FZ1000 audio channels

Noa Put · December 16th, 2015, 07:59 AM

The dr60 mark II is only 160 dollar now at b&h and you get a free copy of Sony Sound Forge Pro 11, the best thing about this unit is that it can send the audio straight to the camera as well.

Chris Harding · December 16th, 2015, 08:51 AM

Wow!! Over here it's $379.00!!! Big difference .. if only we could get it for $160 !!!

Roger Gunkel · December 16th, 2015, 08:52 AM

In the UK, the D60 is cheaper than the Saramonic, which is a make I am not familiar with whereas Tascam are well known and respected. Apart from that, there is one really big advantage of the D60, which puts it streets ahead for my useage which is that it is a 4 track recorder aswell as a mixer so each audio input has it's own separate record track or two different cards at different levels for dual stereo tracks. In addition there is output to the camera and visual controls and meters for each channel. The ability to mix the audio levels in post is so useful

Seems a no brainier for me particularly if you can get it for the same price or less as the Saramonic two channel mixer.

Here's the link to the Tascam site, the video tells you quite a lot. Product: DR-60DMKII | TASCAM

Roger

Roger Gunkel · December 16th, 2015, 08:58 AM

The Saramonic is £169 in the UK compared to £145 for the Tascam D60 Mk2. The D60 is also available through eBay for even less, so could be worth you buying that way.

Roger

Chris Harding · December 16th, 2015, 09:05 AM

Amazon UK say they cannot deliver to Australia as it's a UK only deal for 140 which is about $300 here ...Wow so the unit I'm getting is less than 67 pounds in the UK (that's AUS$149.00) We have the very basic ones here with 2 x XLR's for as little as $39.00 but they are passive units only ..no headphone out and no level display either. The 107 unit from Amazon is indeed more pricey at GBP 169.95 so the DR60 is a way better buy I agree!! If I could buy the 107 from Amazon it would be $352.00 before shipping (if they could ship) so I would grab a DR60 Roger at that price most definitely!!

On eBay here they are $379.00 and free postage which is still more than twice the price of the 107 .. might look at one still!!

Chris Harding · December 18th, 2015, 05:20 AM

Just a quick point regardless of which XLR adapter you get it doesn't mount correctly on the FZ1000 because the camera's tripod thread has been offset 15mm to the right of normal ...I had to make a small plate with a countersunk 1/4" screw and a 1/4" thread 15mm to the left (looking at the back of the camera so it sits correctly ... Other DSLR's have the thread in the middle of the LCD (like my Nikons) .. I wonder if the GH series cameras have the thread in the correct place???

Noa Put · December 18th, 2015, 05:31 AM

The GH camera's have the same problem.

Chris Harding · December 18th, 2015, 06:39 AM

Hmmm I wonder why they do that? How do you get the GH4 aligned correctly on the Tascam Noa??? ..My issue was that I have receivers that slide on either side of my SRAX adaptor and if I use the tripod hole the camera sticks out to one side and fouls the second receiver so I had to make up the plate to centralise the camera ...it now aligns perfectly thank goodness

Noa Put · December 18th, 2015, 07:26 AM

I gave you the wrong info because I was thinking about the batterygrip that you can get with the gh4 where the tripodplate screwhole is totally offset which made it impossible to get it balanced on my steadicam, on the camera itself though the hole is exactly in the middle of the lensmount but not in the middle of the lcd, not sure if that is the same on the fz1000?

Roger Gunkel · December 18th, 2015, 09:14 AM

I just measured the tripod plate thread position and it is 3.5mm off the center line. It is 72mm from one side and 65mm from the other. I wouldn't think that would make a great deal of difference to mounting the camera, although when I get mine, it will go alongside the camera on my double mount plate.

Roger

Chris Harding · December 18th, 2015, 06:35 PM

Hey Roger

Yep it's only a tiny bit offset BUT mount it on the adapter and it offsets to the left by 15mm not 3.5mm ...Is this an optical illusion??? Not really it's the fact that most DSLR cameras have the LCD offset a tiny bit to the left of the body so they place the tripod thread exactly in the middle of the LCD so it sits correctly on the tripod ...adapters are the same ..If I mount my Nikon on the audio adapter it's perfect ...because the FZ thread is to the right of the LCD and not directly in the middle, the already offset adapter screw kicks it over by 15mm ... If you are mounting on the tripod array and not putting the camera on top then you don't have any issues.

Roger Gunkel · December 19th, 2015, 04:55 AM

Hi Chris,

Not sure I understand you as the screw on my tripod adapter plate is in the center not offset, or are you referring to your own adapter plate or the Tascam camera mount?

