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  • 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 :)

Scarlet Internal mic?

I've measured the audio capabilities of the Scarlet with one of the best audio guys in Germany (he did sound for "The Life of Others", for example), who has a complete high-end testing lab of his own.

We found that analog audio of Scarlet is coming quite close to the PIX 240 by Sound Devices. Nothing to complain about, really. And until phantom power is activated by firmware, we are using two excellent adapters constructed by the same guy and sold by Kortwich (Berlin), which adapt XLR to mini-plug (symmetrical) and add phantom power.
 
Uli, did you work out the best levels? I have found anything other than 30dB gives very strange results.

Uli Plank said:
I've measured the audio capabilities of the Scarlet with one of the best audio guys in Germany (he did sound for "The Life of Others", for example), who he's a complete high-end testing lab of his own.

We found that analog audio of Scarlet is coming quite close to the PIX 240 by Sound Devices. Nothing to complain about, really. And until phantom power is activated by firmware, we are using two excellent adapters constructed by the same guy and sold by Kortwich (Berlin), which adapt XLR to mini-plug (symmetrical) and add phantom power.
Click to expand...
 
Well, the audio is not precisely studio levels, it's more biased to microphone. The Scarlet doesn't really like anything above 775 mV.
If the limiter kicks in (which it does at pro line levels), you may get those effects. Rather add an attenuation if you are coming in from line equipment.

BTW, for professional microphones I use this adapter constructed by the same guy, Arno Wilms. Works like a charm! This man is a genius, he even fixed the audio problem of the Alexa's headphone output (don't believe other cameras are perfect…).

Phantomspeisung.jpg
 
I have found anything other than 30dB gives very strange results.
Click to expand...


Not to pick on anyone, but " 30dB " as a measurement of an audio level is meaningless.... Do you mean " - 30dBu " by any chance ?
 
Uli Plank said:
Well, the audio is not precisely studio levels, it's more biased to microphone. The Scarlet doesn't really like anything above 775 mV.
If the limiter kicks in (which it does at pro line levels), you may get those effects. Rather add an attenuation if you are coming in from line equipment.
Click to expand...

That is correct. The maximum input level supported on the camera brain prior to onset of clipping is 0dBu (i.e 0.775v RMS)

i.e. the brain inputs are intended for microphone level inputs, but in a pinch you could also feed it "TAPE" level inputs from a mixer and get reasonable results.

If you are trying to send line line inputs, it'll definitely clip, so you will need an in-line attenuator.
 
I would never doubt that camera guys think the audio recorded in camera is fine. What they think about it has never been an issue.


jimhare said:
Arnold, shot a simple TVC on my own the other day. Had a wireless lapel going straight to channel 1, and a boom mic direct to channel 2 via Wooden Camera, no mixer at all.

Set and tested the level, monitored video and audio carefully during each take, went back to the studio and made a great spot, no fuss.

Took me a lot of trial and error to get a clean signal when I first got the Epic, but slowly learning to trust the results.

Still not as foolproof as the R1, but the hardware appears to be solid.
Click to expand...
 
That's why I tested with an audio guy. I wouldn't trust him on image quality either ;-)
 
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