MA300 XLR microphone adapter

Matthew Flesher · August 8th, 2003, 09:19 AM

I have an MA-300 which I have used to shot 20+ hours of footage. Sometimes I was bringing two seperate mics into the camera, one on each channel, but there were a lot of times where I only had one mic hooke dup. I have brought a bunch of my footage into my editing program and it seems like when there was only one mic hooked up, the MA-300 sent the audio to both channels. I am not complaining about this, (I'm actually quite happy about it). I am just wondering if this is normal behavior. I could not find anything in the MA-300 documentation that said it would do this.

When I was recording, the meters were only moving for the one channel.

Chief

Graham Bernard · August 8th, 2003, 11:00 AM

This is not normal behaviour. I really don't know how you did it! I spent £10 and some time making a Y splitter to get both XLR channels serviced by the single output from the rear of my Senni!! How - In all that is Marconi - did you do it??

Now, if this is a channel fault then you need to do some serious testing. Nothing worse than an untraceable audio leak across the poles - yeah?

Keep us informed . . .

. . . it took me 2 hours, a trip to my local electronics shop, parking meter fees, a lost morning soldering up these XLR connectors, fuel, wear and tear on my car . . . moan . . .moan . . . moan . . . and you did it without knowing how you did it - hah!!

Regards - Grazie

Brad Simmons · August 8th, 2003, 11:11 AM

hmm are you sure the sound you're getting isn't from the onboard stereo mic? (which goes to both channels). Perhaps you didn't set proper source from the menu?

I've never been able to get two channels on my MA200 with a mono mic unless I'm using a Y adapter. I'm assuming the MA300 works the same.

Matthew Flesher · August 8th, 2003, 11:32 AM

I'm sure it was hooke dup right, because I was also outputting a video signal from it thhrough the BNC connector. And according to the dirctions, there is no setting to choose, the MA-300 automatically overrides the built-in mic. Plus, the sound is too good and clean to be from the onboard mic. And like I mentioned, when I was actually recording, the levels display only showed the audio coming in on one track. Very strange indeed. I thought it might have soemthing to do wtih how I captured the footage, but I captured as channel 1 and channel 2 (as opposed to capturing in stereo). Maybe that setting somehow duplicates the audio to the second track?? I don't know why it would though.

Chief

Jonathan Richards · August 8th, 2003, 03:26 PM

When you play back the footage from the camera, are both channels registering on the level meters?

Alan Tran · August 11th, 2003, 12:58 PM

Hi!

This board is such a good place to find information, I love it!
I just bought my GL2 about a week ago and have used it once to film some family events, it works wonderfully!

I just had a few questions..

In the future I plan on shooting my aunt's shows..she is a professional singer. She sings songs all around the world, medium sized shows around 500 people.Would the MKE300 be alright for that? I'm only 18 so I'm on a budget too.

And I was wondering if someone who owns the MKE300 or DM-50 could post a picture of their setup.

Next..question

How would I know if me (personally) would benefit from a wide angel lense?

Thanks so much for your time guys!!!

Nathan Gifford · August 11th, 2003, 07:35 PM

You might want to look at anamorphic lens (16x9), but you say you are on buget and that len$ co$t$.

A better mic will probably help lots. If you can connect to the audio system she is using that would be your best bet. Check out the MA adapter for the GL2.

Bud Kuenzli · August 12th, 2003, 09:04 AM

The MKE300 was not meant to be used with long balanced mic cords if I recall correctly. If, for instance, you wanted to run a 50 foot wired microphone to a stand in front of your aunt, which is a reasonable possibility, you would probably want something else like a beachtek. A shotgun mic still needs to be near the singer so you can't put that canon mic on the camera and sit back in the audience and get professional audio. My suggestion is a beachtek adapter with a good voice mic on a stand with a long wire to the camera for those instances where that works, and a wireless lav for her when you can't run a cord to your camera. Add a minidisc or pro recorder connected to the house audio and you're there.

Richard R Rivera · August 12th, 2003, 10:56 AM

Some times a digital deck ewith a boom mic on a stick works great and you get proffessional sound then you match it up with time code on a post production editor. the problem is you need a second person to run the mic and deck. and it cost some $$$$ to to buy but not our of range. You can rent it from a recoding productions company or you acan sign one out at a local colledge like a community type.

I would tell you to get a Ma-300 adapter for the GL2 that has XLR connections then get a good 15 to 20 foot cord that has Xlr and a nice standard mic that fits it. peace your done and the quality of the sound will be nice. itsprobly the cheapest way to recored the sound other than the mic that comes with the mike.

try this link that takes you to what it looks like and how much it cost. this is the lowest i have seen it go for.

http://www.kit-tronics.com/xcart/customer/product.php?productid=2945&cat=111&page=1&XCARTSESSID=9d420ba8a3c9b35a259fd0b306d7dd35

well i hope this will help you out any.

