I am new to video and the forum so please bare with the novice questions.

I have the ma300 adapter which is unbalanced. I have an azden wireless mic and an azden shotgun mic. The the shotgun connects throught xlr and the wireless connects throught the 1/8 mic input on the camera. What is the best way to get balanced stereo sound for both.

Richie

Keep in mind that balanced is mainly of value with relatively long cables. If the ubbalanced portion (e.g, distance from the MA300 to the GL2) is short (a few feet or less) balanced or unbalanced will not likely make any difference you will ever hear.

Keep in mind that while the output of the MA300 is unbalancd to match the camcorder input, the MA300 input is balanced.

I don't know specifics of your Azden wireless, but at least some models have balanced output - you just need the proper cables to conenct it to the MA300, With the MA300 you probably need to be sure that the Azden output is set to mic level is there is such a setting, or padded down to mic level if not.

Richie, You can't use the MA300 and the GL2's mini jack at the same time. When you plug something into the jack, it opens the hot shoe connection.

And by the way, the MA300 is an inferior piece of equipment, I'd suggest selling it on eBay and picking up a Beachtek DXA-4p (www.beachteck.com). Have a look. For the same money it's much more versatile than the MA300. With it, you can use the mic and the wireless at the same time and choose whether to keep them in separate channels or record them both to both channels. There are other advantages as well. It's truly unfortunate that so many people get sidelined by the MA300.

I make wedding videos.
At the party time, when the musicant play loud, i can't record correctly the audio. It pops, distort. I try it in Auto mode and also in Manual Audio mode.
Maybe the music is TOO loud for this mic? I have to use an external one?

Maybe "Mic Att" is the solution? I try it soon.
For speak and for "normal volume" music, the mic is absolutly perfect!

The Mic Att works well to eliminate distoration. I've never encountered distortion after starting to use the Mic Att for wedding receptions. On occasion, I've worried about not being able to hear toasts while the mic att is on. But I've discovered that mic att can be left on during toasts as long as the speaker is using the band or DJ sound system. Mic Att does need to be turned off if you are trying to get a personal interview.

Dear Fred,
Your advice about getting the Beachtek DXA-4p is exactly what I have been thinking of doing. I stronly suggest anyone else interested in quality sound go to the Beachteck site and look at the stats. It does seem to be very versitle, phantom sound and all the other goodies a mixing board has. Not as many inputs but it appears to be just the thing for field work?
Yours,
Tom

Other brands of XLR adapters to consider include Studio One (www.studio1productions.com) and Sign Video. (www.signvideo.com).

Some may offer advantages to individual shooters as to location of inputs and controls over others.

The Beachtek, Sign Video, and Studio one products (except for the DXA-8) are passive; i.e., no internal gain (and perhaps some insertion loss in real life). I believe that the Canon MA-series adapters do offer some gain, typically 6 dB, which may or may not be of value to a shooter, but are not suitable for use with line-level sources.

Fred,

Will I be able to mount a GL-2 camcorder on a tripod with the DXA-4P attached to the bottom of the camera?

thanks

Richie,
Yes, that's the way they're designed. They have a mounting screw on top to mount to the cam and a tripod mounting hole on the bottom.