Canon 600d Audio solution

Canon DSLR Cameras

Canon 600d Audio solution

Posted by Tom Walter on May 3, 2014 at 11:01 am

Hi there,

So I have a 600d and have found audio problematic. I have gone down the road of using a rode videomic pro but obviously with 600d I can’t monitor audio even if I was to use magic lantern.

The Rode videomic pro does a decent job using plus 20db and very little in camera gain, but with only being able to use VU metering and no headphone monitoring it is still not ideal.

To help get around this I purchased a Zoom H4n so now I am thinking of recording, (for interviews) into the H4N via the rode mic. (Video mic will be mounted on overhead boom stand for close proximity), I will be able to headphone monitor via H4n, but I want to feed quality audio back into 600d so I don’t have to sync H4n audio in post.

I have tried using the splitter cable that came with the H4n accessory pack to split the H4n’s line out/headphone jack back into the mic input on the 600d but even with headphone monitoring level on H4n set at 100, the audio level into 600d is still REALLY low.

I have read about the Sescom cables, and they have a splitter version for H4n, but aren’t the Sescom cables supposed to drop the level going back into the mic input jack on 600d, (by 25db or the like)?

This seems like it would make things worse…. Is there something I am missing here?

Should I just sell the 600d body and try to get a 550d body for Magic Lantern headphone monitoring? Should I just forget about an embedded audio stream in 600d footage and just get Pluraleyes to sync H4n audio in post?

I have a bunch of interviews coming up that I need to shoot so trying to figure out the best way forward.

Thanks in advance,
Tom

Tom Walter replied 12 years, 1 month ago 2 Members · 4 Replies
4 Replies

Ryan Holmes
May 4, 2014 at 12:48 am

Tom,
There’s a whole host of reasons why you don’t want to record audio on your DSLR – monitoring, level control, AGC (auto gain control), compression, etc. In my experience shooting DSLR you’ll always want to do second source audio (like on your H4N). The DSLR audio is really just scratch audio….something to sync up your H4N with.

Our workflow when using DSLR is always record to a second source audio, send a feed (usually wireless) over to the Canon 7D or 5D3 for scratch audio for the editor’s to sync with in post. In a jam the DSLR audio could be used, but the H4N will have such a better signal without AGC or low bit depth.

I would purchase PluralEyes and a way to send a decent signal into your 600D. PluralEyes is so fast now it’s not even funny. It’s a hassle for sure, but with sound being half the picture it’s just not an area I want to rely on a still-picture camera to control.

Just my $.02

Ryan Holmes
http://www.ryanholmes.me
@CutColorPost
Tom Walter
May 4, 2014 at 8:12 am

Thanks Ryan, what would you suggest I use to send a good signal to the 600d? Even if this is just for scratch audio and syncing?

So does setting up rode video mic pro on boom stand, (I’ll mostly be shooting solo) and recording into H4n sound good for interview audio set up, and just using I inbuilt camera audio as scratch ?

Or maybe I should just use rode videomic pro mounted on camera for decent scratch and use a rode shotgun (ntg1 or the like) on a boom sent to the h4n as my main audio?

Thanks again,
Tom
Ryan Holmes
May 4, 2014 at 2:35 pm

Easiest solution is to run a 3.5mm cable from your Zoom to your DSLR. That would pass audio cleanly and easily from your second source to your camera. If the camera is close to your talent, you could just run the internal mic of the DSLR. That should be enough to allow you to sync up in post.

It all depends on your needs and you budget.

Ryan Holmes
http://www.ryanholmes.me
@CutColorPost
Tom Walter
May 5, 2014 at 7:06 am

Thanks again Ryan,

I’ll try the 3.5″ cable tonight. I tried over the weekend using the splitter the H4N came with to headphone monitor/send a 3.5″ to my camera but that didn’t work (as outlined in 1st post). I guess it might work better with just a 3.5″ and without the splitter getting in the way.

That said, I would really love to be able to headphone monitor still. H4n only has 1 port for phones/line out. Is this where the sescom splitter cable (rather than the generic one that shipped with the H4N) comes in?

Cheers,
Tom

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