RedRock M2 feedback? at DVinfo.net

Scott Auerbach · May 15th, 2006, 09:16 PM

Since there isn't really a dedicated forum for the M2, I thought I'd post this here, where I do the rest of my info-trolling...<g>
For those of you who've actually purchased (or used) an M2, just how quiet is this thing? I do a lot of talking head interviews in fairly tight office/work environments (and hate the total inability to control DOF on the 1/3" chip) ...I'm concerned that a motor-driven, rapidly spinning imager would have a whine loud enough to be noticeable on audio. Comments??

Henry Cho · May 15th, 2006, 09:33 PM

The M2 is nearly silent. However, an on-camera mic would almost certainly pick up the slight whir of the motor in a quiet room. Feeding an external mic or running sound off-camera should eliminate the issue. That said, it really is a nice little kit.

Scott Auerbach · May 15th, 2006, 09:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Henry Cho

The M2 is nearly silent. However, an on-camera mic would almost certainly pick up the slight whir of the motor in a quiet room. Feeding an external mic or running sound off-camera should eliminate the issue. That said, it really is a nice little kit.

Henry:
Thanks...yeah, I'm always running a lav and/or a shotgun on the person...never use the on-camera mic...so if it's quiet enough to not be picked up (even in a small, quiet room) 6-8 ft away from the mic, then it'll be fine.

Are you running it on AC power, or do they provide some kind of battery capability? (Do you know if it's 7.2 or 12 or 14.4 volts?)

Henry Cho · May 15th, 2006, 10:54 PM

with that audio setup, i don't think you should have any problems.

i'm currently running my m2 off a 9V battery (comes with the kit), which is still going strong after about 16 hours of start and stop operation over a couple of weeks. redrock claims a single 9V battery will allow for at least 24 hours of continuous operation. there is also a jack on the m2 for an optional 120v power adapter.

Steve Shovlar · May 16th, 2006, 02:34 AM

As Henry says the M2 is virually silent, bu an onboard mic would pick up the slight whir of the motor.

As for battery, the 9 volt is a pain to change so go external and strap this battery to the outside of the M2 with bungies.
http://www.global-batteries.com/prod...oducts_id/1334

It's rechargeable, and lasts for ages before it needs to be recharged. I haven't opened my M2 up in months.

Will Hanlon · May 16th, 2006, 03:35 AM

Thanks for the battery link. I just got an M2 for my HVX200.

May 16th, 2006, 05:58 AM

Scott,

The sound of the motor is not a problem at all in my experience with my HVX & M2. One thing you should note though, and it's been my only unpleasant surprise with the HVX is that you can't "turn off" the on-board mic. Or at least I have not found a way or had anyone post how to. See this thread -

HVX - Sound from External Mic Only? http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?t=65707

Barry replied to my question regarding turning off the on-board mic with "There is no way to disable the internal mic. The cam always records four channels, two from the XLRs and two from the internal mic."

I really don't like this, as I could turn off my XL2 on-board mic and felt like I had more control over fine tuning the sound while shooting. With the HVX you have to remove the on-board mic channels in post (if you want to remove them).

But REALLY, motor noise from the M2 is a non-issue and think you will find the HVX/M2 combo a complete joy!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Will Hanlon

Thanks for the battery link. I just got an M2 for my HVX200.

Welcome to the club! Hopefully, you've already found the HVX200 forum on the Redrock site.

Scott Auerbach · May 16th, 2006, 11:38 AM

Thanks, everybody. Sounds like (excuse the pun) it's worth getting...the DOF issue is a killer.

Derek: I'd already seen the always-on ch. 3 & 4 thread. But thanks for reiterating it.

So... for those of you who've been using it: have you hit a higher shutter speed where the grain of the ground glass becomes visible? Clearly at some point it's going to show up... in the manipulation to hit a particular aperture for critical DOF, I'm assuming the shutter speed will come into play along with the ND filters (unless I use a combination of internal and external NDs...)

Can you get away with bumping the shutter up to, say, 1/250 or so without the GG showing?

Greg Bates · May 16th, 2006, 11:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steve Shovlar

As Henry says the M2 is virually silent, bu an onboard mic would pick up the slight whir of the motor.

As for battery, the 9 volt is a pain to change so go external and strap this battery to the outside of the M2 with bungies.
http://www.global-batteries.com/prod...oducts_id/1334

It's rechargeable, and lasts for ages before it needs to be recharged. I haven't opened my M2 up in months.

Another good battery option
http://www.batterygeek.net/ProductDe...de=6%2D12%2D44

Jeff Deveraux · May 19th, 2006, 08:56 AM

I shot an interview with Ray Bradbury using a DVX and the M2. Shotgun on boom on channel 1, G2 lav on channel 2. No motor noise.

Derek West-
You got four channels... If you were able to turn of the onboard mic, you'd be deleting those two extra channels in post anyway.

Brian Valente · May 25th, 2006, 10:45 PM

dang Jeff - I got to go over here to find out you are shooting bradbury interviews! when do we get to see this?!

Vincent Pascoe · May 25th, 2006, 10:59 PM

when I use the AC/DC 9v Adapter I got from red rock sometimes the Sound guy would here it if we where in a small room. so then I'd just use the internal 9v battery and it worked fine. used maybe 1 a week on the Feature just to make shure we didn't run out during a take.

we shot with the M2 and HVX-200 @ 1/1000 of a Shutter and never saw the ground Glass... as long as its speeding you won't see it.

