Welcome to our community

Be a part of something great, join today!

Log in
  • Hey all, just changed over the backend after 15 years I figured time to give it a bit of an update, its probably gonna be a bit weird for most of you and i am sure there is a few bugs to work out but it should kinda work the same as before... hopefully :)

Professional XLR attachment

J

Jim Kinsey

Member
Joined
Apr 22, 2008
Messages
6
Reaction score
0
Points
0
Website
www.wildfirestockfootage.com
I spoke with one on the engineers at NAB on a possibility of having an XLR attachment something like a beach tech "mini to XLR" accessory or preferably a built in one on the scarlet. Problem is the form factor/ size. In a pole where would you put it if anyone from Red was reading this??? Maybe a mono channel on the front lower right built in?

Jim Kinsey
 
I think it's unnecessary. You're either going to use the built-in mic (assuming there is one) or if it's really a "pro" shoot you're not going to be recording sound onto your camera. I can't see wanting to have an external mic tethered to a camera the size of Scarlet. Doesn't really make any sense.
 
Lets say you had on a short shotgun mic like the ME-66 while filming a lion pride in Tanzania for stock footage, knowing you may not use any of the audio for the stock house you are shooting for. Just then 2 males come together and fight and your rolling. Would you want the built in mic audio or a shotgun catching in detail the sounds happening in front of your camera? I am not talking about a national commercial spot but a higher end " Scratch track per say".

JK
 
kmikami said:
I think it's unnecessary. You're either going to use the built-in mic (assuming there is one) or if it's really a "pro" shoot you're not going to be recording sound onto your camera. I can't see wanting to have an external mic tethered to a camera the size of Scarlet. Doesn't really make any sense.
Click to expand...

Ridiculous quote. I am so tired of people so narrow minded that they think double system sound is the only way to shoot "professionally." There are plenty of instances (docs to name one) where recording sound on camera is the most effective and professional way to go.
 
I am with you. I just joined the site today and was just curious about an XLR attachment after a lengthy discussion with a Red one Engineer at their booth at NAB. Come on.... there are instances when you would use an on board mic " teathered to you Scarlet". Run and gun docs.... I mean am I the only one that has ever done this? I doubt it. Think back to your first shoot ever and I bet your laughing right now.

JK
 
like really, i would have expected an XLR plug to be basic. A pro camera deserves XLR 24bit/48khz.
 
Will Scarlet even be able to supply phantom power? I would think that's the first question to ask if you're looking at mounting a shotgun condenser mic to the camera.
 
Shooting double system is not always possible for the Doc shooters,
Scarlet is a revolution with its 3k res possibility, it would also be incredible if it offered 24bit/48khz phantom powering. Not many cameras do, and Scarlet will kick some butt there too.
 
There are lots of other ways of getting balanced audio into a box other than an xlr connector. So if it is only a matter of a couple of cables that adapt standard xlr to ...lemo or whatever it should be easy. xlr's take a fair bit of "real estate" on a small camera body when you consider that they are actually only providing termination for six connections (chan.1 & 2)
 
and i'd like to add that the scarlet is supposed to be the one great camera from "the soccer mom to your pro shoot" if scarlet pans out to what it promises, it's an indiefilmakers wet dream. the fact that it's cheap and ultra high quality, so low budget filmmakers have a chance to have an amazing quality image and not have to spend so much money on the camera and can put their money towards their content and other areas. recording sound straight into the camera helps save money too, would you look down on a person recording on minidisc for sound? cuz that's ghetto but it works great. red is about being modular and having options. if you want to record straight into the camera, the option should be there i think no matter what.
 
As long as there is some way to get a signal into the camera I am fine with it. I mean a small attachment on the foot will give you XLR to mini. The RED guys will do it right!
 
I think as of now its a mini input but that could change and if it doesn't there are plenty of options. I figure they may come out with a mini to XLR called the PRO RED X (as an accessory) or Red Mini pro, Red mini brick pro. Well you get the idea but I am hoping for an XLR input... Just my 2 cents...

JK
 
One of the RED guys has said that there will be a built in stereo mic
 
caseyhayward said:
I am so tired of people so narrow minded that they think double system sound is the only way to shoot "professionally." There are plenty of instances (docs to name one) where recording sound on camera is the most effective and professional way to go.
Click to expand...


Absolutely.

Why would you NOT record high quality sound, in sync, in the camera?

With film we had no choice. Double system just seems a bit silly these days....like ignoring a useful tool just to be 'traditional,' but for no real reason.

Sure, there may be very specific and rare situations where you have more mics than inputs, etc...., but 90% of the time one or two mics into the camera is exactly what you need. (Maybe through a mixer first, maybe not....)

When you are on set, and want to quickly play back a take for review, wouldn't it be better if there was sound on that? Or when you open a clip and want to edit on the flight back, do you really want to have to sync sound first?
 
bhtdmc said:
Why would you NOT record high quality sound, in sync, in the camera?
Click to expand...

Any recording capabilities that are built into a camera probably won't even be as good as a little $300 handheld deal from Eidriol or Zoom.

bhtdmc said:
With film we had no choice. Double system just seems a bit silly these days....like ignoring a useful tool just to be 'traditional,' but for no real reason.
Click to expand...

Double system seems silly? Maybe for run and gun shooting but if you have a boom operator why would you want him tethered to the camera? I love how sound is supposedly so important to everyone here. So important that you need an XLR connector so you can check that off your list of "professional features." But apparently not important enough to use a piece of equipment that was specifically designed to record sound. Everyone is crying over fixed lenses and yet built-in sound capabilities are acceptable. But only if there are XLR connectors for that extra "professional" sound. :sarcasm:

The only sensible application mentioned in this thread is the use of an external shotgun mic mounted to the camera. But if the mic is fixed to the camera why the need for XLR? The cable is not in much danger of being pulled out if it's mounted directly on the camera.
 
For shooting things like plays or musical performances in smallish (like school) theaters, you want good sound to be recorded BY THE CAMERA on its media; DV has 16 bit 48kHz PCM which was just fine. But the on camera mics are in the wrong spot: where the camera is. You want a remote mic (or two: I really like the Rode NT4 xy set up) to properly place a stereo signal. If you have a second camera at the same shoot (I use three cameras: wide constant, two to follow performers are scene focus), at least one additional camera records stereo from XLR mics place hard left and right (I like the Rode NT5 for this since it uses essentially the same capsule as the NT4).

I can then process those stereo audio fields in FCP or Soundtrack Pro (or even ProTools as needed) to move the stereo focus around as needed. An on camera mic is just in the wrong place for best sound.

So, an XLR connection is imperative for even serious amateur uses like mine. I don't mind an external Beachtek like box to go from XLR (with phantom) to stereo mini, but would be even cleaner with an XLR bridge attached to a shoe on the camra, ala Sony PDX10. I understand a small form factor camera not having the bulky XLR connector on the camera body.

Eddie O
 
As a wedding and event videographer I need two external mic inputs besides the onboard mic. On is usually feed be an ME66 and the other a wireless receiver.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top