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How to mount a consumer microphone on the scarlet

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Felix Steinhardt

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Hi,

I was thinking about an audio solution for the scarlet for documentary work. The camera has to mini-jack inputs so I thought the Rode Videomic Pro would be a good choice. The reviews are very good and it´s not XLR.
But it has to be mounted on a hot shoe...

I didn´t find any solution for that. All I found were Hot shoe adaptors, the male part, but no real shoe that has a 1/4" screw on the opposite side.

What do you guys think about (cheap) solutions for recording audio directly in-camera ?
 
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Just a heads up that the RØDE VideoMic will not work with Scarlet without modification. The 3.5 mm / 1/8" jacks on the front of Scarlet are balanced microphone inputs, essentially just XLR ports remapped into the 3.5 mm form factor. The VideoMics are designed to plug into the regular style camcorder mic inputs, typically the same ones found on computers. I'm pretty sure you'll need to make up a little patch cable for it to work properly. I plan to make or buy a short XLR to 3.5 mm cable which will plug into a hypercardiod which I'll mount on top. Scarlet should even be able to provide phantom power for the mic.
 
Ups, ok, thanks for the heads up!

So I´ll get a Rode NTG-2 or 3, no problem.

The real problem is, that the scarlet has at least four 1/4" threads on top, but they are all covered by the Touch screen...

Will there be any additional 1/4" threads?

Edit: Just pixelpeeped a scarlet presentation. There are 2 threads left but the monitor is right behind it. No possibility to attach a mic there.
Maybe with an articulating arm like this
http://www.coollcd.com/7-articulati...shoemount-kit-for-lcd-field-monitor_p709.html
 
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mmmh, that really concerns me. I think all potential buyers coming from DSLRs or Prosumer Camcorders are expecting to record sound, without having to much problems to mount a microphone on the camera.


There must be some easy and cheap solution out there
 
This is not a hard problem. Want a hot (cold) shoe adapter? Go to Wooden Camera. Want a shock mount? Several choices available from B&H that attach to a Noga arm or directly to a screw mount. Want professional grade sound? Time to invest in a boom.
 
The title of this thread makes me cringe. Look, RED has disabled phantom power in Epic because people are plugging all kinds of s--t into those miniplugs without regard to whether it will work or even cause damage (more likely damage to the mic rather than the camera). Audio is more than half of what you use to communicate with your audience. If you're a small operator, please learn some basics before plugging anything into that jack. Or at least use a properly wired, proven adapter like the Wooden, And learn where to go in the RED menu to set up the jacks for bal/unbal, phantom on/off. And please don't use a cheap consumer (unbalanced, stereo, or bias-powered) mic with your $10,000 kit - at least not to record primary sound. Thanks, from someone who wants phantom power enabled.
 
Steve Wake said:
The title of this thread makes me cringe. Look, RED has disabled phantom power in Epic because people are plugging all kinds of s--t into those miniplugs without regard to whether it will work or even cause damage (more likely damage to the mic rather than the camera). Audio is more than half of what you use to communicate with your audience. If you're a small operator, please learn some basics before plugging anything into that jack. Or at least use a properly wired, proven adapter like the Wooden, And learn where to go in the RED menu to set up the jacks for bal/unbal, phantom on/off. And please don't use a cheap consumer (unbalanced, stereo, or bias-powered) mic with your $10,000 kit - at least not to record primary sound. Thanks, from someone who wants phantom power enabled.
Click to expand...

Jesus...I will shot comercials and corporate films and shortfilms with this camera and of course for that, I will use a boom, a decent audio recorder and microphones. But this will most certainly be a 2/3" sensor zoom lens camera, perfect or ENG work. Or maybe I want to film a party or something like that. Just for that, I want to attach a casual microphone to the camera...
I just like a solution that every prosumer Camcorder has.
 
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Still haven't quite figure out how I'll manage audio with Scarlet yet. Seems it may be easiest to record separately. I don't think I'll do much casual shooting with the need for nice or any sound.
 
I'm planning a Wireless Lav receiver and a shotgun in a shock mount to plug into the two different channels.

I am wondering which mixer to get if I want 4 inputs, does it make the most sense to just get the Pro I/O Module or another mixer like Sound Devices 302/552?
 
