Is this, more later

Dan

Very nice! Let us know how the system works. Some audio samples would be excellent as well:)

Quick initial impressions are that the unit is more plastic in construction that previous units, this is not necessarily a bad thing as it keeps the weight down. Sat underneath the camera it is slightly larger than a 5dmkII battery grip but its square shape makes it a little harder to hold than before. It attaches firmly and has two extra little locator pins that mate with the 5dmkII baseplate to stop any movement. Underneath the unit there is a tripod bush and a couple of extra hole for video tripod plate locators. The LCD is clear and it displays all the relevant functions.

As for audio I am still testing. I'll try and post some files later but it seems the agc disbable function does work as advertised. Because the adapter is passive it does need sensitive mics, with my Sanken CS-1 it needs the gain turning quite high to get a usable level. Radio mics like the Sennheiser EW112P have no problem feeding a good level and feeding from my Sound Devices mixer was fine too.

The headphone output does not seem to be as good as the output to the camera (the manual alludes to this), it has quite a lot of hiss with the headphones I have tried so far.

To my surprise the unit is made in China, funny as I had to have the unit shipped here to Beijing from Canada. Not very carbon neutral :)

Dan

A few more quick pictures.

Dan, if you get a chance, take a look at where your meters rest during relative silence. I'd like to get a handle on the noise floor. My tests using a 16 kHz tone from an iPod had the noise at -40dB or so, which was disappointing.

Also, what frequency is the unit using?

A few more quick pictures.

Would that mount on rails?

Mark,

I've been messing around with rails systems and the Beachtek. The best I can come up with so far is based on my Redrockmicro system but it can only handle long lenses with a follow focus attached. I am going to test various Redrockmicro and Genus combinations when I have the time.

Jon,

I'll have a look when I get down to proper testing.

Dan

Dan,

How does that work with the battery grip?

LMAO at the velcro taped over the eye-piece. Stills shooters would probably have a heart-attack seeing that. :)

Hey Dan,How you getting on with the new Loup?

Is it MUCH better than the Hoodman?

Avey

What's this new loupe your talkin about? Isn't that the hoodman in the pic?

Is it MUCH better than the Hoodman?And, specifically, how tolerant is the new loupe of the eye being off center?

I find the Hoodloupe quality to be fine when on center, but the sweet spot is really tiny.

Jon,
have you got an eyecup or anything attached to the end of your Hoodloup?

I put the iCuff on there and it's so much easier somehow. Maybe it's because my eye is now a few mm further away from the 'loup eyepiece, or maybe it's because when pressing against the iCuff, it's easier to move about into a good viewing angle…

Either way, hunting for the sweet spot doesn't seem to be an issue for me much any more.

An eyecup is definitely on my "to buy" list.

Wayne, Which model i-cuff did you buy? On balance the Hoodloupe is much better than staring at the LCD at arms length & it does help stabilisation but I think that some eye-cup comfort would help a lot.

Nigel
it is the i-Cuff DV code number MTICDV. It's the smallest one I think, and only just fits over the eyepiece of the loup and is as big as the loup itslf. Nice and snug. the velcro tape isn't long enough that wraps around the join but I had some velcro cable ties so I used one of those to lengthen it.

It is more comfortable and like I say, it moves a bit so you can get a good view of the sweet spot.

Avey

Nigel
it is the i-Cuff DV code number MTICDV. It's the smallest one I think, and only just fits over the eyepiece of the loup and is as big as the loup itslf. Nice and snug. the velcro tape isn't long enough that wraps around the join but I had some velcro cable ties so I used one of those to lengthen it.Thanks, I had been debating between the i-Cuff DV & the larger i-Cuff HD as the former is designed for up to 5.5in circumference whereas the latter is up to 9.5in & the Hoodloupe is just under 6". I am glad to hear that the smaller does fitt as I was concerned that the larger would be too loose. Do you think that the larger version would be too large?

I think it might be too large. The thing itself is as large as the hoodloup which surprised me, but after a bit of jiggling, i got the stitched bits over the eyepiece and it now fits snug.

Here's a blurry shot from the iPhone, I just pulled away the velcro tape to show you. Hope this helps.
As I mentioned the velcro tape supplied isn't long enough and you have to add a piece of your own. If you got the larger iCuff, then there might be too much material at the area you can see here where the material is wrinkled. This might mean it would be harder to move the cuff around (by pressing your head against it), to get the best viewing position. It's quite stiff material.

Avey

Hey Dan,How you getting on with the new Loup?

Is it MUCH better than the Hoodman?

Avey

My question is regarding the new Beachtek ? Is it working as advertized ?

My question is regarding the new Beachtek ? Is it working as advertized ?

I'm curious about this also.

Taken From email:

Important note regarding the DXA-5D XLR Adapter for the Canon 5D Mark II

A few people have voiced a concern over the low volume levels when recording into the Canon 5D Mark II. The DXA-5D adapter is a passive device and outputs a unity gain signal - therefore, the output signal will only be as good as the microphones you are using. Remember that the Canon 5D Mark II is far from perfect as an audio recorder. The preamplifiers in this camera have a rather poor signal to noise ratio which create excessive hiss - especially if the input signal is low.

