cranked by the GH1.
Maybe not though -- these microphones have no real way to control their output level, whereas the system I'm receiving will be capable of adjusting the output...so I might be able to trim it down and make it work, for a little while anyway.
Do you know what the low pitched, constant noise is with the microphones you tried in this test? It sounds like maybe a car off in the distance, being picked up by the microphones since they're being cranked by the GH1.
Peter J. DeCrescenzo
Veteran
Fantastic, Ozpeter. Keep it up, these tests are great!
My guess is that the low-pitched sound is a vehicle outside the testing room (the sound varies as it drives by)?
I agree, recording audio without live (headphone/speaker) monitoring is flirting with certain, eventual disaster. Which is why #1 & #2 are on my GH1 firmware request list:
http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showpost.php?p=1654842&postcount=7
Thanks again hugely, Ozpeter!
My guess is that the low-pitched sound is a vehicle outside the testing room (the sound varies as it drives by)?
I agree, recording audio without live (headphone/speaker) monitoring is flirting with certain, eventual disaster. Which is why #1 & #2 are on my GH1 firmware request list:
http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showpost.php?p=1654842&postcount=7
Thanks again hugely, Ozpeter!
I think that's specific car noise or general suburban rumble - certainly at the start of the Naiant section of the recording - nicely picked up by the little Naiant mics and then faithfully recorded by the GH1! It was recorded in the middle of the day, and cars pass our house at pretty frequent intervals.
Sorry to sound dense, but I was operating under the assumption that, with a bit more control, you could have pulled the rumble out. Do you feel that was the case, or do you think even with greater control over the levels the rumble would have been there? The nice thing about a rumble that low and constant is you can at least low-shelf it out fairly simply, hopefully without losing too much fidelity.