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Quick Mic Question (XLR-3.5mm adapter)
Greetings,
Audio novice here.
I have a Sennheiser shotgun mic that I’ve used with great results on professional cameras with XLR inputs. Recently I switched to DSLR (T3i) and wanted to use this mic. As it doesn’t have XLR inputs – only 3.5mm – I purchased an adapter from B&H, which hooks up fine. The problem is, my mic doesn’t seem to be coming in.
My suspicion (and hopefully you guys can confirm or disabuse me of it) is that actual XLR inputs are able to power mics and by adapting it I’m losing that power. The mic has a battery switch on it, but I’m guessing it’s been dead for a while if this suspicious is correct and I’ve been getting power from the pro camera’s XLR. I can’t seem to figure out where the battery is on this thing.
Thanks for any help you might be able to provide.
-Boe
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9 Replies
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You can unscrew the bottom part of the mic to expose the battery. Look carefully at the body and you’ll see a seam that goes around the body. That’s where it unscrews.
Eric
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Great, thanks. I’ve installed a battery but it still doesn’t seem to come up. I did a bit more digging and it seems like I may be out of luck without investing in a phantom power block or an external recorder like a zoom h4n.
Can anyone confirm that my DSLR will not work with a condenser shotgun mic running on battery power only?
I may just have to order a rode videomic and have it overnighted.
Thanks for any help you can provide.
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Hello Boe and welcome to the Cow Audio Forum.
Which Sennheiser mic do you have and what cable did you order?
Regards,
Ty Ford
Want better production audio?: Ty Ford’s Audio Bootcamp Field Guide
Ty Ford Blog: Ty Ford’s Blog -
Hello, Ty
I’m unsure of the mic model but it’s about 16″ long and probably a 4-5 years old. Has an XLR output on the back and a battery switch.
This is the cable I ordered.
I didn’t notice until now that it says it’s for a Sennheiser transmitter.
Incidentally, I’ve overnighted a rode videomic pro, as I need to shoot something on Friday, but I’d sure like to get to the bottom of this stuff for future reference.
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The Sennheiser connection is not the issue as it will fit in any 3.5mm trs connection. The issue is that that cable is wired for a line level feed, not a mic level feed. While it might work in your situation, I wouldn’t count on it.
Eric
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Boe,
The Devil is in the details. ME66 perhaps? Get to know your audio gear. You’ll save time and money.
The link below confirms the camera has a stereo input. You are trying to connect it with a mono mic.
https://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/T3I/T3IA.HTM
The cable you ordered is wrong. The cable you want is this.
Regards,
Ty Ford
Want better production audio?: Ty Ford’s Audio Bootcamp Field Guide
Ty Ford Blog: Ty Ford’s Blog -
Great, thank you!
Just to confirm: With this adapter, there’s no reason this condenser shotgun mic shouldn’t work with my T3i?
The only reason I ask for reassurance is because I’ve been frantically googling the morning away, and the consensus seems to be that such microphones require a preamp of some sort to work. Is this only the ones that don’t have built in batteries?
I just want to make sure before I cancel my videomic order and snag this -considerably cheaper- adapter solution.
Thanks for the input thus far. I really appreciate it and look forward to learning more.
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Boe,
All mics need help getting up to a certain level. Your camera has a mic input. That should work, but…
Wait a minute. Your camera shows stereo meters, but this site says mic input is mono.
https://reviews.cnet.com/digital-cameras/canon-eos-rebel-t3i/4505-6501_7-34493918.html
::sigh::
The cable you already have may still be a problem. There’s probably a pad in it to know the line level down to mic and the connectors could be wrong. Contact Trew Audio/Remote Audio to confirm. Tell them what you have and what you want to do. They make a variety of custom cable solutions.
You run into this when using non-standard audio interfaces. It’s just the way things are.
Regards,
Ty Ford
Want better production audio?: Ty Ford’s Audio Bootcamp Field Guide
Ty Ford Blog: Ty Ford’s Blog -
Okay, thanks for bringing me up to speed, Ty and others. I’ve ordered the rode VMP and that new adapter and I’ll see what I find out when they arrive.
Thanks again, gentlemen.
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