Big load of questions... much advice needed

[Mathieu Ghekiere]

Hi,

I'm really not familiar with the audio side of the dv-filmmaking. But I really want to look into it, as I'm interested in buying audio gear. And of course I have lots of questions.
I already searched a lot about certain subjects, but I still have some questions, and it's a pretty number of them, and I would be very grateful if people could help me out with them. Here goes:

Explanation: I have the Canon XL1s, and I use it for narrative work, mainly shorts. Inside, outside use, for dramatic/narrative work.
My budget? I think around 500 euros (I don't know how much dollars that would be now).
That's not calculating the adapter I want to buy. But more about that in my questions. Most questions are related close to each other, but I numbered them so if people want they can respond more fixed on one question, if that's easier or more clear.

Somebody on the forum here sells his MA-100 for the Canon XL1s. That's why I thought: it's about time I buy one, so I can get a good external microphone to feed to the cam. Then I read about it, in my search pages, and I read it DIDN't supply phantom power. The MA-200 doesn't do this neither. so questions:
1. Is there a way to have phantom power? Is there an adaptor that works like the MA-100 but does the phantom power? Or isn't there?
2.I read about external power supplies. What's the cost of them? Does anybody has links to them? Where do you put it at the cam?
3. How necessary is that phantom power, in comparison with mics with batteries?

4.I don't have a lot of ideas about mic's. First I read much about the Sennheiser Me66/K6 combination, and I read about the AT897 too and the 4073a.
For the work I'm doing, which one would be the best? Or somebody has other options?
Do you need phantom power for the 4073a?
5. I also heard some mics are too hot for certain cams, or the opposite... don't know a lot about it, so somebody with advice? Which one would be good for the XL1s...?

6. Which settings on the Canon with the MA-100? MIC? Anything else I should look for? Don't want to blow anything or something like that :-)

7. What do I else need? I thought about: wind shield? Boom pool? Shock Mount? Other? I already have a headphone.
Links could be nice.

I'm on a pretty tight budget, and I'm not planning to buy the mic very soon, but it's nice to prepare myself, and I'd like to know, because that person from the board is selling his MA-100 and I need to know in how far it's a wise choice for me to buy it. Don't need the MA-200.
But I'd like to know about possible other options.

I know these are pretty obvious questions, and maybe they are already answered in the boards, but I already did a search, and already got answers on many other questions I had, but these are questions I still have.
I know it are many questions too, but I have A LOT to learn on the audio subject.

Thanks,

[David Ennis]

Originally Posted by Mathieu Ghekiere

1. Is there a way to have phantom power? Is there an adaptor that works like the MA-100 but does the phantom power? Or isn't there?

Yes, the Beachtek DXA-6, which costs aobut $250 US. See it at www.beachtek.com

Originally Posted by Mathieu Ghekiere

2.I read about external power supplies. What's the cost of them? Does anybody has links to them? Where do you put it at the cam?

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/cont...sc&fi=all&pn=2

Originally Posted by Mathieu Ghekiere

3. How necessary is that phantom power, in comparison with mics with batteries?

Some mics have batteries, some require phantom power, some can use either. Most of the best ones require phantom power, but there are some good ones that don't. The ones that can use either batteries or phantom power usually perform better with phantom power.

Originally Posted by Mathieu Ghekiere

4.I don't have a lot of ideas about mic's. First I read much about the Sennheiser Me66/K6 combination, and I read about the AT897 too and the 4073a. For the work I'm doing, which one would be the best? Or somebody has other options? Do you need phantom power for the 4073a?

The 4073a is the best of those mics--most sensitive and best sounding. The ME66 is much more sensitive than the AT897, but most people seem to think that the AT897 has a better sound. The 4073a does require phantom power.

Originally Posted by Mathieu Ghekiere

5. I also heard some mics are too hot for certain cams, or the opposite... don't know a lot about it, so somebody with advice? Which one would be good for the XL1s...?

I don't know off hand. I'll leave it for someone who owns an XL1s to comment. I do think that the Rode VideoMic offers a incomparable combination of sound quality, versatility and affordability. I believe that the XL1s uses RCA connectors, so you would need an inexpensive adapter cable.

Originally Posted by Mathieu Ghekiere

6. Which settings on the Canon with the MA-100? MIC? Anything else I should look for? Don't want to blow anything or something like that :-)

Personally, I don't care for Canon's accessory adaptors. Beachtek and others make ones with more value for the money.

Originally Posted by Mathieu Ghekiere

7. What do I else need? I thought about: wind shield? Boom pool? Shock Mount? Other? I already have a headphone.
Links could be nice.

Probably all of the above. You haven't given much detail about your shooting conditions, probably because you know there will be many different ones, right? Well, each situation has to be considered separately. I think that the best approach is to plan for the situation you think you will encounter the most often and get the best equipment you can afford for that. Then gradually build you audio kit from there.

[Mathieu Ghekiere]

Thank you very much for your very helpful post.
So it is possible to get phantom power with the XL1s, if I use that Beachteck?
If so, I can use that AT 4073a with my XL1s without much problems?

BTW: Well, I only know I'll be doing narrative shorts with it (I already did, but I didn't had the budget for decent audio. Luckily, for that shorts, it wasn't a huge problem) and I would be shooting inside and outside.

Thanks,

[David Ennis]

The 4073a is a very fine and very sensitive mic, and will work well with the Beachtek DXA-6. It will do a great job on a boom pole later too. Outside you can take full advantage of its distance capabilities, but shotguns are not great indoors because off-axis echoes from walls and ceilings are somewhat distorted. But a bit of technique will get good results in many situations. Come back to this forum for specific recommendations when you have such a shoot to do.

[Mathieu Ghekiere]

Thanks again, you really helped me out!

[David Ennis]

One last thought is that if most of your subjects will be closer than 8 feet or so outdoors so you don't need the distance capability of the AT4073a, then an AT4053a hypercardioid mic might be a better choice because indoors a hypercardioid is preferable to a shotgun. The 4053 will also be good on a boom pole both indoors and out, and it costs more than $100 less than the 4073a.