two Epic audio questions, cables + small mic

[A. Bastaki]

okay, most of the time, I'll prolly be hooking up an H4n to my epic.

1. what cable/settings should i use?
2. i've got a Sony ECM-DS30P small mic, does it work or not. I need reviews.. not smart ass guesses.

oh and btw. is there a better way to power my h4n? it sucks batteries in minutes!

Thank you.

 

[Marc Wielage]

That particular Sony mike is a $30 model using Sony's proprietary plug-in power, vs. phantom power. I wouldn't consider it for a pro application; it's basically a dictation microphone.

I believe an external mixer (and preferably a pro recorder) will give you better results than trying to record on either a Zoom recorder or the Epic, in my opinion.

I continue to be disappointed by people who will spend $40,000 on a camera and countless thousands of dollars on lenses and accessories, and yet be unwilling to spend even a couple of thousand bucks on sound. It baffles me.

 

[A. Bastaki]

Marc, I use the sony mic as a scratch mic when I need the camera to be very light.
The cable that comes out of the h4n and the audio that comes out of the h4n.. again.. scratch only.

All audio recording happens on the h4n, attach a kmr 81i for dialogue (boom). Then in post i match using plural eyes. has worked flawlessly.
I can't depend on audio that is created on the epic.

on a well paid gig.. its a 744t and a 302 mixer by sounddevices... i don't like messing around with timecode. i like things the old fashioned way. clapper and/or plural eyes to sync audio.

back to my question.

does it work or not? will i get audio i can sync with in post?

what cable can i use with my h4n... can i use just any audio cable... or does it have to be wired in some weird way.

 

[Peter Majtan]

For scratch audio get the excellent RODE VIDEO MIC PRO (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/744768-REG/Rode_VIDEOMIC_PRO_VideoMic_Pro_Compact_Shotgun.html) and follow the instructions in this thread to make it work:

http://www.reduser.net/forum/showth...-RODE-VIDEO-MIC-PRO-working-with-Scarlet-Epic

Works like a magic!

Peter