Sennheiser G3 / DSLR and H4N configuration

[Kelly Langerak]

Hello, this is for weddings.

I have a Sennheiser G2 Ch A Wireless Transmitter and Receiver. I'm looking to purchase G3 Ch A Transmitter so that I have one on the Groom and one on the Officiant.

My question is this ... How would you go about recording this with 7D's and a H4N. I'd like the Officiants channel and Grooms channel to be separate in post.

Sometimes I will have one of the XLR inputs tied up because it will be connected to the DJ's equipment and would like that to be on a separate channel as well if possible. Or I could plug in a H1 into the DJ's board so that this frees up the H4N just for the Sennheiser setup.

Thoughts?

thanks!

[Brian P. Reynolds]

It seems that some people are trying to make the shoot so complex just to get great pictures, Obviously if your doing weddings to this level you are charging a reasonable fee for your service, my advice is to use some of that fee to pay for a sound person / assistant.
For 1 person to look after the 1x camera, 2x radio mics TX, 2x radio mic RX (and scan both units for best use), 2x recorders placing the mics on the people, the lights, interconnecting & cabling, power, batteries, tripod, etc,etc,etc and hope to succeed you are asking for trouble.

The next question is .....what happens when it all goes wrong?

You are doing a coverage of a "ONCE in a lifetime" event for your client, do the responsible thing and get an assistant that KNOWS what to do and how to use the gear, not just an extra pair of hands.

You are looking at a complete G3 system and not just a transmitter aren't you?

[Kelly Langerak]

@ Brian, did you even read my post?

I have a G2 setup and I'm adding a third Transmitter. I used to use all H1's but they suck. I do have an assistant who monitors the audio and that is WHY i'm getting back into using the G3 and G2 setup.

My question is how do set it up in the H4N to record separate audio tracks?

[Brian P. Reynolds]

Originally Posted by Kelly Langerak

My question is how do set it up in the H4N to record separate audio tracks?

The user manual has ALL the information you need to set up the recorder to 4CH mode, it is possibly way to complex to explain on a forum.

[John Willett]

Originally Posted by Kelly Langerak

Hello, this is for weddings.

I have a Sennheiser G2 Ch A Wireless Transmitter and Receiver. I'm looking to purchase G3 Ch A Transmitter so that I have one on the Groom and one on the Officiant.

My question is this ... How would you go about recording this with 7D's and a H4N. I'd like the Officiants channel and Grooms channel to be separate in post.

Sometimes I will have one of the XLR inputs tied up because it will be connected to the DJ's equipment and would like that to be on a separate channel as well if possible. Or I could plug in a H1 into the DJ's board so that this frees up the H4N just for the Sennheiser setup.

Thoughts?

thanks!

How are you planning to switch the receiver?

If you only buy a transmitter you will have to have it on a different frequency and then switch receiver frequencies when you want to change from one transmitter to another.

You must not have two transmitters on the same frequency as each other or they will fight and make horrible noises.

[Kelly Langerak]

yeah, i will have both transmitters on the same frequency. Is having two transmitters (G3 and G2), one receiver (G2) and the H4n a possible combination? or do I need two receivers?

[Steve House]

Originally Posted by Kelly Langerak

yeah, i will have both transmitters on the same frequency. Is having two transmitters (G3 and G2), one receiver (G2) and the H4n a possible combination? or do I need two receivers?

You absolutely MUST have a separate receiver channel for each active transmitter so you definitely need to have two receivers for your proposed application. Mulitple transmitters on the same frequncy interfere with each other. There are multi-channel receivers available that put 2 or more receivers into the same physical box but the G2/G3 series doesn't have them.

[Jack Walsh]

Hmm, interesting!
Sorry to butt in here, Kelly,


I shoot wedding ceremonies, for my wife, she is a Celebrant here in Newcastle Australia.. Mainly for promoting her business.
I want to keep it as simple as possible, but running two cameras, I at least need the sound to be consistent in quality, from both......
So my question is! Can I run two receivers, from the one transmitter?

[Brian P. Reynolds]

Originally Posted by Jack Walsh

So my question is! Can I run two receivers, from the one transmitter?

Absolutely... but they would need to be the same brand and tuned to the transmission frequency.
It needs to be noted though you are unlikely to be able to mix brands as often there are types of coding used that are brand or type specific.
eg. a Sony TX wont be picked up on a Sennheiser RX correctly etc.

You can run as many receivers you like on a signal transmission just like a Radio or TV station, all the listeners / viewers tune into a common channel / frequency.

[Steve House]

Originally Posted by Jack Walsh

Hmm, interesting!
Sorry to butt in here, Kelly,


I shoot wedding ceremonies, for my wife, she is a Celebrant here in Newcastle Australia.. Mainly for promoting her business.
I want to keep it as simple as possible, but running two cameras, I at least need the sound to be consistent in quality, from both......
So my question is! Can I run two receivers, from the one transmitter?

As Brian said, one transmitter to multiple receivers is fine, you just can't go the other way around. But you said consistency is the goal. With multiple cameras each recording sound single system you could have a subtle but noticeable difference in the sound on each camera, especially if they're not all the same make and model. Have you considered recording to a high-quality dedicated audio recorder and syncing the sound to the several camera's video in post?

[Jack Walsh]

Thanks, that will make things easy for me!!!!!!!
I will also use an audio recorder as backup in future.
I've just been using the sound from one camera, the main camera, which is tripod mounted, and connected to the mic receiver.. Then sync that cameras sound to the run n gun camera, in post..
Just reckon it will be easier, for me, if both cameras have usable sound...

[John Willett]

Originally Posted by Kelly Langerak

yeah, i will have both transmitters on the same frequency. Is having two transmitters (G3 and G2), one receiver (G2) and the H4n a possible combination? or do I need two receivers?

You must NOT have two transmitters on the same frequency. You MUST NEVER DO THIS.

Two transmitters on the same frequency fight with each other, make horrible noises, and are totally unusable!

You MUST have a separate receiver for every transmitter and each must be on a different intermodulation-free frequency.

.

[John Willett]

Originally Posted by Jack Walsh

So my question is! Can I run two receivers, from the one transmitter?

Yes - you can have as many receivers as you want running from a single transmitter (it's the same principle as broadcast radio) - it's just the other way round you can't do.

[Colin McDonald]

Originally Posted by John Willett

You must NOT have two transmitters on the same frequency. You MUST NEVER DO THIS.

Two transmitters on the same frequency fight with each other, make horrible noises, and are totally unusable!

You MUST have a separate receiver for every transmitter and each must be on a different intermodulation-free frequency.

.

So, reading between the lines, you are possibly implying that this might not be a good idea, John?

:-)

[Tom Morrow]

Turning pilot tone feature off on the receiver might even allow compatibility with other systems/brands, although you'd want to verify before trusting. Here's a good thread with more arcana of the G3 settings:

http://www.dvinfo.net/forum/all-thin...-settings.html