Can you record Reliable Audio Directly Into the Camera? (Scarlet)

[Jason beaumont]

I Have a Scarlet MX, & Seinhessier ME66 . I bought a Mono adapter because without it it wasn't picking up the signal. When I plug it in mic 1 the volumes are really low, when I boost the preamp it becomes really noisy.
I just wanted clean audio for run and gun stuff. Am I Doing something wrong or is there a better solution?


***
Im an idiot. I didn't have phantom power on.

 

[Evan Munro-Smith]

Personally I've found the preamps on the Scarlet to be fairly noisy - I was always getting a bit of background hiss if I bumped up the gain in post. We have a Zoom H6 which we record to now, and I have a small mic on the front of the Scarlet to give me a guide track for sync.

We also had the headphone jack on the Scarlet break not long after we got the camera, so watch out for that!

 

[Terry VerHaar]

I was going to mention phantom power but... lol

BTW, isn't the plug coming from the mic already mono? Shouldn't need an adapter, I wouldn't think. The jacks on the Scarlet are mono.

I have actually had "decent" (a very subjective term) luck getting OK sound recorded into the Scarlet. My problem is I am usually too cautious boosting the signal and end up with it being a little more quiet than ideal.

 

[Marc Wielage]

A better solution is to record sound separately, so in case anything happens to the camera sound connection, you're still covered. An ME66 is one of the cheapest shotgun mics out there -- it's by no means even a medium-priced shotgun. The quality of the mic preamps in any camera (Red included) are not great. The key is to have somebody listening to the sound at all times, checking the levels, and adjusting the mic position and the mic level when needed. You can't do this if the mic is strapped to the top of the camera and the camera operator has to frame, focus, and worry about sound levels.

Another key is just to get the mic closer to the actor or the interview subject. I would say you could get better sound with a $300 mic close to the actor than you could with a $2000 mic in a bad position, too far away. Technique often matters more than equipment... though equipment helps, too.

 

[Mark Andersen]

It's best to not use the gain in the camera and use an external
pre amp to boost the signal before it gets to the camera, then the sound will be decent, not amazing but useable