Hi,

Next monday I will be filming a solo folk concert and I have the permission to hook up my GL2 or minidisc to the soundboard. I don't know which option is the best and I also don't know which cables to use.

Can somebody help me out please?

Cheers,
Dirk

Dirk,

I would keep the GL2 free from the board to shoot with. Most sound boards (mixer?) have either 3 pin XLR and or 1/4" plugs. You'll need a cable with a Male XLR plug with a Male 1/8" plug on the other end. Or, if it's 1/4", a male 1/4" with a Male 1/8" plug. Depending on the board, you may also need a level converter (transformer) since you won't want to drive either device with line level.

<<<-- Originally posted by Rob Wilson : Dirk,
Depending on the board, you may also need a level converter (transformer) since you won't want to drive either device with line level. -->>>

Some minidiscs have line in level.. (at least mine does), so check that out too.

The sound tech at the mixer should be able to control the level out to the minidisc or the camera. And Rob is correct. Depending on the board, you should have two options, XLR or 1/4". But, some boards have a stero out on the back where you could go RCA plugs directly to the camera's RCA inputs or directly to the minidisc with a 1/8" to RCA (stero Right and Left inputs). This way you will get stero sound! No matter what, you will need adapters. I usually carry every adapter I own, just in case. This is where radio shack comes in handy! Ask the sound tech what he recommends or what he has, then take yourself to radio shack and get what you need to make it work! Hope this helps.

Also be sure to monitor the levels on the minidisk. Set them manually to be sure they are not clipping. Use some headphones too just to get them set right.

The concert probably is not being miked in stero so you will be safer on recording time at high quality if you record in mono mode.

You want to keep the on camera sound as a back up for audio.

You should not turn off the camcorder at all during the concert. That way when you mix in your NLE you wont have to sync more than once or twice if you switch tapes.

Also you will get better sound if you mix the direct recorded mini disk track with a bit of the camera sound that picks up the room ambiance since the track recorded direct from the board will be dry.

Ho! Don't talk to me about clipping!! - I filmed a live unbalanced non-sound checked sequence of a group of youngsters performing their work. Live type Rap against a beat track . .And very excellent they were too! But, but, but the PA chaps, and there were 2 of them, with a pile of audio balancing kit, didn't do it for me . . or come to that IMHO, that of the audience. I've had to serverely "drop" some amazing sequences from their peerformance, solely becasue of this HUGE clipping and distortion . . why, why, why do PAs not do the Sound Check to destruction? - Maybe I was unlucky? But hey folks did I learn for future work!!!

Grazie

Hello to all,

I shoot large multicamera music events and usually will cable into one of the camera's keeping 3 - 4 camera's free. The reason I do this is because Mini Disk has a lower sampling rate than the GL-2. (MD 44.1 khz, GL-2 48 khz)
When editing your no stop show, you do lose sync multiple times and end up cutting at specific points to keep sync.

Connecting to a board is relatively simple with a Beechtek adapter that switches between Mic and Line levels. You can also use a non-powered mixer to do the transition.

Johnny

Live it, Love it

<<<-- Originally posted by J. Clayton Stansberry : But, some boards have a stero out on the back where you could go RCA plugs directly to the camera's RCA inputs. -->>>

Any time I talk audio I'm out on a limb, but my experience on two Sony's (D-8/VX2000) is that RCA audio in can't happen coincident with shooting. You can record through them using the VTR function but not the camera function. If the purpose is to make one camera an audio recorder the rca's are fine.


David Hurdon