GH2 Upgrade or downgrade?(Audio Recording)

zecahue

zecahue

Member
I saw severals posts regarding GH2 audio solution, but was unable to solve my doubt.

I use a Sony M10 recorder with a Rode NTG-2. Beside being a good recorder, it has poor pre-amp capability and always get some "hum" even in lower levels, making me lost some time cleaning it in post.

My question is: if I get a cheap pre-amp, like the juicelink, and point it out directly to the GH2 (with a line out to mic -25db cable), do I get virtually same, better or worst results than using the M10 without a pre-amp.

I know that the best thing is using both the pre-amp with the recorder, but I like the idea of in-camera sound for some works.

Simplifying:

Now - NTG-2 -> M10 -> Sync
Want - NTG-2 -> juicelink -> GH2

The GH2 records audio in AC3 right? At which bitrate?

thanks guys...
Ze Cahue
 
When I'm in a situation where I really need to record audio in camera I also need things to be light and very simple. I was going to go with something similar to what you described above, but I decided to use:
Rode VMP with +20 dB > a -11dB attenuator cable > GH2 at audio level 1
Like most people who tried it, I found the +20 dB on the VMP too hot on its own, but with the signal attenuated by roughly half, I was able to drop the levels down in post so that the noise floor fell off a fair amount. You can listen to a very rough test of this here:
http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?249293-Rode-VMP-with-11dB-attentuator-cable-test
If you listen with headphones, you can hear the difference in the noise floor. This test doesn't show off the quality of the VMP, but it basically gives you an idea of whether -11 dB works or not.
 
Yes, an attenuator cable can help in this case, to get levels between huge gaps of control, like the VMP. But I need smooth precisely gain control, so, I still need to use the recorder or go with a pre-amp.
 
I tried using Rode videomic with my GH2 but it has a different audio jack...Its really cheap trick from Panasonic:( Is there a way out for using the rode video mic with GH2 or which other mics would plug in directly and are good?
 
I use a Zoom H1 Handy velcroed onto the tripod- costs 99 bucks- has great sound and gives me uncompressed WAV audio at 96Khz/24-bit. Way way way better than the GH2's onboard circuitry, level control and quality.

31xLHs99lcL.jpg


-Noah
 
NoahK said:
I use a Zoom H1 Handy velcroed onto the tripod- costs 99 bucks- has great sound and gives me uncompressed WAV audio at 96Khz/24-bit. Way way way better than the GH2's onboard circuitry, level control and quality.

-Noah
Click to expand...

Hi Noah, I already own a Sony M10 recorder it also give me uncompressed WAV audio at 96Khz/24-bit, record quality is superb, but very bad preamp, I believe the zoom H1 also has a fairly preamp for external mics. My question is regarding the quality comparison between the use of a recorder and a preamp plus the GH2 onboard input.
 
I haven't used the M10 but I can tell you the preamp on the Handy is very solid- so I'm not sure if it's the same or better as what you're using. To my ears it sounds far better than the built-in preamp on the GH2 and I've tried with the Hosa adapter.

That said, it could also be your mic, your cables, etc that are taking down the quality. I never hear any hum or hiss. My audio chain goes like this-

Sanken COS-11D lav mic
wired to Sennheiser EW112-p G3 wireless transmitter with a short 3.5mm cable
wireless to
G3 Receiver mounted on GH2 hotshoe
wired to Handy H1 via short 3.5mm cable.

I find that combo gives me pretty much perfect sound. I have another training video coming out in the near future that we just used this setup for. I'll post a link as soon as it's done.

-Noah
 
I´ve tested the same mic with an old Fostex (dont remember the model) at NYU and got better sound. The fostex was 16bit 48khz against my sony 24bit 96khz. A good XLR preamp makes the difference in this case.

I dont blame the quality of my recorder, its ok for my needs . Just trying to get the same juice with less post working.
 
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Are you using an impedance transformer between the XLR output of the NTG-2 and the 3.5mm mic input on the Sony M10? Something like this:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/589872-REG/Pearstone_8111240_LMT100_Low_to.html

If you're not using an impedance transformer, your noise floor could be affected. However, if you're looking to cut the recorder out of the equation, I would get a juicedLink CX211 to use with your battery-powered NTG-2. You may want to write Robert at juicedLink and see if he can sell you a dedicated 2.5mm to 3.5mm output cable (so you don't need to futz with an adapter).
 
Yes, I have that cable, but I am now not sure if its an impedance transformer or only a XLR to 3.5mm, bought at B&H together with the mic and the rec, hope the guy there gave me the right cable. I think I gonna go with the juiceLink, just waiting to see if someone who has a similar setup can make a simple test: mic to rec vs mic to juiceLink to gh2.

Thanks for the Robert´s contact.
 
Just check my B&H last year order and there is no such cable, I´ve got for free an audio technica XLR to 3.5mm adapter, so it should be the cheapest one without a transformer. You may be right that my extra noise is related the lack of a proper impedance transformer.
 
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