MA 300 Question

[Trevor Kennedy]

Sorry if this question has already been asked but I couldn't find it on any of the pages. I have a GL2 on the way as well as the MA 300 and some other accessories. My question is, the inputs on the MA 300 (according to Canon's online instruction manual) are labeled "Audio 1" and "Audio 2". Which leads me to believe that when you have two mics attached to the MA 300, you can record on both 12 bit, stereo channels at the same time. Which I thought was not possible on this camera? Can someone comfirm how the audio is recorded when two mics are plugged into the MA 300?

PS - Is this possible with the MA 200 and the XL1s?

[Chris Hurd]

There is one stereo pair on the GL2. The two channels are called Audio 1 and Audio 2. When you use the MA300, you're bypassing the camcorder's built-in mic and you're taking audio only from the MA300. You might have an onboard shotgun going to Audio 1 and perhaps a wireless lav going to Audio 2. This isn't stereo but rather two channels with a different mono source on each one. Hope this answers your question.

The MA200 for the XL1 / XL1S has four XLR inputs to accomodate the two stereo pairs on that camcorder (total of four channels of audio). Only two channels on the GL2 though.

[Trevor Kennedy]

Thanks for your quick response Chris.

I think you answered my question. Just to clarify, if I have an onboard shotgun plugged into "Audio 1" and a wireless lav plugged into "Audio 2", what I'm actually doing is recording each source on the same stereo track but one source ends up on the left channel and the other on the right. There is no way to record on the second 12 bit stereo channel without doing Audio dub after the fact. Am I understanding this correctly?

Also, is it possible to record two 12 bit stereo channels simultaneously with the MA 200 on the XL1s? Without doing audio dub in post?

Thanks again for you help and I love your site. It has been a Godsend to me.

[Chris Hurd]

Hi Trevor,

one source ends up on the left channel and the other on the right

This is exactly right. Everything is working properly. Both of your mics are mono, one channel each. One source ends up on the left channel and the other on the right.

there is no way to record on the second 12 bit stereo channel without doing Audio dub after the fact

That's right, on the GL2 that area of the tape is for audio dubbing only, after the video has been shot.

is it possible to record two 12 bit stereo channels simultaneously with the MA 200 on the XL1s

Yes, because unlike the GL2, the XL1 / XL1S has two stereo pairs (four channels total) available while you're shooting. You don't need the MA200 for this, unless all four of your sources are mono XLR. You could assign the first stereo pair to be the onboard stereo mic already on the camera, and the second stereo pair might come from two external sources through an MA100, such as two mono wireless lavs, for instance.

Take a portable field mixer with you, and feed your GL2 a two-channel mix from however many audio sources your mixer can handle... four, eight, twenty, whatever. Better have a sound guy, though! Hope this helps,

[Trevor Kennedy]

Ok, last question. I promise.

If I have a mono shotgun mic (let's say the Sennheizer ME66, since that seems to be the popular choice on these boards) and I have this connected to the "Audio 1" input. How does the GL2 handle the mono input? Does it internally split the signal to record on the stereo track or would I only have audio recorded on the left channel? Do I need to use a Y splitter to record on both stereo tracks with only one mono mic?

Thanks again. (:

[Chris Hurd]

Howdy from Texas,

How does the GL2 handle the mono input? Does it internally split the signal to record on the stereo track or would I only have audio recorded on the left channel?

Like all other camcorders, it records one source to one channel -- so a mono mic will go to the left channel only (or the right channel only, depending on which of the two inputs you use on the MA300).

Do I need to use a Y splitter to record on both stereo tracks with only one mono mic?

You can use a Y splitter to send a mono mic source to both channels, or you can simply duplicate that single channel to a second channel using copy-and-paste in whatever video editing program you're using. However, neither technique will yield true stereo sound since it's simply the one source duplicated again, and not two distinctly separate sources. Hope this helps,

[Graham Bernard]

"You can use a Y splitter to send a mono mic source to both channels" - Yup, done this. I knocked one up - an XLR for £9.50GBp, instead of being charged £60.00GBps by a supplier! - It works.

Grazie