Zoom H1 and Rode noise

S

Shay107

New member
Basically, I wanted to get a good mic for a talking-head situation where the subject is about two or three feet away from the mic. I tried simply getting the Rode Videomic Pro since I heard it was generally cheap and very popular consumer-wise, but my DSLR pre amp is lousy. So in addition, I got the Zoom H1 handy recorder and after seeing lots of tests online of simply the Zoom or the Rode plugged into the Zoom H1, I thought I'd have a solid audio system. Unfortunately with or without the camera or Zoom H1, the Zoom by itself or the Rode-into-Zoom combo still creates notable hiss. I must be doing something wrong, so I was wondering if anyone can provide some advice on what settings to use perhaps, on the Rode or Zoom or both. Of course I can edit the hiss out in post, but it reduces the quality and it'd just be much easier not having to.
 
Two to three feet away sounds like the problem to me. For a good signal to noise ratio you need to get the mic as close as possible (without it being in the shot, obviously). Every inch matters. Keep the mic as close as possible, ideally boomed from above aimed at the subject's chest, and try to keep the H1 input level as low as possible.

Another thing to consider is I believe the Zoom H1 has an "optimal" input level of 37 or less (IIRC). I don't remember the specifics since I no longer have one myself, but I believe there is some sort of digital gain being applied after that setting. Listen to the on board mics with headphones and you should hear a noticeable change in the sound around that setting.
 
Watch a local news service and see how they use / hold a microphone.....Why do they do it this way?
If they could get good results with a mic mounted on top of the camera don't you think they would use it?
 
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