Federico Dib · August 12th, 2003, 12:03 PM

Hi,
A few years ago I was in your situation... I was trying to have some live videos of my band....
and from all the experience we got doing it I wouldn´t mind too much about an external microphone for the GL2 (or any camera)...
I would try to have the sound engineers to record the gig for you.. then match the sound on post...
You could buy a simple consumer minidisc recorder and have some of the sound guys record the sound direct from their output on soundstage to you minidisc (or whatever media they can)...

Back then most of the sound guys only had tape decks.. (we didn´t have any Minidisc) so we recorded our gigs sound on a simple old fashiones TDK SA tape... and it sounded great...

It doesn´t matter what kind of microphone you have... unless your aunt sings "a capella" one Microphone cannot record right the sound of a live concert... maybe you can get some enviroment sounds of the crowd... and a improve a half decent recording of the concert... but the music will not sound very good...

But if you go for the mic.. whatever you do... make sure the MIC stays in the same place all through the concert... (usually the best place is in where the soundstage is and as far as possible from any loud voice from the crowd)...
If you use a Mic attached to your cam and you move your cam... then you will get a very annoying sound...

Just ask in the sound forum.. they would know better...

P.S... all of the above is a statement from the musicians point of view.. so maybe I´m just a little too picky about sound... or maybe not.. ?

Scott Corkran · August 15th, 2003, 07:41 PM

record directly from the audio board(best sound- hands down). use a beachtek line to mic converter, or use small mackie audio board that has that conversion. we just did a music video that way(w/the mackie) and the sound was awesome. good luck

Graham Bernard · August 18th, 2003, 12:32 PM

Okay - I'm getting my interview technique correct.

I seem to be relaxed doing the following:

1 - I stand on the left hand side of the XM2

2 - Camera on tripod, LCD screen spun round and allowing me to look to my right and see the "frame"

3 - MA300 with one XLR channel miked-up Senni and me holding under the nose of subject - out of camera shot

4 - Headphones on and plugged into Headphone socket.

5 - LANC extension in right hand to activate camera.

If I'm to include my voice in the interview I'm needing to keep switching the handheld backwards and forwards between the subject and myself

Now, what I'm thinking of using is a form of L/R Headphone set WITH a mouth boom mic. The Senni say on the Left Channel going to the left channel of the Headphone and the Headphone Mouth Boom mic going to the OTHER XLR channel on the MA300 and then BACK to the right Headphone.

So, guys and gals, any solutions? Ones that you've seen work?

I like this solution because I can keep one hand relatively free, I can speak "naturally" with the subject and get into more of a chat, including interruptions from both sides. No, I don't want to go down the wireless mic route - yet.

Grazie

Jonathan Richards · August 18th, 2003, 01:11 PM

I use a Senn EM112P Wireless Transmitter & Reveiver and ask open questions and then you don't have to hear the 'faceless voice'.

I never do a back and forth thing with the camera operator, only when using a handheld mic with a presenter aka Sports Interviewer style do I do it.

Not exactly a direct answer to your question Graham but an offer of technique I suppose.

Regards

Jonathan

Brad Higerd · August 18th, 2003, 01:49 PM

We've shot footage on Cocoa Beach (FL) with significant wind gusting and the Rycote fir on our Sen 66K6 and heard no wind noise whatsoever. I think it's an amazing little thing worth the price for those who need clean audio in windy environments.

Neil, I'm not debating that your idea could work, but I know the Rycote Softie does from experience.

Brad

Graham Bernard · August 18th, 2003, 03:01 PM

Errrmmm... Nice to hear from you . . . wrong thread maybe "Neil" is on another one . . . but if you've got an answer to this thread "XM2 MA300 XLRs Headset and Mic Boom".. . I'm all ears or eyes . ..

Regards,

Grazie

August 8th, 2003, 09:19 AM	#61
Matthew Flesher New Boot Join Date: May 2003 Location: Upstate New York Posts: 11	MA-300 question I have an MA-300 which I have used to shot 20+ hours of footage. Sometimes I was bringing two seperate mics into the camera, one on each channel, but there were a lot of times where I only had one mic hooke dup. I have brought a bunch of my footage into my editing program and it seems like when there was only one mic hooked up, the MA-300 sent the audio to both channels. I am not complaining about this, (I'm actually quite happy about it). I am just wondering if this is normal behavior. I could not find anything in the MA-300 documentation that said it would do this. When I was recording, the meters were only moving for the one channel. Chief __________________ Chief

