On Wed, 20 Nov 2002 01:13:16 -0500, Stacey
>Still fighting with sound issues. I'm planing on filming some REAL low
>budget nature/hiking/camping videos and needs to be able to record
>ambient noise cleanly. Using a ZR40 and the on camera mic is total
>junk. Gave that up and have tried some of the low end unbalanced mics
>and while they are better than the built in mic, they all have had
>their own hiss/noise issues even when used off the camera. (Given up
>on thinking an on camera mic is going to sound good as well) They also
>seems to be less sensitive and require boosting the sound levels in
>software to get the same volume levels as the built in mic which of
>course brings on more noise issues.
>
> A cheap wired unbalanced audio technica lav mike on the talent seems
>to work fine, has plenty of volume and low noise to signal ratio. Also
>found a decent dynamic mike that works fine with my sound card for
>after the shoot narration. It looks like getting the ambient sound
>without a bunch of hiss/noise is going to be the problem.
You are probably fighting with an AGC system on the camera
(turn it off, if possible - though a really good AGC, with
gain-matched mic, can work very well...). The lav output
is probably high enough much of the time to suppress the AGC
"quiet time" gain boost... If the AGC cannot be turned off,
try using an inexpensive Mini-Disk recorder for the ambient
sound (use a "clicker" and good notes for later
synching...).
> Would a balanced omni mic have a higher output to the camera? I
>realize I need something like the studio1 adapter, that's not a
>problem if that would help. I think I'm going to need something like
>this to balance the sound level anyway as I plan on recording the
>talent on one chanle and the ambient on the other. Do I need to run
>this ambient mic through a mixer to get the signal up high enough to
>cover the "normal" noise? Is there something that can boost the level
>of one mic like this?
Yes, but this is unlikely the problem - and you will
probably want the ambient sound in stereo, anyway. If
you use the lav connected to the camera, and a separate
non-AGC recorder for ambience, you can later mix these
as needed - and individually EQ/noise-reduce/otherwise-
process the tracks as needed for best results. BTW,
"balanced" will gain you nothing in this situation - even
long runs of single-sided line will likely be quiet in
this environment - and the mic levels are not particular
to one system or the other...
> I think the problem I'm running into is the signal is so weak the
>camera is running the inputs "wide open" yet still is getting a low
>signal so that any noise in the system is magnified, especially when
>boosted in software. The audio with the higher signal talent mounted
>lav mic sounds great which is what leads me to this conclution.
Likely correct. A "hotter output" mic would tend to suppress
the AGC gain rise more often...
>Maybe
>I need to try to record the ambient on something besides the camera?
>Like a miniCD recorder? The camera's audio seems to sound so good with
>the wired lav mike I think if I can get the signal up some, it will
>work OK with the ambient as well.
You can adjust levels nicely during editing... Just avoid
"clipping" the signal (possible when recorded too loud).
>I realize I'm probably being picky about the audio but feel poor audio
>will ruin the quality these videos need to have. Any tips on
>reasonably priced / sensitive mics for ambient recording and or
>answers/tips to any of the above questions would be appreciated.
For cheap, I like the stereo Sony 908c for ambience...