Roger

Chris Harding · December 19th, 2015, 07:57 PM

Hi Roger

Most if not all DSLR shaped cameras do not have the lens protruding from the exact centre of the body .. they have more body on the right (to house controls) than the left side so although the tripod screw thread is directly under the lens and usually in the centre of the LCD if an audio adapter had it's mounting point in the exact centre of it's housing when you mounted your camera on top of the adapter, it wouldn't be central. Because of this adapters that mount under cameras also have their mounting point offset so the body sits squarely over the adapter with no overlap. The only difference with the FZ1000 is that the thread is offset more than normal on the body ... If I put my Nikons on the Saramonic adapter is sits dead centre but the FZ1000 sits 15mm too much to the left ... It's no real big deal but I'm using the slide mounts on each side of the adapter for wireless receivers and they need to to clear of the camera body!

Chris

Chris Harding · December 20th, 2015, 03:00 AM

Just a bit of feedback here on the AX107 adapter. Works very well and the LCD display has a nice BIG display so you can easily see your levels even with tired old eyes like mine ! My mics give a nice output to the camera which I left set at 0db and in Sony Vegas the levels are pretty much where I want them at around -6db ... I tried pushing the levels hard so the peaking LED's keep coming on and it sends the signal to over 0db with a huge waveform yet virtually no distortion even though the Vegas meters go into the red. The peaking lights are a huge asset !! You can see them even on a sunny day and they flash brightly to warn you that levels are much too high. Nice to have a stereo headphone output again for both channels at the same time instead of having to swap the headphone jack from one receiver to the other.

OK I know it doesn't have any record function like the Tascam units but here it's half the price and all controls are on the facia ... you have two gain levels on the pre-amps ..0db (unity gain) and then a +20db for really low output mics ... for desk feeds you have line out again with two levels of gain and for phantom mics there is a choice of 12v or 48v which is useful

Roger Gunkel · December 20th, 2015, 04:41 AM

Sounds like a good buy for you Chris and hearing both channels of audio together while monitoring is a must to get the balance right. I'm looking forward to getting the Tascam in the new year for the same reason.

Roger

December 16th, 2015, 07:59 AM	#16
Noa Put Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Belgium Posts: 9,510	Re: FZ1000 audio channels The dr60 mark II is only 160 dollar now at b&h and you get a free copy of Sony Sound Forge Pro 11, the best thing about this unit is that it can send the audio straight to the camera as well.

December 16th, 2015, 08:51 AM	#17
Chris Harding Inner Circle Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Perth, Western Australia Posts: 8,441	Re: FZ1000 audio channels Wow!! Over here it's $379.00!!! Big difference .. if only we could get it for $160 !!!

December 16th, 2015, 08:52 AM	#18
Roger Gunkel Inner Circle Join Date: Feb 2013 Location: LIncolnshire, UK Posts: 2,213	Re: FZ1000 audio channels In the UK, the D60 is cheaper than the Saramonic, which is a make I am not familiar with whereas Tascam are well known and respected. Apart from that, there is one really big advantage of the D60, which puts it streets ahead for my useage which is that it is a 4 track recorder aswell as a mixer so each audio input has it's own separate record track or two different cards at different levels for dual stereo tracks. In addition there is output to the camera and visual controls and meters for each channel. The ability to mix the audio levels in post is so useful Seems a no brainier for me particularly if you can get it for the same price or less as the Saramonic two channel mixer. Here's the link to the Tascam site, the video tells you quite a lot. Product: DR-60DMKII \| TASCAM Roger

December 16th, 2015, 08:58 AM	#19
Roger Gunkel Inner Circle Join Date: Feb 2013 Location: LIncolnshire, UK Posts: 2,213	Re: FZ1000 audio channels The Saramonic is £169 in the UK compared to £145 for the Tascam D60 Mk2. The D60 is also available through eBay for even less, so could be worth you buying that way. Roger Last edited by Roger Gunkel; December 16th, 2015 at 08:59 AM. Reason: spilling

December 16th, 2015, 09:05 AM	#20
Chris Harding Inner Circle Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Perth, Western Australia Posts: 8,441	Re: FZ1000 audio channels Amazon UK say they cannot deliver to Australia as it's a UK only deal for 140 which is about $300 here ...Wow so the unit I'm getting is less than 67 pounds in the UK (that's AUS$149.00) We have the very basic ones here with 2 x XLR's for as little as $39.00 but they are passive units only ..no headphone out and no level display either. The 107 unit from Amazon is indeed more pricey at GBP 169.95 so the DR60 is a way better buy I agree!! If I could buy the 107 from Amazon it would be $352.00 before shipping (if they could ship) so I would grab a DR60 Roger at that price most definitely!! On eBay here they are $379.00 and free postage which is still more than twice the price of the 107 .. might look at one still!!

December 18th, 2015, 05:20 AM	#21
Chris Harding Inner Circle Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Perth, Western Australia Posts: 8,441	Re: FZ1000 audio channels Just a quick point regardless of which XLR adapter you get it doesn't mount correctly on the FZ1000 because the camera's tripod thread has been offset 15mm to the right of normal ...I had to make a small plate with a countersunk 1/4" screw and a 1/4" thread 15mm to the left (looking at the back of the camera so it sits correctly ... Other DSLR's have the thread in the middle of the LCD (like my Nikons) .. I wonder if the GH series cameras have the thread in the correct place???

