Hi all
I'm about to upgrade from a Sony FX1 to either AVCHD or NXCam - not sure exactly yet but it will be a cam with twin XLR audio inputs and no mini jack. I have a MKE300 and a Rode Stereovideo mic which I'm quite happy with at the moment (till funds permit an upgrade!) and both have 3.5mm mini jacks so is there an easy way to use them on the new cam? I think you can buy simple adapters, would they be OK? And as the MKE300 is mono would feeding just the LH channel corrected to 'stereo' in the NLE prog (Edius 5) work, or can it be switched in the camera (ie getting the sound on both channels?) The cameras I'm looking at are the Panny HMC151, Sony NX5 or a second hand EX1.
Would really appreciate any comments.
Many thanks
Geoff
An adaptor will be fine or you can get them re-wired but I think in time it will be better to upgrade to better mono mics! http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/3-5mm-socket-female-to-2x-XLR-male-20cm_W0QQitemZ150400088857QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Computing_CablesConnectors_RL?hash=item23048b3b19#ht_500wt_956
if you have the abilities with these cameras then you will be better using proper mics and not prosumer or what I consider to be stereo compromise mic's.
You don't have to spend a lot and don't go down the sheep lead rode route, I have over 30 years broadcast film and TV experience and I use audio tech 875 mics on all my camera's and booms and they cost less than £140 and are superb. I have had the rode NTG mics but they just don't sound right to me.
As for my stereo mic it is a sony prosumer M/S mic and cost less than £150 too but you could get away with their £90 M/S mic if you just want to record stereo ambience or invest in a zoom self contained flash recorder to compliment the camera mic.
An adaptor will be fine or you can get them re-wired but I think in time it will be better to upgrade to better mono mics! http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/3-5mm-socket-female-to-2x-XLR-male-20cm_W0QQitemZ150400088857QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Computing_CablesConnectors_RL?hash=item23048b3b19#ht_500wt_956if you have the abilities with these cameras then you will be better using proper mics and not prosumer or what I consider to be stereo compromise mic's.
You don't have to spend a lot and don't go down the sheep lead rode route, I have over 30 years broadcast film and TV experience and I use audio tech 875 mics on all my camera's and booms and they cost less than £140 and are superb. I have had the rode NTG mics but they just don't sound right to me.
As for my stereo mic it is a sony prosumer M/S mic and cost less than £150 too but you could get away with their £90 M/S mic if you just want to record stereo ambience or invest in a zoom self contained flash recorder to compliment the camera mic.
Thanks Gary, I think this confirms what I thought. I'll have a look at the 875s but it won't be just yet! I should also have mentioned a Sennheiser EW100 radio mic too as the same thing applies.
Many thanks for your time.
Gary's suggestion for the Proleads adaptor needs to be handled with a little care.
To begin with, Proleads don't say whether the 3.5 socket is two-pole (intended for a mono jack) or three-pole (intended for a stereo jack) and they don't say how the XLRs are wired. My guess is that the socket is three-pole and the XLRs are wired unbalanced. This means that the adaptor will give signals on both XLRs with your stereo mic but only on one XLR with a mono jack, so for your MKE300 you will need a different adaptor (ie one with a two-pole socket with the tip wired to both XLRs.
(Grumble mode on). Note how the adaptor's XLRs are the usual chunky straight ones. No manufacturer of connectors seems to appreciate that a lightweight camera needs lightweight right-angle XLRs - so they don't make them. (Grumble mode off).
Ray L
As Ray says, have to know if connections are mono/stereo.
Over the years my local music shop have made a number of convertors and extension cables for me, sometimes done while I wait and I'm able to test gear there and then to check for anomalies.
My EW100 kit has both 3.5mm and xlr connectors for Receiver, so if you don't have xlr variant they are available but may be pricey on their own from sennheiser and may be another job for music shop - if they can get the same threaded collar - hopefully right angled to avoid Rays valid grumble.
Rode Stereovideo:
I'm assuming it's 1 * 3.5mm stereo connector, so can have 1 stereo female to 2 *XLR mono male and mix in camera via menu if required.
connecterco.com specialise in this area, though don't think I've used them myself.
I would say that if it has two XLR's on it then it will be a stereo adaptor, why bother to put two on if it isn't stereo?
That adaptor will also work with a mono mic and you will just need to use one of the XLR's to connect in that way.
The G2's usually come with a 3.5mm to XLR lead so that is them sorted or you can use a 3.5mm to xlr adaptor.
If this is a permament move to a camera with XLR's it may be worth getting your current mics re-wired to XLR's as using adaptors brings a weak link into the audio chain.
XLR plugs are available from maplins and as said the right angle ones will be better.
You could also re-wire them yourselves if you are confident or find a local electrical shop to do it, it will probably be cheaper than buying a couple of adaptors and if you can't find anyone drop me a line via PM and I could re-wire them for you.
This way around is usually quite do-able - the real snag is that XLR equipped cameras usually have phantom power, and when you make up the usual adaptor to a 3.5mm socket - these are unbalanced - and the bal to unbal process just means pin 2 or 3 gets linked to pin 1 - removing the noise reduction properties, but electrically not a problem - if you use these it's pretty important to make sure phantom is off!
I did see, a year or so ago, and XLR adaptor the other way around, an XLR socket, with a 3.5mm plug on the other end. These things are the spawn of the devil. Virtually all 3.5mm sockets are direct soldered to the PCB, so the weight, and 'knockability' of the big adaptor means you'll almost certainly break the socket at some point!