A couple of days a go I was filming a talk. To my horror they moved the slide projector near to where I usually place my camera (I had done a few of these talks before in the same building). So I thought OK, I won't panic. I saw a number of options open:

1) Move the camera somewhere else

2) Wire the presenter with a mike

3) Turn down the left hand side audio (the side the projector was on) and turn up the right hand side audio a little bit more where the presenter was standing.

I was unable to move the camera somewhere else. I would be blocking fire escapes, and people were in the way.

The battery in my Tie-Clip mike had run out (should have checked it before I left).

And option 3, was the only option I had available. So I put the audio into manual and turned the left audio channel right down to 0 and turned up the right a little bit, but I was still getting audio through on the left hand side although it was a little bit less than having the left and right audio equal. The db reader on the camera still registered left audio.

Question is:
Should it have turned the left hand channel right off? Was I in the wrong mode? Is my camera faulty?

I was using an XL1 with on-board audio i.e. the microphone which came with it. A pair of Sony headphones.

Any ideas?

All the best,

Ed Smith

You can always strip the left-hand track out in post.

The stock MIC on the XL1 is conencted to the MIC/Audio 1 channel. In manual mode the controls on it are level and balance.

If you adjusted the controls marked "L" and "R" it would have had no effect on the stock mic input - they are for the Audio 2 input when in 12-bit/4 channel mode..

Cheers guys now I know.

Nathan, I would have done what you said, but they were not paying enough money for me to dump it all into my computer and then strip the left hand audio and export back to tape. It was just a simple set the camera up make sure its in focus/ exposed correctly and when done dump onto a VHS tape. I guess I could buy an audio mixer so when I dump it to VHS just knock out the left audio.

Cheers again guys,

Ed Smith

Maybe I'm over simplifying but... couldn't you just not connect the left channel to the VHS deck?

I think that might work!!!! Why did I not think of that!!!!

Cheers,

Ed Smith