December 18th, 2015, 05:31 AM	#22
Noa Put Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Belgium Posts: 9,510	Re: FZ1000 audio channels The GH camera's have the same problem.

December 18th, 2015, 06:39 AM	#23
Chris Harding Inner Circle Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Perth, Western Australia Posts: 8,441	Re: FZ1000 audio channels Hmmm I wonder why they do that? How do you get the GH4 aligned correctly on the Tascam Noa??? ..My issue was that I have receivers that slide on either side of my SRAX adaptor and if I use the tripod hole the camera sticks out to one side and fouls the second receiver so I had to make up the plate to centralise the camera ...it now aligns perfectly thank goodness

December 18th, 2015, 07:26 AM	#24
Noa Put Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Belgium Posts: 9,510	Re: FZ1000 audio channels I gave you the wrong info because I was thinking about the batterygrip that you can get with the gh4 where the tripodplate screwhole is totally offset which made it impossible to get it balanced on my steadicam, on the camera itself though the hole is exactly in the middle of the lensmount but not in the middle of the lcd, not sure if that is the same on the fz1000?

December 18th, 2015, 09:14 AM	#25
Roger Gunkel Inner Circle Join Date: Feb 2013 Location: LIncolnshire, UK Posts: 2,213	Re: FZ1000 audio channels I just measured the tripod plate thread position and it is 3.5mm off the center line. It is 72mm from one side and 65mm from the other. I wouldn't think that would make a great deal of difference to mounting the camera, although when I get mine, it will go alongside the camera on my double mount plate. Roger

December 18th, 2015, 06:35 PM	#26
Chris Harding Inner Circle Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Perth, Western Australia Posts: 8,441	Re: FZ1000 audio channels Hey Roger Yep it's only a tiny bit offset BUT mount it on the adapter and it offsets to the left by 15mm not 3.5mm ...Is this an optical illusion??? Not really it's the fact that most DSLR cameras have the LCD offset a tiny bit to the left of the body so they place the tripod thread exactly in the middle of the LCD so it sits correctly on the tripod ...adapters are the same ..If I mount my Nikon on the audio adapter it's perfect ...because the FZ thread is to the right of the LCD and not directly in the middle, the already offset adapter screw kicks it over by 15mm ... If you are mounting on the tripod array and not putting the camera on top then you don't have any issues.

December 19th, 2015, 04:55 AM	#27
Roger Gunkel Inner Circle Join Date: Feb 2013 Location: LIncolnshire, UK Posts: 2,213	Re: FZ1000 audio channels Hi Chris, Not sure I understand you as the screw on my tripod adapter plate is in the center not offset, or are you referring to your own adapter plate or the Tascam camera mount? Roger

December 19th, 2015, 07:57 PM	#28
Chris Harding Inner Circle Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Perth, Western Australia Posts: 8,441	Re: FZ1000 audio channels Hi Roger Most if not all DSLR shaped cameras do not have the lens protruding from the exact centre of the body .. they have more body on the right (to house controls) than the left side so although the tripod screw thread is directly under the lens and usually in the centre of the LCD if an audio adapter had it's mounting point in the exact centre of it's housing when you mounted your camera on top of the adapter, it wouldn't be central. Because of this adapters that mount under cameras also have their mounting point offset so the body sits squarely over the adapter with no overlap. The only difference with the FZ1000 is that the thread is offset more than normal on the body ... If I put my Nikons on the Saramonic adapter is sits dead centre but the FZ1000 sits 15mm too much to the left ... It's no real big deal but I'm using the slide mounts on each side of the adapter for wireless receivers and they need to to clear of the camera body! Chris

December 20th, 2015, 03:00 AM	#29
Chris Harding Inner Circle Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Perth, Western Australia Posts: 8,441	Re: FZ1000 audio channels Just a bit of feedback here on the AX107 adapter. Works very well and the LCD display has a nice BIG display so you can easily see your levels even with tired old eyes like mine ! My mics give a nice output to the camera which I left set at 0db and in Sony Vegas the levels are pretty much where I want them at around -6db ... I tried pushing the levels hard so the peaking LED's keep coming on and it sends the signal to over 0db with a huge waveform yet virtually no distortion even though the Vegas meters go into the red. The peaking lights are a huge asset !! You can see them even on a sunny day and they flash brightly to warn you that levels are much too high. Nice to have a stereo headphone output again for both channels at the same time instead of having to swap the headphone jack from one receiver to the other. OK I know it doesn't have any record function like the Tascam units but here it's half the price and all controls are on the facia ... you have two gain levels on the pre-amps ..0db (unity gain) and then a +20db for really low output mics ... for desk feeds you have line out again with two levels of gain and for phantom mics there is a choice of 12v or 48v which is useful

December 20th, 2015, 04:41 AM	#30
Roger Gunkel Inner Circle Join Date: Feb 2013 Location: LIncolnshire, UK Posts: 2,213	Re: FZ1000 audio channels Sounds like a good buy for you Chris and hearing both channels of audio together while monitoring is a must to get the balance right. I'm looking forward to getting the Tascam in the new year for the same reason. Roger