August 8th, 2003, 11:00 AM	#62
Graham Bernard Old Boot Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: London UK Posts: 3,633	Not normal behaviour - Oh No!! This is not normal behaviour. I really don't know how you did it! I spent £10 and some time making a Y splitter to get both XLR channels serviced by the single output from the rear of my Senni!! How - In all that is Marconi - did you do it?? Now, if this is a channel fault then you need to do some serious testing. Nothing worse than an untraceable audio leak across the poles - yeah? Keep us informed . . . . . . it took me 2 hours, a trip to my local electronics shop, parking meter fees, a lost morning soldering up these XLR connectors, fuel, wear and tear on my car . . . moan . . .moan . . . moan . . . and you did it without knowing how you did it - hah!! Regards - Grazie

August 8th, 2003, 11:32 AM	#64
Matthew Flesher New Boot Join Date: May 2003 Location: Upstate New York Posts: 11	I'm sure it was hooke dup right, because I was also outputting a video signal from it thhrough the BNC connector. And according to the dirctions, there is no setting to choose, the MA-300 automatically overrides the built-in mic. Plus, the sound is too good and clean to be from the onboard mic. And like I mentioned, when I was actually recording, the levels display only showed the audio coming in on one track. Very strange indeed. I thought it might have soemthing to do wtih how I captured the footage, but I captured as channel 1 and channel 2 (as opposed to capturing in stereo). Maybe that setting somehow duplicates the audio to the second track?? I don't know why it would though. Chief __________________ Chief

August 8th, 2003, 03:26 PM	#65
Jonathan Richards Regular Crew Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Hull, UK Posts: 107	When you play back the footage from the camera, are both channels registering on the level meters? __________________ Jonathan Richards -- Cameraman, Editor, Motion Graphic Artist Mobile +44(0)7939 512215 mail@jonathanrichards.tv

August 11th, 2003, 12:58 PM	#66
Alan Tran Regular Crew Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: San Diego, CA Posts: 121	Just bought my GL2 some Questions Hi! This board is such a good place to find information, I love it! I just bought my GL2 about a week ago and have used it once to film some family events, it works wonderfully! I just had a few questions.. In the future I plan on shooting my aunt's shows..she is a professional singer. She sings songs all around the world, medium sized shows around 500 people.Would the MKE300 be alright for that? I'm only 18 so I'm on a budget too. And I was wondering if someone who owns the MKE300 or DM-50 could post a picture of their setup. Next..question How would I know if me (personally) would benefit from a wide angel lense? Thanks so much for your time guys!!!

August 8th, 2003, 11:11 AM	#63
Brad Simmons Major Player Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Washington DC Posts: 304	hmm are you sure the sound you're getting isn't from the onboard stereo mic? (which goes to both channels). Perhaps you didn't set proper source from the menu? I've never been able to get two channels on my MA200 with a mono mic unless I'm using a Y adapter. I'm assuming the MA300 works the same.

August 11th, 2003, 07:35 PM	#67
Nathan Gifford Wrangler Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: Tickfaw, LA Posts: 1,217	You might want to look at anamorphic lens (16x9), but you say you are on buget and that len$ co$t$. A better mic will probably help lots. If you can connect to the audio system she is using that would be your best bet. Check out the MA adapter for the GL2. __________________ Nathan Gifford Southern Cyclist Magazine & Productions For quick answers try our Search! To see me and Rob Lohman click here

August 12th, 2003, 09:04 AM	#68
Bud Kuenzli Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: North Pole, Alaska Posts: 197	problem with MA300 The MKE300 was not meant to be used with long balanced mic cords if I recall correctly. If, for instance, you wanted to run a 50 foot wired microphone to a stand in front of your aunt, which is a reasonable possibility, you would probably want something else like a beachtek. A shotgun mic still needs to be near the singer so you can't put that canon mic on the camera and sit back in the audience and get professional audio. My suggestion is a beachtek adapter with a good voice mic on a stand with a long wire to the camera for those instances where that works, and a wireless lav for her when you can't run a cord to your camera. Add a minidisc or pro recorder connected to the house audio and you're there. __________________ on the Internet, when you get where you're going you still don't know where you are

August 12th, 2003, 10:56 AM	#69
Richard R Rivera New Boot Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Miami, Florida Posts: 22	try a deck if you can afford it Some times a digital deck ewith a boom mic on a stick works great and you get proffessional sound then you match it up with time code on a post production editor. the problem is you need a second person to run the mic and deck. and it cost some $$$$ to to buy but not our of range. You can rent it from a recoding productions company or you acan sign one out at a local colledge like a community type. I would tell you to get a Ma-300 adapter for the GL2 that has XLR connections then get a good 15 to 20 foot cord that has Xlr and a nice standard mic that fits it. peace your done and the quality of the sound will be nice. itsprobly the cheapest way to recored the sound other than the mic that comes with the mike. try this link that takes you to what it looks like and how much it cost. this is the lowest i have seen it go for. http://www.kit-tronics.com/xcart/customer/product.php?productid=2945&cat=111&page=1&XCARTSESSID=9d420ba8a3c9b35a259fd0b306d7dd35 well i hope this will help you out any. __________________ If you dont use it , you'll just loose it!

