Rolling Shutter??

[Steve Renouf]

Originally Posted by D.R. Gates

I wholeheartedly agree Steve. If I did video work where there wasn't a flash going off beside me all the time, then the Sony is a fine choice.

But since my main source of income is weddings, RS is a big issue for me.

It's an interesting debate for sure and if most of your work invloves situations where it is most likely to be an issue, it makes sense to avoid it.

I recently shot a stage production where there were quite a few camera flashes going off at various times in the audience but I haven't seen any instances of RS in the footage yet (from capture). However, as I progress through editing, who knows what I might find. More of an issue for me is balancing the sound from the different performances for editing in from different angles (that's the main problem with "live" performances - no multiple takes possible other than from multiple performances. Can be a real PITA when you don't have total control over the sound and lighting as well. Obviously, it's all controlled by the backstage crew, so even when you take a sound feed from their mixer - it can still fluctuate as they tweak it for their purposes (at the end of the day, they are trying to produce the best for their stage performance - not for your recording of the event!).

If I do any more of these, I think I'm going to have to invest in a seperate field recorder for audio (as I recall someone suggesting on here some time back) :-)

[D.R. Gates]

The field recored might be a good idea. Of course with plays, they're usually all over the stage, so I wonder how much a single recorder will benefit you. But at the very least, it will be better audio than what your camera can achieve.

[Steve Renouf]

I think a 4 channel recorder would cover it reasonably well - with the option that one could also add a mixer into the equation. I think I could have covered the stage reasonably well with 4 mics. One area that's difficult to cover though, is continuity - the actors tend not to give exactly the same performance from one night to the next - or hit the same spots on stage! Still, it makes for an interesting editing experience! ;-)

It would be great to be able to mic up each individual but it's not really practical with a cast of a dozen or so. However, it could still be an option for those actors that I know don't have very powerful voices that need gaining up in post. It could introduce problems of matching ambience though...

[Jeff Harper]

I have taken an extra camera, hooked up a wireless receiver to it and placed the mic front and center near the stage and it worked beautifully, at least for a play. No sync issue, which I hate. I have a zoom h2 but don't use it.