XL1s mic question at DVinfo.net

Joe Pitz · January 17th, 2004, 09:28 PM

I hope I am being to dumb, but hear goes.

What is the possibility of using the mic that comes with the xl1s and mounting in on a boom pole, with an extension mic cable. Would the xl1s be able to handle driving the mic at such distance, has anyone done this before? Does anyone know what the two pin cable jacks are for. Looks like one stereo and one mono jack.

More than likely I will end up buying s SGM-1X and a DXA-4. But thought I would go ahead and ask the dumb question.

Thanks

Bryan Beasleigh · January 17th, 2004, 10:45 PM

Look at AT mics rather than the Azden. the new AT897 is supposed to be a very good choice. AT makes an excellent mic at a very reasonable cost. Azden mics are not in the same league at all.
http://www.audio-technica.com/prodpro/addinfo/AT897_english.pdf

The beach tek product is good stuff, I own one.

So far as remoting the camera mic goes i'll leave that to someone that has more experience with that camera.

Joe Pitz · January 17th, 2004, 11:50 PM

Thanks Bryan,

I will check out the AT897.

Roger Berry · January 18th, 2004, 09:05 AM

Joe,

Did you get round to trying the 83097?

I know this is a fairly old post but it's just come back to the front of the queue and I CAN offer something. I'm very new to video. I've had an XL1s for three months but have already shot what are think are some really superb moving pictures with it.

My big frustration is with the sound. This cam is a lot noisier than cheap consumer models and this, IMHO, makes the supplied mic and mounting system completely useless for serious work unless you're shooting in a fairly noisy environment.

The first thing I tried was mounting the supplied mic on a short home made boom and using a couple of extension leads. In answer to one of your questions, the smaller, mono jack is actually just the "phantom" power for the mic and the other plug carries the Stereo 1 Audio.

The results with this set-up are a vast improvement over the on-camera set-up and it works fairly well in a lot of situations but it still doesn't give truly professional sound.

Now I'm hoping to go one stage further and buy a decent mic but my worry is that I could spend a lot of money for no gain. It seams to me that the biggest problem is the "hiss" produced by the XL1s' internal preamp so whatever mic I buy, this will still be there unless I buy a pre amp and set the inputs to line level.

Can anyone tell me if this is correct?

Douglas Spotted Eagle · January 18th, 2004, 11:25 AM

The pre won't seem to hiss as bad with a better mic, simply due to signal to noice, but it IS a noisy pre, as are most cam pre's. Getting to line level is much more optimal.
ANY time you get the mic off the cam you'll be much happier. Even a 4.00 stick on mic from the Walmart computer department sounds better than an on cam mike if the mic is further than 24" away from the subject. I've actually demonstrated this at our training sessions during the VASST tours.

Joe Pitz · January 19th, 2004, 06:28 PM

Thanks Roger and Douglas for the good info. If the XL1s has a noisy pre-amp, is there an XLR unit with a built in pre-amp? Or has anyone come up with a good solution for this issue

Thanks

Milt Lee · January 20th, 2004, 09:11 PM

I apoligize if this has been covered ad nauseum, but it seems like if you were going to be doing documentary work, and you've only got YOU on the location, perhaps the solution would be to use a high quality shotgun, but run it through an outboard preamp, and come in line-level.

Are their small DV cam's that allow you to do that?

Thanks

Milt Lee
Lee Productions

January 17th, 2004, 09:28 PM	#1
Joe Pitz Regular Crew Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: San Diego, CA Posts: 28	XL1s mic question I hope I am being to dumb, but hear goes. What is the possibility of using the mic that comes with the xl1s and mounting in on a boom pole, with an extension mic cable. Would the xl1s be able to handle driving the mic at such distance, has anyone done this before? Does anyone know what the two pin cable jacks are for. Looks like one stereo and one mono jack. More than likely I will end up buying s SGM-1X and a DXA-4. But thought I would go ahead and ask the dumb question. Thanks

January 18th, 2004, 09:05 AM	#4
Roger Berry Regular Crew Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Luton, England. Posts: 35	What are the two leads for? Joe, Did you get round to trying the 83097? I know this is a fairly old post but it's just come back to the front of the queue and I CAN offer something. I'm very new to video. I've had an XL1s for three months but have already shot what are think are some really superb moving pictures with it. My big frustration is with the sound. This cam is a lot noisier than cheap consumer models and this, IMHO, makes the supplied mic and mounting system completely useless for serious work unless you're shooting in a fairly noisy environment. The first thing I tried was mounting the supplied mic on a short home made boom and using a couple of extension leads. In answer to one of your questions, the smaller, mono jack is actually just the "phantom" power for the mic and the other plug carries the Stereo 1 Audio. The results with this set-up are a vast improvement over the on-camera set-up and it works fairly well in a lot of situations but it still doesn't give truly professional sound. Now I'm hoping to go one stage further and buy a decent mic but my worry is that I could spend a lot of money for no gain. It seams to me that the biggest problem is the "hiss" produced by the XL1s' internal preamp so whatever mic I buy, this will still be there unless I buy a pre amp and set the inputs to line level. Can anyone tell me if this is correct? __________________ Old men should rage and burn at close of day

January 18th, 2004, 11:25 AM	#5
Douglas Spotted Eagle VASST Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Stockton, UT Posts: 5,648	The pre won't seem to hiss as bad with a better mic, simply due to signal to noice, but it IS a noisy pre, as are most cam pre's. Getting to line level is much more optimal. ANY time you get the mic off the cam you'll be much happier. Even a 4.00 stick on mic from the Walmart computer department sounds better than an on cam mike if the mic is further than 24" away from the subject. I've actually demonstrated this at our training sessions during the VASST tours. __________________ Douglas Spotted Eagle/Spot Author, producer, composer Certified Sony Vegas Trainer http://www.vasst.com

January 20th, 2004, 09:11 PM	#7
Milt Lee Major Player Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Cass Lake MN Posts: 221	How about a line in solution? I apoligize if this has been covered ad nauseum, but it seems like if you were going to be doing documentary work, and you've only got YOU on the location, perhaps the solution would be to use a high quality shotgun, but run it through an outboard preamp, and come in line-level. Are their small DV cam's that allow you to do that? Thanks Milt Lee Lee Productions

January 17th, 2004, 10:45 PM	#2
Bryan Beasleigh Trustee Join Date: May 2002 Location: Barrie, Ontario, Canada Posts: 1,922	Look at AT mics rather than the Azden. the new AT897 is supposed to be a very good choice. AT makes an excellent mic at a very reasonable cost. Azden mics are not in the same league at all. http://www.audio-technica.com/prodpro/addinfo/AT897_english.pdf The beach tek product is good stuff, I own one. So far as remoting the camera mic goes i'll leave that to someone that has more experience with that camera.

January 17th, 2004, 11:50 PM	#3
Joe Pitz Regular Crew Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: San Diego, CA Posts: 28	Thanks Bryan, I will check out the AT897.

January 19th, 2004, 06:28 PM	#6
Joe Pitz Regular Crew Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: San Diego, CA Posts: 28	Thanks Roger and Douglas for the good info. If the XL1s has a noisy pre-amp, is there an XLR unit with a built in pre-amp? Or has anyone come up with a good solution for this issue Thanks