Let first say I read or more precisely followed the diagrams, and I still can't get a picture from the BNC connection on the MA-200. The XLR connections on the MA-200 seem to be working and I can get a signal using a RCA cable or S cable straight from the camera, but nothing from the bnc connection. Can someone break it down for me Barney Rubel style?! Thanks

I'll ask the obvious, did you connect the video out (RCA) on the camera to the video in (RCA) on the MA200? They do not provide a cable for that with the MA200, you have to provide your own.

I have tried everything and I can't get anyhing from my MA-200's BNC connection. I have connected it to the unit with a RCA cable and nothing. I am using a 25 foot coxial cable with a BNC adaptor on one end. Are there any settings on the camera? It works fine with a RCA cable straight from the camera, but nothing from the MA-200.

Do I need a special cable for the MA-200 to work right. I have performed continuity checks, and it should work. :( I am really bummed about this.

Sorry to hear that you're still having problems getting it to work. I've never used the BNC output on my camera so thought I'd better check it out after hearing of your problem. I didn't use any special cables, just connected the RCA video out on camera to RCA video in on the MA200. Output from BNC is fine. Sounds like you've either got a bad cable or bad MA200.

Thanks for your input Ed. The TV end wouldn't accept the cable coaxial input, so I got a RCA adapter on that end and it works fine. Go figure! Thanks a lot. If you are in any way connected to Canon, please advise them some of there components need more documentation or clarity.

Some days ago I ordered the MA-200. Now I received email from my dealer who told me that the MA-200 is not available anymore. Canon Finland had told them that manufacturing of MA-200 is finished.

Has any one else heard about this?

--Markus Aalto

FWIW: The MA-200 is still shown on the XL1s accessories page on the Canon USA web site and the UK website XL1s page.

I tried picking up one in August and September, while I was in NYC. No luck.

B&H, said they would be in stock "within a few weeks".

Tried again just before Turkey day. No luck.

Good luck.

Just checked B&H website and it is listed as "In Stock". I didn't call to verify though.

I was so frustrated and amazed that I called them back, asked again... and quess what? That was a mistake! MA-200 is still available, but the stereomicrophone MM-200 is not. Oh my...

So sorry to bother you guys with this wrong information. However, now you know that the microphone MM-200 really is out.

--Markus Aalto

Try the Double Hotshoe Bracket- http://www.nebtek.com./mounting.html
It has a hotshoe on top and a 6" swingarm out to a Hama mini-ball mount to mount a monitor.

I bought a MA-200 for $274 a few weeks back at Caman's Foto. Talk to Daniel Deitrick at 1-866-227-6267 ext 18
Good luck,
Randy

I have just bought an MA-200 and my XL1s is still somewhere in the Indian Ocean, (I think) well in transit from Factory. Any way, Im doing as much as I can to read about the camera, such as download manual, so that when the camera arrives I should be able to shart shooting as effective as I can. With it taking a while to arrive, its getting nearer and nearer to a crucial date to do a job for a charity organisation. So im in a way learning controls and make up of camera before its even out of the box [YEAH. I KNOW IM A GEEK] - but I learned more or less my way around a PD-150 like that until I got my hands on it to play around more. And after about 10 weeks of waitig for the PD150 I got pretty got...hahaha

Well my question is. With the MA-200 connected to get two mics going at 16bits - whats the best set up to have from the menu?
What do people find the best??? I know that with 4 Mics its down to 12bit. But I want 16bit so only going to have 2 mics. [I am correct that the XL1s handles 2 at 16bit and 4 at 12bit...right?]

So any suggestions would be great. Unless theres just one set way to set up. But any steps that can get me up to speed on the cam asap would be great!

Thanks to you all for making this one hell of a site!!!!

In 16-bit mode you can have a maximum of two inputs. 16-bit mode is the hgiher quality audio recording mode. Works for most purposes. You can add/mix additional sound in post if needed.

12-bit recording allows up to four inputs, but also has a two input mode. Selected from themenu. For most purposes, the only reason to use 12-bit mode is to allow recording of four audio inputs, as in field recording at a wedding (e.g., wireless mics and ambient sound).

Yeah I understand all the bit about 16bit and Im convinced... dont think I have ever used 12bit....not even on low range cameras...I have always used 16bit.