It is important that you use a sensitive condenser type microphone and place the mic as close to the sound source as possible. Also, both trim pots on the adapter should be kept fully open for no attenuation. For the very best results, you can use a mixer in front of the adapter to boost the signal to whatever level you need. Most wireless mics also work very well through the DXA-5D as they have a relatively hot output signal. In addition, there is second output jack on the adapter to record to a digital recorder such as the popular Zoom H4 or Sony PCM-D50 when you need the highest quality audio. You can then use the nifty new software program from Singular Software (http://www.singularsoftware.com) to easily sync up the audio from the digital recorder without having to use time code.

The DXA-5D is designed as an interface device for this camera. It allows you to connect professional audio sources and gives you switching, level control, phantom power and monitoring features. Please remember the audio limitations of the Canon 5D Mark II - no device will turn this camera into a high end digital audio recorder.

Cheers,
Harry Kaufmann
Product Support
416-690-9457
BeachTek
The Audio Adapter Specialists
Welcome to the new BeachTek website! (http://www.beachtek.com)

Important note regarding the DXA-5D XLR Adapter for the Canon 5D Mark II

A few people have voiced a concern over the low volume levels when recording into the Canon 5D Mark II. The DXA-5D adapter is a passive device and outputs a unity gain signal - therefore, the output signal will only be as good as the microphones you are using.
Cheers,
Harry Kaufmann
Product Support
416-690-9457
BeachTek
The Audio Adapter Specialists
Welcome to the new BeachTek website! (http://www.beachtek.com)

Okay, I see the Sign Video Eng 44 at about $500, and I see the Juiced Link CX231 at about $299.00 with preamps. It seems to me that at the price point you are at, preamps should have been included.

It seems to me that at the price point you are at, preamps should have been included.

What about the DXA-6HD, this has low noise PreAmps and a 'MAN' switch to deactivate the AGC. It's designed for the Sony FX1, could it be used on the 5DMK2?

http://www.beachtek.com/pdf/DXA-6HDInstructions.pdf
BeachTek product selection... (http://www.beachtek.com/prod.html)

could it be used on the 5DMK2?

Just realized no monitor output.

Just realized no monitor output.Yeah, the 5D2 audio is really lacking. It's a cool idea to use a pilot tone to push down the gain, but in practice, I can't get much below -42dB, which is really weak. Also, the pilot tone steals one channel.

In the future, if we can reduce the noise, by reducing the in-camera gain, we will need a clean preamp upstream to boost the gain to make up for that loss. And that preamp needs XLR inputs, level controls, phantom power - and battery operation, of course.

And then there are no visual indicators of levels. And no headphone monitor from the camera.

But it's the noise that really kills it for me. -40dB just doesn't do it. I want -60dB at the bare minimum.

Hopefully Tramm will get manual gain, visual meters and audio out working. If reducing the gain in firmware happens to turn down the noise, then we're in business. Until then, we really need to record the audio into something other than the 5D2.

Fortunately, the built in mic and AGC are good enough for capturing sync tracks and voice notation. The mic input, however, is pretty useless right now.

With all the limitations of 5DII audio, and the availability of pluraleyes, I wonder about the advantage to to DXA-5D over a separate audio recorder. The cost of the Beachtek device is at the entry level of a separate recorder. I think people who really care about audio are going to buy the DXA and then buy the separate recorder anyways. To me, doing the reverse makes more sense. Get a separate recorder with the right meter display and controls, and then see if there is any need for the beechtek.

I do a lot of stereo ambient type audio, and the 5DII doesn't cut it. So perhaps I'm biased against the DXA and the limitations of 5DII S/N.

I am not one to say "I told you so" but I have been posting on all of the boards since I did my first 5D MKII shoot with audio a month ago. The Canon 5D MKII will never be capable of recording high quality. It is fundamentally a still camera, not even a video camera and video cameras almost uniformly have poor quality audio as well. Even the RED One has terrible audio. I actually would have been VERY surprised if the 5D MKII or any other VDSLR had and level of audio quality. From all reports so far, the Panasonc DMC-GH1 also has quite poor audio quality, big surprise.

Thanks goodness they did give the 5D MKII an internal mic, the bad audio is very useful for syncing double system sound. It is a little bit of extra work but it ends up sounding pretty good when you use an external recorder. The trick is choosing the correct feature set for your needs. I have been pretty happy with the Zoom H4N so far although I have not recorded in any quiet interiors with it yet but I did record some acoustic music performances and it sounded quite nice.

I am afraid that if you care about your audio quality, double system sound is a prerequisite.

Dan

The trick is choosing the correct feature set for your needs. I have been pretty happy with the Zoom H4N so far although I have not recorded in any quiet interiors with it yet but I did record some acoustic music performances and it sounded quite nice. .

Dan

Are you using the H4N "as is" or with any kind of pre-amp setup? And are you using only the Zoom's mics or externals via XLR, and if so which ones?

Thanks in advance.