[Al Bergstein]

by the way, here’s the video recorded by a wired lav mic right into the 5D Mkiii. While I do not describe myself as a “pro” I think that the audio is acceptable for this low budget PSA. So I think that Canon has done a good job on the upgrade to the 5D. There was no audio sweetening in this. Just as you hear.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SRCjcDUV9Sg&feature=youtu.be

Al

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[Al Bergstein]

I generally agree with your thought Peter, but i have to say that the 5d Miii has much better audio than the 7d did, and given what I accomplished with it leads me to feel i can rely on it at times. The 7d I would never trust to get good audio. I have also seen work done with a GH2 and it also sounded fine. Many of us lower end shooters like the DOF of the 5d, and it certainly is great when I am expected to had over stills from a shoot aswell as video. It appears the metering is pretty accurate (i was able to set but not ride them), AGC is off when in manual mode, monitoring with Sony cans was accurate and just like doing it on any of my higher end cameras. Mic choice is now more the issue than camera. Or maybe i should say mic choice is driving the choice of camera. If i can lav up a single speaker on a wired lav, I’d likely to grab the 5d.If i need two i will either use the mixpre-d or my xlr based cam.

Back to the OP, For critical one off video, yes, i will always record off camera, and i do not like my videopro mic, too hissy. It’s rarely used for unique shots. Always, but always carry spare batteries, and check them at noon if you are shooting all day. Music videos tend to be too loud, and you need better options than the internal mics will give.if you can’t afford the marantz, either sony or zoom will get you through. I like Sony gear better, personally. My zoom died after two years. That’s unacceptable.with care these should last decades.
I’ll post my video this week, and you can draw your own conclusions.

Al

[Al Bergstein]

Brian’s right. You have to narrow your needs a bit.

I use a mix pre-d (love it) along with a Marantz PMD661 (get the 661 these days as it has a dedicated real line in jack). I added a 4 channel to 2 channel audio mixer by Azden (I know, they usually build low end junk but this one seems to work quite well). I don’t use the 4 to 2 much, it’s a luxury for when I need a large group interview and want four mics working at once.

Good luck. Save your pennies for great gear. You end up (and I have) being penny wise and pound foolish for not buying the right tool for the right job.

Al

[Al Bergstein]

I agree Suley, there are a huge amount of posts on this issue here on the COW Audio.

As to recording, I for one, try to avoid recording onto a DSLR that doesn’t support audio in and out, along with meters built in, like the Canon Mark 5iii, Panny GH2/3, etc. Even then, most of my recording is done off camera. I try to only use my DSLR for interviews where the background DOF is needed. Otherwise I use a “real” video camera, with XLR in and out, or at least with 3.5″ jack in (my xf105 has both kinds of jacks).

I use a Marantz PMD661. I use to have a Zoom H4N but it died. I would not buy another one. For a bit more money you can get the Marantz. It’s a much more capable deck.

By the way, I recently got tired of using wireless lavs for all close mic work, and with the shallow DOF which allows me to get closer to the talent, I decided to carry a wired Lav, Sennheiser with an extension cable. I tested it first to make sure it sounded good, and then used it on a PSA I did locally last week. (not yet released). Wonderful sound directly into my 5D Mark iii (I wore cans from the camera line out while shooting and of course tested before bringing in my talent). I think that it is possible to do quality sound into some of the new cameras if you are close mic’ed. Preamps seemed to work fine. My sound quality was as good as any I have done with my wireless onto my PMD661.

Good luck. Sorry for your loss.

Al

[Al Bergstein]

I don’t understand. I was under the impression that the Canon MXF format is not H.264 but MPEG2. It is long GOP though. Does your answer still make sense if it’s MPEG2? I would assume you would say yes, as the answer would be that whether the footage is H.264 or MPEG2 (or 4) it would not work because it’s Long GOP.

Apparently Adobe has said that we should go request a feature to have this done properly. If what you are saying is that it’s the Long GOP format, it doesn’t seem to be something they could implement in trimming.

Pity that in order to actually trim the footage we have to go back to re-encoding the footage into ProRes or DNxHD! I guess we could argue that it’s the old pay me now or pay me later. Faster editing up front but longer transcoding in the back end.

So from a practical standpoint: Do I edit all the long GOP footage, then use encoder to export it to DNxHD and then send it to Project Manager? Or is there a different workflow to approach this?

Al

[Al Bergstein]

I’ve shifted over to this. Works well.
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/326968-REG/K_Tek_K_CAM_SSM_Camera_Shoemounting_Shockmount.html

Al

[Al Bergstein]

Thanks. What kind of speakers were you listening to it on? (that seemed to mask the issue to me). I thought about keeping the answer separate, and maybe next time will, but I value people’s time, and was worried someone would get upset at me wasting theirs over what might have seemed a stupid issue to them.

And yes, I didn’t mention that the mics were both radio, not wired. I guess I assumed you folks would assume that.

Anyway, thanks for your feedback!

Al

[Al Bergstein]

Thanks, great thought. I’ve never seen one of those deployed before, so I’ll see what’s out there. Might work.

Al

[Al Bergstein]

Thanks. While slightly OT, it’s a good reminder about the 4×4 foamcore. Since I’m not close to a normal lighting store for film & photog, I don’t often see what they might have as options. Heck, where I live I don’t think the office supply store has a 4×4 piece of foam core!

I do have one of the foldable pop up reflectors, but like you, I rarely use it. And while I often have my van along with about a thousand things I never end up using, I find I often am shooting a quick and dirty interview a long way from the van. I usually lug in a stand for the reflector in advance. (or have the grip do that).

Al

[Al Bergstein]

Sigh, I think you might be right. Well, we have a lot of overcast days up here in Washington State, and I often haul ‘the talent’ off behind a building to shoot in shadow rather than in direct sun, so maybe they will be bright enough. I assume I should go for a Spot then rather than flood for that kind of use. I’ve got a reflector that I try to use, but I think I’ll go buy a larger one.

On the other hand, I was wondering about the build quality of those larger Flo Lights.

Thanks for you input Todd.

Al