Just wanted to know on the XL1s if setting to 16bit for two mics is a sinch...or whether theres a few things to change in menu. Or if there was a dead quick way set it up to 16bit - two channel or to test that both are on 16bit...not two channel 12bit with 2 left for 'future' recordings.

So it just a quick set up in menu with 16bit always showing in viewfinder...or there a few buttons to configure it with MA-200 for two XLR mics on 16bit each.

Christopher, you might want to read this four part article (http://www.dvinfo.net/canon/articles.php#audio) on the Watchdog site. I think you'll find about everything you need to know in those articles.

Keep in mind that when we are talking about 4 inputs we mean
4 MONO inputs. Thus, it supports 2 STEREO channels. The onboard
microphone is a stereo one has thus uses two of the four inputs
already.

Ofcourse if you are not using the on-board mic you can ofcourse
feed 2 mono channels in 16-bit mode.

By default the audio mode shows in lower right of vewfinder display when in camcorder mode.

Also, 16-bit is the default mode from the box. If you change it, the change should be retained as long as the backup battery lasts.

Changes between 16-bit (2 channel) and the two 12-bit modes is via the menu.

Cheers Guys!!!

I'll probably be using the onboard mic until I get around to ordering a Sennhesier K6 and ME66. I reccon that should be a good set up for my needs.

Those that use the ME-66, what 2nd mic you use? A Clip on remote mic, or anyone use two shotguns???

Anyone used the ME67 ? There much difference in their size? Just out of curiosity. ANd what you use it for? Just longer ranged shots?

And thanks to ED....just looked at the link...great helpful hints and tips on set up. Id been through that site, but obviously not covered every page.....THANKS!

Mic question regarding MA-200.

OK just trying to get understood how MA-200 thing works.

1) If I connect a mono mic to ma200 and record in 16bit....will the camera record the mic on both left and right? or will it record on left or right channel only...such as come out of just one side of speaker? So would I then have to put just one cable from MA200 and then a double adapter to put sound from one cable into both rca plugs on camera? Or does camera detect mono and then put it to bothside to have balanced sound from both R & L speakers? Or do you have to do this manually on camera or via twin adapter only?


2) If i did the same and had boom on one side and clip on mic on the other. would sound come from left speaker from boom and right speaker from clip on....thus 'unequal' sound...or does the camera detect that they are mono and mix them to both sides L & R?


Hope I make sense, just on minidisc recordings....mic would come on left channel only....unless you changed button to mono then it would record both R & L consecutively. This the same with XL1s? or is there no button...just use adapter Left cable to duel R & L in to 'trick' camera into treating two mono sources as stereo from one mono source.

The MA100/200 are 2/4 channel . The channels are independent and do not automatically sense a single input and send that to both outputs. Same for the camcorder.

If you connect to the left, it records on the left, with nothing on the right.

You can do some mixing wiht the analog output - covered in the manual.

You can add sound to both channels in post if that is needed.

Or you can buy a Y adapter and plug the single end into the L spot on the MA-200, and connect the 2 other ends into the left & right spots on the Cam.

This is not true stereo.... but it gives you a L & R channel, without having to do it in post.

Hope this helps.
Tustin Larson

Hi guys,

Anyone have an idea of I would get a pilot's headset into the XL1s or MA200?

Regards

Jean

Depends on a number of things. There is a good chance the audio output of the avionics are different than the XL-1's input. If you are looking for the best quality possible then you will need an impedance matching device.

Otherwise, you might be able to get by with an audio cable and some kind of decoupling capacitor inline with the audio. You can probably get most or all of this at Radio Shack or musician's supply store.

I used to fly with a "breakout box" intercom system. The David Clarks plugged into the box and the box plugged into the headphone output/mic input in the Cessna's instrument panel.

The box provided a voice-activated intercom which was overridden anytime the pilot pushed the radio transmit button on the yolk.

It also featured a 1/8" audio output jack into which you could plug-in a standard recorder or feed into a video camera.

It's then a simple matter of adapting the 1/8" connector to an XLR connector -- or one of the RCA jacks -- of the Canon XL1.

Dean Sensui
Base Two Productions

A potential issue may be the impedance and sensitivity of the headphones. Some commonly found headphones draw too much power for the XL1 to drive them adequately.

From the manual, the XL1s hardphone jack has a charactristic impedance of 120 ohms and can provide -25 dBV (aboput 56 mV) into 16 ohms, not very much nower.

