is XL2 mic Pro ? at DVinfo.net

Alkim Un · January 30th, 2006, 02:54 PM

hi

I m about to buy XL2 in a few weeks. is the mic on it is pro ? and worth to buy a medium-high windjammer for it ? or does it suffer motor vs. noise generally ?

because I ll also buy a shutgun and windjammer for it.

thanks
alkim.

Patrick King · January 30th, 2006, 03:48 PM

The mic does a pretty good job. It's stereo and has the standard foam windscreen which protects in light breezes. If you are using in a consistently windy environment, you'd need fur of some sort covering the mic.

I have heard a little lens zoom motor noise when recording in very quiet environments. I don't think that is a factor of the mic as much as the camera mount. Lightwave makes a special mount isolator that is reported to eliminate the motor noise.

Tim Commeijne · January 30th, 2006, 04:56 PM

I have my XL2 for about a year now and normally I work with a soundman. but recently I went on a trip with my XL2 and I shot some images with my friends. This was the first time I worked without a soundman, so I used the mic on the XL2. And I was verry surprised. Much better than mics on the DVCAM camera's!!

Tim

Lauri Kettunen · January 31st, 2006, 03:31 AM

As Patrick and Tim says the quality of the XL2 mic is not bad at all. But, it's not a pro mic in the sense that it has a rather big internal impedance, and thus, to compensate that the cord of the mic is made very short. (I suspect the XL2 mic is so called "balanced" by choosing the cord length to make the mic+cord impedance to match with the input impedance of XL2.) Basically, this implies, you are not able to take the mic away from the camcorder.

However, if you decide to add an extra cable between the mic and XL2 what happens is that the mic+extension cord combination will together filter out higher frequencies. The longer the cable, the lower frequencies will be damped. Second, with an extension cable the mic may turn out to be less sensitive with XL2. Another issue is that the sound system of ordinary TVs is so poor that you hardly hear the higher frequencies.

The pro mics with low internal impedances are expensive. Sennheiser mics are good examples of such pro mics. Still, the sound quality of less expensive mics with higher impedance can be very good, for higher internal impedance does not yet imply poor sound.

Alkim Un · February 1st, 2006, 06:03 AM

thanks a lot patrick, tim and lauri for your inputs.so I ll buy a windjammer for on camera mic.

alkim.

January 30th, 2006, 02:54 PM	#1
Alkim Un Regular Crew Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Ankara, Turkey Posts: 136	is XL2 mic Pro ? hi I m about to buy XL2 in a few weeks. is the mic on it is pro ? and worth to buy a medium-high windjammer for it ? or does it suffer motor vs. noise generally ? because I ll also buy a shutgun and windjammer for it. thanks alkim.

January 30th, 2006, 03:48 PM	#2
Patrick King Major Player Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Enterprise, AL Posts: 857	The mic does a pretty good job. It's stereo and has the standard foam windscreen which protects in light breezes. If you are using in a consistently windy environment, you'd need fur of some sort covering the mic. I have heard a little lens zoom motor noise when recording in very quiet environments. I don't think that is a factor of the mic as much as the camera mount. Lightwave makes a special mount isolator that is reported to eliminate the motor noise. __________________ Fear No Weevil!

January 30th, 2006, 04:56 PM	#3
Tim Commeijne Regular Crew Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Europe, Belgium, Oostende Posts: 44	I have my XL2 for about a year now and normally I work with a soundman. but recently I went on a trip with my XL2 and I shot some images with my friends. This was the first time I worked without a soundman, so I used the mic on the XL2. And I was verry surprised. Much better than mics on the DVCAM camera's!! Tim

January 31st, 2006, 03:31 AM	#4
Lauri Kettunen Major Player Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Kangasala, Finland Posts: 445	As Patrick and Tim says the quality of the XL2 mic is not bad at all. But, it's not a pro mic in the sense that it has a rather big internal impedance, and thus, to compensate that the cord of the mic is made very short. (I suspect the XL2 mic is so called "balanced" by choosing the cord length to make the mic+cord impedance to match with the input impedance of XL2.) Basically, this implies, you are not able to take the mic away from the camcorder. However, if you decide to add an extra cable between the mic and XL2 what happens is that the mic+extension cord combination will together filter out higher frequencies. The longer the cable, the lower frequencies will be damped. Second, with an extension cable the mic may turn out to be less sensitive with XL2. Another issue is that the sound system of ordinary TVs is so poor that you hardly hear the higher frequencies. The pro mics with low internal impedances are expensive. Sennheiser mics are good examples of such pro mics. Still, the sound quality of less expensive mics with higher impedance can be very good, for higher internal impedance does not yet imply poor sound.

February 1st, 2006, 06:03 AM	#5
Alkim Un Regular Crew Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Ankara, Turkey Posts: 136	thanks a lot patrick, tim and lauri for your inputs.so I ll buy a windjammer for on camera mic. alkim.