VP

James Bart · May 26th, 2006, 08:28 AM

Hey all,

I've been looking on the Redrock site and it seems as though they have many packages. Which package have people been buying? Which lenses seem to be the most successful, and I don't want to get into the canon v. nikon debate, but I've been an avid canon user for years, but I see on the M2 site that some canon lenses seem to have aperture issues. Also, is everyone using cinema lenses, or are you using 35mm still lenses? ANy issues with the upside down image recording?

Thanks...james.

Scott Auerbach · May 26th, 2006, 11:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brian Valente

dang Jeff - I got to go over here to find out you are shooting bradbury interviews!

Gotta keep up with us Brian, we're Men On The Move! LOL
(I posted here because my registration request at your user forum never got processed...I've just re-submitted.)
Hoping mine will arrive today...

May 15th, 2006, 09:16 PM	#1
Scott Auerbach Major Player Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Atlanta Posts: 291	RedRock M2 feedback? Since there isn't really a dedicated forum for the M2, I thought I'd post this here, where I do the rest of my info-trolling...<g> For those of you who've actually purchased (or used) an M2, just how quiet is this thing? I do a lot of talking head interviews in fairly tight office/work environments (and hate the total inability to control DOF on the 1/3" chip) ...I'm concerned that a motor-driven, rapidly spinning imager would have a whine loud enough to be noticeable on audio. Comments?? __________________ DP/Editor, Sputnik Pictures \| Atlanta HD video and RED digital cinema production

May 16th, 2006, 11:38 AM	#8
Scott Auerbach Major Player Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Atlanta Posts: 291	Thanks, everybody. Sounds like (excuse the pun) it's worth getting...the DOF issue is a killer. Derek: I'd already seen the always-on ch. 3 & 4 thread. But thanks for reiterating it. So... for those of you who've been using it: have you hit a higher shutter speed where the grain of the ground glass becomes visible? Clearly at some point it's going to show up... in the manipulation to hit a particular aperture for critical DOF, I'm assuming the shutter speed will come into play along with the ND filters (unless I use a combination of internal and external NDs...) Can you get away with bumping the shutter up to, say, 1/250 or so without the GG showing? __________________ DP/Editor, Sputnik Pictures \| Atlanta HD video and RED digital cinema production

May 25th, 2006, 10:45 PM	#11
Brian Valente Major Player Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Hollywood, CA Posts: 293	dang Jeff - I got to go over here to find out you are shooting bradbury interviews! when do we get to see this?! __________________ ========================== Brian Valente Redrock Microsystems

May 26th, 2006, 08:28 AM	#13
James Bart New Boot Join Date: May 2006 Location: New York, NY Posts: 12	which m2 package to get Hey all, I've been looking on the Redrock site and it seems as though they have many packages. Which package have people been buying? Which lenses seem to be the most successful, and I don't want to get into the canon v. nikon debate, but I've been an avid canon user for years, but I see on the M2 site that some canon lenses seem to have aperture issues. Also, is everyone using cinema lenses, or are you using 35mm still lenses? ANy issues with the upside down image recording? Thanks...james.

May 15th, 2006, 09:33 PM	#2
Henry Cho Major Player Join Date: May 2005 Location: NYC Posts: 516	The M2 is nearly silent. However, an on-camera mic would almost certainly pick up the slight whir of the motor in a quiet room. Feeding an external mic or running sound off-camera should eliminate the issue. That said, it really is a nice little kit.

May 15th, 2006, 10:54 PM	#4
Henry Cho Major Player Join Date: May 2005 Location: NYC Posts: 516	with that audio setup, i don't think you should have any problems. i'm currently running my m2 off a 9V battery (comes with the kit), which is still going strong after about 16 hours of start and stop operation over a couple of weeks. redrock claims a single 9V battery will allow for at least 24 hours of continuous operation. there is also a jack on the m2 for an optional 120v power adapter.

May 16th, 2006, 02:34 AM	#5
Steve Shovlar Major Player Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Dorset UK Posts: 697	As Henry says the M2 is virually silent, bu an onboard mic would pick up the slight whir of the motor. As for battery, the 9 volt is a pain to change so go external and strap this battery to the outside of the M2 with bungies. http://www.global-batteries.com/prod...oducts_id/1334 It's rechargeable, and lasts for ages before it needs to be recharged. I haven't opened my M2 up in months.

May 16th, 2006, 03:35 AM	#6
Will Hanlon Regular Crew Join Date: Oct 2005 Posts: 148	Thanks for the battery link. I just got an M2 for my HVX200.

May 19th, 2006, 08:56 AM	#10
Jeff Deveraux New Boot Join Date: May 2006 Location: SAN FRANCISCO, CA. Posts: 10	I shot an interview with Ray Bradbury using a DVX and the M2. Shotgun on boom on channel 1, G2 lav on channel 2. No motor noise. Derek West- You got four channels... If you were able to turn of the onboard mic, you'd be deleting those two extra channels in post anyway.

May 25th, 2006, 10:59 PM	#12
Vincent Pascoe Regular Crew Join Date: May 2006 Location: Pheonix, AZ Posts: 37	when I use the AC/DC 9v Adapter I got from red rock sometimes the Sound guy would here it if we where in a small room. so then I'd just use the internal 9v battery and it worked fine. used maybe 1 a week on the Feature just to make shure we didn't run out during a take. we shot with the M2 and HVX-200 @ 1/1000 of a Shutter and never saw the ground Glass... as long as its speeding you won't see it. VP