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Audio out from Tascam DR-40 to Canon 6D
I’m new to DSLR audio, so questions and assumptions may be off 🙂 Got a Tascam DR-40 with external mics and wondering about connecting the line out to the 6D. I know syncing in post in common, but I’d rather not – so my question is: how does the audio output from the recorder into the camera differ from the audio recorded onto the recorders card to be synced in post?
And what goes out of the line out if recording different mics on 2, or 4 separate channels?
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6 Replies
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I would suggest looking into a Sescom cable like the one I use with my Zoom H4N which is similar in concept to your DR-40. It does two different things: 1) Provide a headphone jack for monitoring and 2) reduce the level of the audio coming out of the Zoom so that it is better suited for the input levels expected by the camera
https://www.amazon.com/Sescom-LN2MIC-ZMH4-MON-Attenuation-Headphone-Monitoring/dp/B004VIOZSK
The second part of your question is interesting and I don’t 100% know but what I strongly suspect is that what is being output is a merging of all the channels/sources you’re recording into one stream. For that reason alone, it’s far better to do the syncing in post.
Steve Crow
Crow Digital Media
http://www.CrowDigitalMedia.com -
Not 100% sure, but about 99% 😉 When recording 4 channel to the card you get two stereo files. Line out provides a mixed down version of only one stereo signal. I do have the DR-40 but tbh haven’t tried 4 channel recording yet.
Can’t test it right now, but I’m pretty sure about that——————————————
“Tragedy is a close-up; comedy, a long shot.” – Buster KeatonMe on Twitter (english/german)
https://twitter.com/FastFoodVideo -
Thanks guys, I suspect it must be a mix down if using four channels. In reality I’m only really going to use two mono channels (shotgun + lapel) so wonder if the line out to camera will result in the same quality as syncing later in post? (ie 1 mono per stereo channel) I guess if it did people wouldn’t bother with post syncing! Have also read the Sescom cable isn’t necessary with the 6d.
Anyway the big question is, will the quality be that much better recording with the external recorder, or is better to swap the DR-40 with a Beachtek dxa-slr pro / mini etc and skip the syncing bit? Or will the DR-40 effectively work in the same way as the Beachtek if providing line out to the camera?
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I’d say the biggest advantage of syncing in post is the flexibility you have in recording. You can put the recorder/the mics anywhere you want without bothering where to put the cable to the camera.
On the other hand syncing in post can give you some headaches if you have longer recordings.
I once had to sync two hours of audio of a theater performance recorded on my Sony HDV cam and I experienced a massive audio drift. But this shouldn’t be an issue with DSLRs since you can only record 12min (with 1080p)./30min.(with 720p) clips anyway.Quality wise… hmmm… for sure there is some sort of degradation if you record from the recorder to the camera, because you have two conversions of the audio signal (a digital to analog conversion from the recorder to the line-out and then an analog to digital from line-in of the camera).
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“Tragedy is a close-up; comedy, a long shot.” – Buster KeatonMe on Twitter (english/german)
https://twitter.com/FastFoodVideo -
To add to this.. the previous post is correct in that what is recorded on the camera is really double compression. However, I believe tools like plural eyes uses “spikes” in the audio file with the video and the external file to synch things up. So if you look at it that way, use the camera recorded audio to then use the external recording to synch the good audio.
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Hi Lucky Phil, what are you currently using with your 6D? I am just starting out on one, and trying to figure out the best way to go. I really like the idea of running a line into the camera vs. separate recordings. Wondering how the Tascam DR-40 has worked out for you.
Merry Christmas everyone!
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