My first wireless at DVinfo.net

Josh Bass · December 10th, 2004, 01:57 AM

Hi. Just got a Sennheiser EW100 G2 camera set. I read the manual, played with it, seems fine, now I'd like to get some general advice/tips on how to use this thing/what to do/what not to do.

I'm a little confused about all these places where you can set the levels. What I mean is, there's a sensitivity that you can adjust on the trasmitter, there's the AF OUT level that you can adjust on the receiver, and then there's the gain controls on the camera (XL1s). So, how are they all different? What's best to adjust for the best results/s:n ratio? What settings do you guys use. . .do they vary depending on what you're shooting?

Also, could I hook up my ME66 shotgun to the trasmitter, and have a wireless shotgun? What about any handheld mic that'll take a XLR input?

What about all this frequency stuff? Do I need to worry about it often? I played with the mic with the freq at the default setting, and it seemed fine.

Pretend I know nothing about wireless audio.

Oleg Kaizerman · December 10th, 2004, 02:14 AM

Put the camera seting on unity , then increase or decrise the level on the reciever ( of course first set the trasnsmitter gain on the right level - that you have dissent sound with out distortion - or you dont have to much hiss since you are to low)
if you don t match with the reciever , adjast the camera to the point rhat your picks would be around -10,-8 dbfs ,
dont push to high since this camera doesnt like any thing more then -6dbfs
thats the simplest way to do it
you can attach your mike to the transmiter- but have to do adaptor from balance to unbalance input on the transmitter , remember the mike level is the tip and the ground on the transmitter side , the ring is for line level input

Josh Bass · December 10th, 2004, 03:07 AM

I don't understand what you mean by "unity."

Oleg Kaizerman · December 10th, 2004, 04:43 AM

12 o clock

Josh Bass · December 10th, 2004, 05:12 AM

Ah. You mean, of course, the gain knob for audio, setting it halfway.

Josh Bass · December 11th, 2004, 01:37 AM

Anyone else, on this? Any other tips/advice? Still like to know people's preferences as far as settings go, or if it changes all the time.

Might I also add that I can adjust the knobs on my beachtek XLR adapter. Forgot to mention that. It's all so confusing to me.

Jimmy McKenzie · December 11th, 2004, 05:58 AM

Hi Josh,
I have the same setup as yours. The plug on transmitter works great with any metal bodied mic. The sensitivity for close up work where the talent is speaking directly into the mic when the mic is visible will depend on how you need to manage the background noise. Less sensitivity will give you great dialogue from an interview when the room is full of loud dj music. Shortens the pick up pattern of the mic. Try -15 for that. When coaching your interviewee to eat the mic, they will often put it about 3 inches away. That's perfect!
You will have to play with the me66 with the transmitter. More sensitivity will increase the range, but will easily spike at the input. watch the levels carefully on the cam. My me66 rides in place of the standard Canon mic, with the ew100 on channel 2.
The only difference is that I use the Canon ma100 XLR device. Your beachtek adds a redundant preamp. I suppose 12 o'clock on the gain knobs makes sense as you are using this as a pass though device.
As for the frequency range, the presets supplied will be without any cross modulation. A matching you want to avoid. When I picked up my second transmitter/receiver, I made sure it was in the same allocation. There is a,b,c,d. This way I can mix and match the components as needed. With 1024 frequencies to choose from, I'll always find a clean channel.
Usually, I set the display to show the frequency in use.
Did you also get the pocket transmitter? Not much to add, just try testing it at -10 sensitivity and you should be good to go.
And the manual is correct ... you cannot run both transmitters at the same time unless you have 2 receivers set to different frequencies and the 2 transmitters set to match the receivers.
If you can, buy a really expensive set of headphones. This is the key to capturing great audio at the cam.

Ty Ford · December 11th, 2004, 07:52 AM

<<<-- Originally posted by Jimmy McKenzie SNIP
If you can, buy a really expensive set of headphones. This is the key to capturing great audio at the cam. -->>>

Sony MDR 7506 headphones are only $99. Get them.

Ty Ford

Josh Bass · December 11th, 2004, 05:26 PM

Thanks, gents. Got those headphones, I believe. All the stuff that came with this set is pocket sized, no full sized anything.

This dude that I'll hopefully be doing some work for suggested setting the transmitter and receiver to the defaults, and adjusting the gain knob on cam to halfway, and to adjust the level using the knobs on the beachtek. I tried this today, and I think the results were pretty good. I got decent levels, without much hiss (that I could hear, at least), so I'll capture and listen to it later. Also had the -20 attenuator on in cam.