Can someone help? I have an XL1s with the MA200 attached. I connect the receiver xlr jack to the MA200 and I have the me2 mic attached to the transmitter. No matter what I do I can't get levels above -50 to -40 dBs. I've tried manual settings, and nothing seems to help. I've also cranked the receiver volume. Anyone have any clues?

Ok, I tried an XLR mic directly to the MA200 and it was still low. Then I plugged the receiver to where the onboard mic plugs into and I get good levels. Anyone know what to do about the MA200? It seems to be losing juice going thru the MA200.

Ok sorry to waste the bandwidth but this was a RTFM problem.
I assumed that when you flipped the switch on the side of the camera it automatically switched the menu options as it appeared to do, but then under Audio1, instead of Line(default) you have to switch it to Mic.

:)

Don't feel bad. You have a lot of company on that issue. It is far and away the most common single user question regarding XL1 and 1s audio.

Yeah, if Chris Hurd had a nickel for every time that happened he'd own Canon!

In other words, you're in good company....

BTW, how do you like the 500? Is the 500's bodypack receiver a diversity system?

I have the same question, and I am still a little confused.

Basically, I have an MA-200, a Canon Xl1s, and a ME66 Seenheisser shotgun mic. That's all I have and that's all I'm going to have, can't afford another mic.

How do I get this one microphone to record stereo onto the camera, just like I was able to do with a Beachtek/ME66/ VX2000?
I have to do it in post? Tunstin, how is your method not 'true stereo'?

No idea how this works. Is stereo usually done with two mics running through a mixer?

Brad,
The answer's the same as Tustin provided, above. It's not true "stereo", as indeed, Tustin also noted, which requires a stereo mic. That is, a mic that's basically 2 mics in one. (Yes, the onboard mic on the XL1 is stereo.)

Hi Ken,
To clarify, if I got another Sennheiser shotgun mic, connected one to the left, and one to the right...both on audio 1, would it be true stereo? I've never done this before...which is why I'm so confused. I've always used the old beachtek adapter which I guess senses a single input and outputs it to both signals.

If one mic in the left and one in the right isn't stereo either, then would a mixer on set solve this? And if so, would you recommend an affordable one? (preferably something easy to use for someone like me). Or does this always have to be done in post?

(forgive my ignorance, these questions must be really basic, I am definitly NOT a sound guy and this is all new to me, thanks for any info).


EDIT - nevermind my very first question, I didn't read your post correctly. I now understand it will not be true stereo unless you get a stereo mic. The main question I have then is how to capture two signals and mix them properly I guess.

Brad,
Two shotguns would be stereo, in that you would now have two independant channels of sound. But you would be using two super cardiod, narrow-field mics. I don't think it would achieve much.

Is your goal to simply avoid duplicating a single channel in post, or is it to capture a true stereo sound field with accurate left and right channels?

Sennheiser does make a stereo shotgun mic (I think it's their MK416 model, but not sure). Also, Audio-Technica makes a very good stereo mic, their AT-822, which features a much wider field.

Two mics can be two channel, stereo is a special case of two channel in that it attempts to form a sound image that reflects the relative placement of the sound sources during playback. Go to the Shure.com web site and check their paper about mic pacement for recording.

http://www.shure.com/pdf/booklets/mics_for_music_studio.pdf

Ther are a numbr of other interesting papes there as well.

I think I made yet another stupid mistake... I got the MA 200 for my xl1s so that I could go BNC into my video card. I have a Voodoo 64 with SDI ins... was this stupid? or am I just missing some sort of setup?

Michael

The MA200 is really meant for audio (XLR) THe BNC is a nice little feature but all it is doing is converting the phono connection (A/V) into BNC. You could go down to your local Video store and pick up a Phono to BNC adapter for a couple of £'s/ $' that will do the same job.

Another thing the ouput on the XL1/s is composite and not SDI therefore it will not work.

SDI input/output are found on betacam equipment not DV.

Ed

Thanks a lot, I was actually under the impression from a producer that we were purchasing a Digibeta, but alas... But there is always the future. Until I get a deck with a slot for SDI in/outs... or the digi beta, I will use firewire. Do you know of any other nifty options I have that I haven't thought of?

Michael

<<<-- Originally posted by Ken Tanaka : Brad,


Is your goal to simply avoid duplicating a single channel in post, or is it to capture a true stereo sound field with accurate left and right channels?

