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Audio for video
I’m a beginning videographer that wants to learn more about and capture better quality audio. I have a Sony professional video camera with two built in XLR inputs. I recently purchased the Sony UWP-D brand wireless microphone set with the receiver that can plug into the MI hotshoe without having to deal with cables. I’ve been doing a lot of research lately and find that preamps, even in the Sony professional cameras are not as good as the ones in portable audio recording devices (Zoom, Tascam, etc.) or even a field mixer. Also I seem to see that all the tutorials or videos about using a field mixer are ones where someone is using a DSLR camera. If my main projects are only requiring about two or three audio sources, do I even need a field mixer? I’m debating on moving forward with a system of just audio from my camera via the Sony UWP-D mics so I don’t have to sync audio in post, or going with capturing audio to an audio recorder where I can get 24-bit, 96 khz quality but have to sync in post (my video camera only seems to capture 16-bit, 48 khz).
And again, what about a mixer? Do non-DSLR videographers need a field mixer? I understand that the preamps are much better and you can more easily track levels, make use of filters and limiters, etc. Perhaps I don’t need one if I can find a portable audio recorder that also has level tracking and those other features?
Lastly if I did get a field mixer and/or a portable audio recorder, what is the opinion on sending that audio out to the videocamera and synching the cameras levels with that of the mixer/recorder so you can avoid post sync work?
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1 Reply
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Hello John and welcome to the Cow Audio Forum.
1. Not all camera preamps are bad. I don’t know about yours, but those on my JVC HM650 camera are quite good. I wasn’t expecting them to be when I bought the camera and was happily surprised to find out later.
2. If you only have two subjects, you only need two inputs. If you have three……um, well…you need three and that means a mixer or a recorder with three tracks, as you said, that you can later import and mess with in post. If you can find a good used Sound Devices 442, you’ll have a great piece of kit that provides great sound and four inputs. Hmmm, here’s one:
https://reverb.com/item/37545861-sound-devices-442-black?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=9665536234&utm_content=campaignid=9665536234_adgroupid=98151970054_productpartitionid=952843106539=merchantid=247606693_productid=37545861_keyword=_device=c_adposition=_matchtype=_creative=426511543430&gclid=CjwKCAiAuoqABhAsEiwAdSkVVPTEXIbwnwCcI3QZW2dy_-CzjWfK6x65IyhihbBgD10rUvOs7R3ZiBoCxEYQAvD_BwESure there are more modern ones, but remember…..when buying just a mixer…….
The minute you need to shoot three (or more) people, you really need a mixer (machine and person) unless you have a multitrack recorder. You usually can’t just mic up three people and feed them into two tracks without running levels to some degree.You don’t really need to record audio in excess of 24-bit, 48 kHz. 96 kHz is overkill.
lastly, I think that would work.
Regards,
Ty Ford
Cow Audio Forum Leader
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