December 10th, 2004, 01:57 AM	#1
Josh Bass Slash Rules! Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Houston, Texas Posts: 5,472	My first wireless Hi. Just got a Sennheiser EW100 G2 camera set. I read the manual, played with it, seems fine, now I'd like to get some general advice/tips on how to use this thing/what to do/what not to do. I'm a little confused about all these places where you can set the levels. What I mean is, there's a sensitivity that you can adjust on the trasmitter, there's the AF OUT level that you can adjust on the receiver, and then there's the gain controls on the camera (XL1s). So, how are they all different? What's best to adjust for the best results/s:n ratio? What settings do you guys use. . .do they vary depending on what you're shooting? Also, could I hook up my ME66 shotgun to the trasmitter, and have a wireless shotgun? What about any handheld mic that'll take a XLR input? What about all this frequency stuff? Do I need to worry about it often? I played with the mic with the freq at the default setting, and it seemed fine. Pretend I know nothing about wireless audio. __________________ The Bass' camerawork The Bass on IMDB

December 10th, 2004, 03:07 AM	#3
Josh Bass Slash Rules! Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Houston, Texas Posts: 5,472	I don't understand what you mean by "unity." __________________ The Bass' camerawork The Bass on IMDB

December 10th, 2004, 05:12 AM	#5
Josh Bass Slash Rules! Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Houston, Texas Posts: 5,472	Ah. You mean, of course, the gain knob for audio, setting it halfway. __________________ The Bass' camerawork The Bass on IMDB

December 11th, 2004, 01:37 AM	#6
Josh Bass Slash Rules! Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Houston, Texas Posts: 5,472	Anyone else, on this? Any other tips/advice? Still like to know people's preferences as far as settings go, or if it changes all the time. Might I also add that I can adjust the knobs on my beachtek XLR adapter. Forgot to mention that. It's all so confusing to me. __________________ The Bass' camerawork The Bass on IMDB

December 11th, 2004, 05:58 AM	#7
Jimmy McKenzie Major Player Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Waterloo Ontario Posts: 721	great setup... Hi Josh, I have the same setup as yours. The plug on transmitter works great with any metal bodied mic. The sensitivity for close up work where the talent is speaking directly into the mic when the mic is visible will depend on how you need to manage the background noise. Less sensitivity will give you great dialogue from an interview when the room is full of loud dj music. Shortens the pick up pattern of the mic. Try -15 for that. When coaching your interviewee to eat the mic, they will often put it about 3 inches away. That's perfect! You will have to play with the me66 with the transmitter. More sensitivity will increase the range, but will easily spike at the input. watch the levels carefully on the cam. My me66 rides in place of the standard Canon mic, with the ew100 on channel 2. The only difference is that I use the Canon ma100 XLR device. Your beachtek adds a redundant preamp. I suppose 12 o'clock on the gain knobs makes sense as you are using this as a pass though device. As for the frequency range, the presets supplied will be without any cross modulation. A matching you want to avoid. When I picked up my second transmitter/receiver, I made sure it was in the same allocation. There is a,b,c,d. This way I can mix and match the components as needed. With 1024 frequencies to choose from, I'll always find a clean channel. Usually, I set the display to show the frequency in use. Did you also get the pocket transmitter? Not much to add, just try testing it at -10 sensitivity and you should be good to go. And the manual is correct ... you cannot run both transmitters at the same time unless you have 2 receivers set to different frequencies and the 2 transmitters set to match the receivers. If you can, buy a really expensive set of headphones. This is the key to capturing great audio at the cam.

December 10th, 2004, 02:14 AM	#2
Oleg Kaizerman Major Player Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: israel Posts: 296	Put the camera seting on unity , then increase or decrise the level on the reciever ( of course first set the trasnsmitter gain on the right level - that you have dissent sound with out distortion - or you dont have to much hiss since you are to low) if you don t match with the reciever , adjast the camera to the point rhat your picks would be around -10,-8 dbfs , dont push to high since this camera doesnt like any thing more then -6dbfs thats the simplest way to do it you can attach your mike to the transmiter- but have to do adaptor from balance to unbalance input on the transmitter , remember the mike level is the tip and the ground on the transmitter side , the ring is for line level input

December 10th, 2004, 04:43 AM	#4
Oleg Kaizerman Major Player Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: israel Posts: 296	12 o clock

December 11th, 2004, 07:52 AM	#8
Ty Ford Inner Circle Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Baltimore, MD USA Posts: 2,337	Re: great setup... <<<-- Originally posted by Jimmy McKenzie SNIP If you can, buy a really expensive set of headphones. This is the key to capturing great audio at the cam. -->>> Sony MDR 7506 headphones are only $99. Get them. Ty Ford __________________ Ty Ford's Audio Bootcamp Field Guide Ty Ford's Audio Video Blog

December 11th, 2004, 05:26 PM	#9
Josh Bass Slash Rules! Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Houston, Texas Posts: 5,472	Thanks, gents. Got those headphones, I believe. All the stuff that came with this set is pocket sized, no full sized anything. This dude that I'll hopefully be doing some work for suggested setting the transmitter and receiver to the defaults, and adjusting the gain knob on cam to halfway, and to adjust the level using the knobs on the beachtek. I tried this today, and I think the results were pretty good. I got decent levels, without much hiss (that I could hear, at least), so I'll capture and listen to it later. Also had the -20 attenuator on in cam. __________________ The Bass' camerawork The Bass on IMDB