-->>>

Hi Ken, well that's where I'm confused. I simply want to record dialogue, and I'm wondering if I only capture sound from a mono Sennheisser mic into the left channel, is that good enough? I can only hear the sound on the left side of my headset, and I can only hear it coming out of the left speaker when I have captured the audio. (obviously)

So, in post production, having used one mono mic to record to the left channel, and I duplicate the left channel to the right channel, does that effectivley lower the quality of the sound?

Basically, all I want to know is how would most people record a dialogue scene with 1 Canon xl1s, one MA200, and one mono seenheisser mic? Should I just use the left or right channel with the mic...and then somehow duplicate the channel in post? OR should I get one of those converters that splits the XLR cable and would let us plug it into the left AND right channel (fake stereo).

thanks in advance.

Brad,
Your confusion is understandable. I believe that most videographers simply record their dialog on a single channel when using a single mic. Then, during post-production, it's very simple to pan that channel across left and right channels with a slide of the mouse in your non-linear editing program. (At least that's how it works in Final Cut Pro.)

thanks Ken, I just tried that in Premiere with "Duplicate Left Channel" and now I hear the sound coming out of both speakers. It sounds good.

Thanks for clearing it up. I was under the impression that mono=bad and stereo=good...and that somehow I needed to always strive to achieve stereo? I just want to make sure that duplicating a mono track will sound as good as trying to use two mono mics and blending them in post. Especially if this film goes to a film fest in a theater with large speakers, I'm wondering if a duplicated mono track will sound somehow distrorted? Thanks for explaining all this.

No, don't worry, panning a channel does not introduce any distortion.

Basically, the finished sound field of most films is a mix of many mono tracks. Dialog, foley effects, music, and background sound is all woven together to paint the image fed to your ears.

thanks a bunch Ken as always.
Just what I wanted to hear.

I've just bought an Audio Technica Line & Gradient Mono Balanced Shotgun Mic, AT 835B, it cost me £200.00, and it's not working that well with the MA-200 I bought a year ago, which seems to be working fine. (incidentally I have had this same problem with other mics)

The problem I've got (and it may be the way I'm setting it up in the menu), but the signal I'm getting through the right channel is very low and it's not picking up sound from a distance that I expect it to, when I isolate just this mic.

I've set the menu up as follows: ST 12 bit 1,2. The onboard mic is on the Stereo 1&2 channels, and the mono AT 835B is linked to the right channel Audio 2 through the MA-200.

I have to get almost upto the AT835B to hear a signal through my headphones, as soon as I pull away, the signal seems to decrease massively. Is it the balanced/unbalanced thing.

Have I set it up correctly? For £200.00 it should be able to hear a pin drop at 20 yards. Have you had any similar problems? Is the MA-200 only capable of taking unbalanced inputs, could it be that? Does the MA-200 automatically attenuate the mic input signal?

PS. I have checked the AA 1.5V battery by the way in the mic, and tried the AUDIO 1 connection instead, same problem.

I have the same mic and works great.

Make sure that you have the correct setting, for which ever Stereo 1 o 2 you are using. Such as making sure its set to MIC not LINE IN.

It should be somewhere on the menu system. The manual should tell you how to set it...as I cannot remember off hand. If you have lost your manual. You can download it in PDF around 3MBs from the internet.

One its set to MIC then you will hear the mic...its fairly powerful so you should not have be to right up close to even get a sound. I seems to me its set on LINE not MIC on the menu for ST-2, and you do the same for ST-1 if you want to just use your AT on ST-1 in 16bit. Even with the switch set....you still have to select the source type from the Menu...i.e MIC for your AT

And one more thing....I'm not try to infere your dumb...but you have remembered to plug in the MA-200 power source plug, right?
I know I have done that mistake! and after cursing the ground realised what a nonce I have been to not plug in power to the back of CAM.

Hi Chris

Thanks for your advice especially regarding splitting the signal using the RCA cable, excellent idea. Re the MIC, I've ensured the menu has selected MIC for Audio 2, so I don't think it can be that. Also the power on the MA200 is connected. It seems like I have to go to Manual levels on Audio 2 and really crank up the MIC to get it anywhere near the 12db max sound level.

Could it be the quality of the earphones, however the on board MIC is loud enough when I select this using the Audio Monitor. Have you found the audio quality is much different bewteen the two?