Sound auto leveling on A1

Robert Garvey · April 24th, 2007, 02:54 AM

Hi,
I have just ordered a Rode NTG-1 shotgun mike for my A1.

When in a controlled place I would manually balance the levels.

Do people find that the auto level feature on the A1 to be OK in run+gun type situations?

I want to use it on a oil drill rig floor where there is always lots happening, lots of clanging and banging, metal on metal. Its a bit hard to set just one level.

Cheers,
Robert

Peter Jefferson · April 24th, 2007, 03:54 AM

in that case, i would run AGC...
the Rode is sensitive, but not as hot as a Senny, The response is rather flat, so u might need some tweaking in post, BUT the mic WILL handle high end plosives if ur at least 3 metres away.

Id be very careful, but on the safe side, id also run AGC

Bill Busby · April 24th, 2007, 03:56 AM

I think it works well, but I've never used the on-board mic, only XLR's. For my situation I have both -20 dB attenuators kicked in, plus the +12 dB gain in the menu (but this affects both channels unfortunately). This gives me a -8dB ATT, the way I figure.

My only problem with anything regarding the audio AGC is that it's not channel selectable and the circuitry itself seems to be tied to both channels. Ex: channel 1=shotgun, channel 2=wireless... if one channel gets louder, for example... the other channel will be affected & that channels volume is lowered. If the circuitry operated independently for each channel, I think it would be much more useful.

If you're using a decent shotgun mic, I believe you'll be ok. Do some testing regardless, whether you're using the on-board mic or shotgun.

Bill

Don Palomaki · April 24th, 2007, 04:15 AM

Bill,

I believe that using MIC ATT and +12 dB Gain Up in combination hurts your overall signal to noise. Based on some tests I did in March, you likely have 8 dB less gain for about the same noise floor as you would have using the the MIC position when in manual gain mode. But perhaps that is not an issue for your shooting.

Note: having AGC track both channels equally is valuable for stereo progam material - it preserves the saptial stereo image.

April 24th, 2007, 02:54 AM	#1
Robert Garvey Regular Crew Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Western Australia Posts: 100	Sound auto leveling on A1 - any thoughts? Hi, I have just ordered a Rode NTG-1 shotgun mike for my A1. When in a controlled place I would manually balance the levels. Do people find that the auto level feature on the A1 to be OK in run+gun type situations? I want to use it on a oil drill rig floor where there is always lots happening, lots of clanging and banging, metal on metal. Its a bit hard to set just one level. Cheers, Robert __________________ Robert Garvey Photographer www.garvey.com.au Last edited by Robert Garvey; April 24th, 2007 at 07:34 AM.

April 24th, 2007, 04:15 AM	#4
Don Palomaki Wrangler Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: Northern VA Posts: 4,489	Bill, I believe that using MIC ATT and +12 dB Gain Up in combination hurts your overall signal to noise. Based on some tests I did in March, you likely have 8 dB less gain for about the same noise floor as you would have using the the MIC position when in manual gain mode. But perhaps that is not an issue for your shooting. Note: having AGC track both channels equally is valuable for stereo progam material - it preserves the saptial stereo image. __________________ dpalomaki@dspalomaki.com

April 24th, 2007, 03:54 AM	#2
Peter Jefferson Inner Circle Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Aus Posts: 3,884	in that case, i would run AGC... the Rode is sensitive, but not as hot as a Senny, The response is rather flat, so u might need some tweaking in post, BUT the mic WILL handle high end plosives if ur at least 3 metres away. Id be very careful, but on the safe side, id also run AGC

April 24th, 2007, 03:56 AM	#3
Bill Busby Major Player Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Los Angeles, CA Posts: 959	I think it works well, but I've never used the on-board mic, only XLR's. For my situation I have both -20 dB attenuators kicked in, plus the +12 dB gain in the menu (but this affects both channels unfortunately). This gives me a -8dB ATT, the way I figure. My only problem with anything regarding the audio AGC is that it's not channel selectable and the circuitry itself seems to be tied to both channels. Ex: channel 1=shotgun, channel 2=wireless... if one channel gets louder, for example... the other channel will be affected & that channels volume is lowered. If the circuitry operated independently for each channel, I think it would be much more useful. If you're using a decent shotgun mic, I believe you'll be ok. Do some testing regardless, whether you're using the on-board mic or shotgun. Bill