Some general audio questions with a Scarlet

[Daniel Christensen]

I do a lot of run and gun work. Docs, weddings, etc. For stuff where audio is absolutely critical, vows, interviews, etc. I plan on using lavs, or tapping into the venue sound system. However, I want to capture some high quality ambient audio.

First, since I'm doing run and gun, I need my rig to be as small as possible, so I can't put an external recorder on it (like a Zoom H4n). So I'm thinking I need to use the two jacks on the front of the Scarlet for audio. If I use those do I need to use non-powered mics or battery powered mics? Or do the Red XLR cables provide phantom power?

Secondly, in order to keep the rig small, I am thinking about doing something I read about on another forum, which is wrapping the mic with foam and then taping or attaching it otherwise directly to rods. First, is that even a viable solution? Second, if I used two top mounted 15mm rods with standard 60mm spacing, would I get a semi-decent stereo mix from two mics, one attached to each rod? I know that some "stereo mic" configurations with certain audio inputs will cancel each others sound out and you get white noise? Will that happen with a setup like I just described?

Thanks in advance...

 

[Todd T]

The RED 1/8 in to XLR adapter and other compatible XLR cables pass phantom power to the mics.

You can find any number of small shotgun or omni directional mics to attach to the camera.

You will need to experiment with stereo mics and splitters to see what best works for you rig.

As long as you can proper split the left and right mic outputs before they connect to the #1 and #2 mic inputs you shouldn't have a problem, but you will need to experiment to make sure that your adapters don't crossover or cancel each other out.

 

[ericyoung]

In my experience with an Epic, although a few people have had better experiences, if you want high quality sound with a mic connected directly to the camera, you have to feed a high mic level to the camera to avoid turning up the default mic input gain in the camera.

A Sennheiser 416 for example needs the input gains turned up a lot to get decent level, and then you hear the poor quality of the input mic preamps. Possibly a Sennheiser K6 + ME66 might work as it natively puts out a high mic level.
Otherwise find the smallest high quality preamp(s) you can find with adjustable MIC LEVEL output(s) to put between mic and camera.

http://www.reduser.net/forum/showthread.php?99459-SURVEY-Epic-X-(DSMC)-Audio-Quality&highlight=