August 12th, 2003, 12:03 PM	#70
Federico Dib Major Player Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Barcelona Posts: 312	Hi, A few years ago I was in your situation... I was trying to have some live videos of my band.... and from all the experience we got doing it I wouldn´t mind too much about an external microphone for the GL2 (or any camera)... I would try to have the sound engineers to record the gig for you.. then match the sound on post... You could buy a simple consumer minidisc recorder and have some of the sound guys record the sound direct from their output on soundstage to you minidisc (or whatever media they can)... Back then most of the sound guys only had tape decks.. (we didn´t have any Minidisc) so we recorded our gigs sound on a simple old fashiones TDK SA tape... and it sounded great... It doesn´t matter what kind of microphone you have... unless your aunt sings "a capella" one Microphone cannot record right the sound of a live concert... maybe you can get some enviroment sounds of the crowd... and a improve a half decent recording of the concert... but the music will not sound very good... But if you go for the mic.. whatever you do... make sure the MIC stays in the same place all through the concert... (usually the best place is in where the soundstage is and as far as possible from any loud voice from the crowd)... If you use a Mic attached to your cam and you move your cam... then you will get a very annoying sound... Just ask in the sound forum.. they would know better... P.S... all of the above is a statement from the musicians point of view.. so maybe I´m just a little too picky about sound... or maybe not.. ? __________________ Messenger Boy : The Thessalonian you're fighting, he's the biggest man I've ever seen. I wouldn't want to fight him. Achilles : That is why no one will remember your name.

August 15th, 2003, 07:41 PM	#71
Scott Corkran Tourist Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: clearwater, fl Posts: 4	record directly from the audio board(best sound- hands down). use a beachtek line to mic converter, or use small mackie audio board that has that conversion. we just did a music video that way(w/the mackie) and the sound was awesome. good luck

August 18th, 2003, 12:32 PM	#72
Graham Bernard Old Boot Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: London UK Posts: 3,633	XM2 MA300 XLRs Headset and Mic Boom. Okay - I'm getting my interview technique correct. I seem to be relaxed doing the following: 1 - I stand on the left hand side of the XM2 2 - Camera on tripod, LCD screen spun round and allowing me to look to my right and see the "frame" 3 - MA300 with one XLR channel miked-up Senni and me holding under the nose of subject - out of camera shot 4 - Headphones on and plugged into Headphone socket. 5 - LANC extension in right hand to activate camera. If I'm to include my voice in the interview I'm needing to keep switching the handheld backwards and forwards between the subject and myself Now, what I'm thinking of using is a form of L/R Headphone set WITH a mouth boom mic. The Senni say on the Left Channel going to the left channel of the Headphone and the Headphone Mouth Boom mic going to the OTHER XLR channel on the MA300 and then BACK to the right Headphone. So, guys and gals, any solutions? Ones that you've seen work? I like this solution because I can keep one hand relatively free, I can speak "naturally" with the subject and get into more of a chat, including interruptions from both sides. No, I don't want to go down the wireless mic route - yet. Grazie

August 18th, 2003, 01:11 PM	#73
Jonathan Richards Regular Crew Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Hull, UK Posts: 107	I use a Senn EM112P Wireless Transmitter & Reveiver and ask open questions and then you don't have to hear the 'faceless voice'. I never do a back and forth thing with the camera operator, only when using a handheld mic with a presenter aka Sports Interviewer style do I do it. Not exactly a direct answer to your question Graham but an offer of technique I suppose. Regards Jonathan __________________ Jonathan Richards -- Cameraman, Editor, Motion Graphic Artist Mobile +44(0)7939 512215 mail@jonathanrichards.tv

August 18th, 2003, 01:49 PM	#74
Brad Higerd Regular Crew Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Orlando, FL Posts: 186	We've shot footage on Cocoa Beach (FL) with significant wind gusting and the Rycote fir on our Sen 66K6 and heard no wind noise whatsoever. I think it's an amazing little thing worth the price for those who need clean audio in windy environments. Neil, I'm not debating that your idea could work, but I know the Rycote Softie does from experience. Brad

August 18th, 2003, 03:01 PM	#75
Graham Bernard Old Boot Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: London UK Posts: 3,633	Brad? Errrmmm... Nice to hear from you . . . wrong thread maybe "Neil" is on another one . . . but if you've got an answer to this thread "XM2 MA300 XLRs Headset and Mic Boom".. . I'm all ears or eyes . .. Regards, Grazie