I mean no offence, but this is like asking what type of camera I can mount to my audio recorder. Your response would be you need a DP to do the shooting. The proper response here is that the sound 50% of the project is left to the Production Mixer. When the producer of the commercial asks about sound the answer is ask the Production Mixer you're hiring. Would you do your own dentistry?
 
Felix Steinhardt said:
... Or maybe I want to film a party or something like that. Just for that, I want to attach a casual microphone to the camera...
I just like a solution that every prosumer Camcorder has.
Click to expand...

Kevin Olsen said:
I'm planning a Wireless Lav receiver and a shotgun in a shock mount to plug into the two different channels.

...
Click to expand...

For casual shooting, can you just plug in the lav microphone directly into the camera and get scratch audio?
 
Microphones with mini jacks on the end are not a good sign. pro mics have xlrs on the end, they are balanced to avoid interference and clip in so that the connector doesnt pop out my mistake. Stereo mini jacks can be wired to be balanced if they are going into a socket that is expecting that. They cant clip or screw in on the Red cameras though.
 
I've been using the Rode NG2 with the Sennheiser G3 wireless system (no cables, whohooo!), which is an 1/8" male jack. I've had to use an XLR adapter for this for some time going into Panny cameras.

I wonder if the G3 1/8" can plug right into Scarlet without a hitch? Anyone have an educated guess?
 
Phil Anderson said:
I've been using the Rode NG2 with the Sennheiser G3 wireless system (no cables, whohooo!), which is an 1/8" male jack. I've had to use an XLR adapter for this for some time going into Panny cameras.

I wonder if the G3 1/8" can plug right into Scarlet without a hitch? Anyone have an educated guess?
Click to expand...

If you are talking about using a Sennheiser CL-1 cable with miniplugs on both ends, there will definitely be hitches. That cable is designed to send the same signal to both tip and ring and is made to be plugged into a consumer camcorder stereo input. It's dual mono. Tip and ring on the camcorder end are both connected to the tip on the receiver end, i.e. tip and ring are shorted. If you have the RED camera audio jack set to balanced you'll create a dead short across the tip and ring on that channel --> noise, maybe damage (if phantom power was enabled- which it currently is not - and turned on, chances of damage would increase). If you have the RED camera audio jack set to unbalanced you might be ok.

I plan a similar setup on one channel with a shotgun in the other channel. I usually make my own cables and I make sure I know exactly how each jack, plug and circuit work before plugging anything in. Plug n pray can be very expensive.
 
Felix Steinhardt said:
Okay I´m totally confused now.
Click to expand...

Which is the reason for the tone of my post on the last page. A lot of people are very confused and rather than admit it or realize it, resort to plug and pray. And those are EPIC owners! RED's answer so far has been to disable phantom power - a short term solution to limit collateral damage.

Can I go and and buy a RODE NTG2 or any other XLR mic, that uses batteries (no phantom power), adapt it with this cable
http://www.amazon.com/Hosa-XVS101F-...8NZG/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1319840698&sr=8-2
and plug that into the scarlet? Balanced? Unbalanced? :cryin:
Click to expand...

Actually, I THINK that cable would work, with the RED jack set to Balanced. From the description (which you cannot always trust on Amazon or even B&H), it's made to deliver a stereo XLR mic signal to a stereo miniplug jack. So the wires should go 1-->sleeve; 2-->tip; 3-->ring If, for some reason 2 and 3 are reversed, it might not work - though with a powered mic it should still be ok. If RED enables phantom power and you use it, and 2 and 3 are reversed, there MIGHT be problems.

There should be no cross connections, resistors or capacitors hidden in the circuit. Again, something you can't trust Amazon or a lot of retailers for. Best is get a diagram from the manufacturer. Or test it yourself. Or get a knowledgable friend to test it. I wouldn't trust the Internet for approvals of different cables by model number - and that goes for this forum. Too many people look for quick solutions and easy answers. And the correct answer could change depending on the mic, and whenever phantom power is enabled.

Wooden Camera adapters should be safe. Hell, I might start a side business. I've already made a substantial amount of the purchase price toward a Scarlet selling flash adapter cables and cubes for Radiopoppers and Pocket Wizards on eBay.
 
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