Zoom H1 as an external mic for GH1?

- bruner

I played around with the mic input level to find the sweet spot but the best I could set still gave me some (although much less) hissing sound. You set it to -12db, about what was the mic input level at..around 60 to 70?
 
vicvelazzy said:
- bruner

I played around with the mic input level to find the sweet spot but the best I could set still gave me some (although much less) hissing sound. You set it to -12db, about what was the mic input level at..around 60 to 70?
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vic -- the mic in is in the mid 40s and the headphone out is around 50. That gives me about -12 at the peaks. I am putting together a quick video showing my results and will post it as soon as the edit is done.

Cheers,

Bill
 
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Guys, you are going to get much better results by recording audio to the H1's media card, video to whatever camera you're shooting, and syncing them later in post. Even without auto-sync software like Pluraleyes it's just not a big deal to sync outboard audio to video.

Trying to mate a Zoom and a Lumix is like getting a llama to mate with a cow. It'll fit in there, but you'll never be happy with the results. Drop the H1's audio onto your NLE timeline later and you'll be much happier with the sound.
 
I agree with Shaveblog (awesome login name, BTW). But, I think that Sescom cables have a place in this world. If you're shooting a bunch of stuff and you know beforehand that you don't want to bother syncing audio and video in post, I think they're very useful. Plus, if you have a Zoom H4n or a similar recorder that has XLR inputs, you can use the recorder and the Sescom cable as a sort of makeshift Beachtek or juicedLink box.

It's just nice that a single cable can:

1) Turn your portable digital recorder into an on-camera mic
2) Turn your H4n or DR100 into a camcorder XLR adapter (a Beachtek or juicedLink)

One thing that's important to note is that because a Sescom cable consumes the headphone output on your recorder, you're losing your ability to monitor the audio on headphones as you shoot. However, Sescom also make versions of these cables that feature a headphone tap. I just tested one out this weekend. Here's a link to my test:

http://www.sam-mallery.com/archives/1179

I also experienced annoying AGC pumping with the camera I used in the test. But, the camera I used didn't have manual audio level control or AGC disable. I have a GH2 on order. When it arrives I'll try to do another test. All in all, I think these cables serve as a nice little option.
 
Thanks Sam. Stating for the record that I've never used a Sescom cable between a Zoom and a GH1, I will say that I don't see how you can really exploit the capabilities of the Zooms, or any good audio recorders for that matter, if you need to go through the padding and/or AGC-defeating KHz tone injection just to get outboard audio onto the GH1 video files. Attenuating the Zoom's line-level output by 25dB significantly increases the chance of noise pickup, both EMI/RFI as well as physically-induced handling noise. And there is the issue of the GH1's AGC circuit, which will magnify the extra noise pickup resulting from this type of kluge.

Sheesh, guys, is it really that much of a hassle to press the red record button on the top of the H1 for each take? I leave mine on for hours and cut it in post later but if you really need little snippets to correspond to your video shots, reaching up and hitting the record button before you do the same on your camera is well worth it, I would think, for vastly better sounding external audio.
 
shaveblog said:
Thanks Sam. Stating for the record that I've never used a Sescom cable between a Zoom and a GH1, I will say that I don't see how you can really exploit the capabilities of the Zooms, or any good audio recorders for that matter, if you need to go through the padding and/or AGC-defeating KHz tone injection just to get outboard audio onto the GH1 video files. Attenuating the Zoom's line-level output by 25dB significantly increases the chance of noise pickup, both EMI/RFI as well as physically-induced handling noise. And there is the issue of the GH1's AGC circuit, which will magnify the extra noise pickup resulting from this type of kluge.

Sheesh, guys, is it really that much of a hassle to press the red record button on the top of the H1 for each take? I leave mine on for hours and cut it in post later but if you really need little snippets to correspond to your video shots, reaching up and hitting the record button before you do the same on your camera is well worth it, I would think, for vastly better sounding external audio.
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shaveblog (love that name too) -- I agree. When I care about the result, I hit "record" on the H1 and sync in post. And I wouldn't bother to do this with an AGC camera like the GH1 or the pre-60D Canons. But with the GH2 audio gain set to "low", this is a good way to capture a fairly clean backup track (even though I sound like I'm under water in the clip above -- I was wrong about the mic input level -- needs to be closer to 50).

Bill
 
Thanks guys, if you like the name maybe you'll like the blog (pls excuse the random pics MIA, I recently migrated the site from Wordpress to Tumblr and am repairing links as we speak).

I'm going to love it if the GH2 that will someday arrive here can take the H1's output directly without mucking it up. But I'm so used to syncing in post now it won't really bother me if I need to continue doing it to preserve audio quality. I'm a stickler for audio and willing to spend extra time to ensure it's clean.
 
Sam Mallery said:
One thing that's important to note is that because a Sescom cable consumes the headphone output on your recorder, you're losing your ability to monitor the audio on headphones as you shoot.
Click to expand...

why not just using a y-splitter?
thanks for your information!
 
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