DSLR with good audio?

Rob Katz · November 10th, 2014, 07:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by William Hohauser

http://www.dvinfo.net/forum/panasoni...pressions.html

I just got the TASCAM dual mixer/PCM recorder unit. The link is to my first impressions.

william-

any updates on using the dr60 in the field?

thanks in advance.

be well.

rob
smalltalk productions/nyc

Al Bergstein · November 10th, 2014, 10:16 AM

While we wait for William's feedback, I've not used the new mode Tascam 60d mkii but have used the older model 60d for the last year, (the model just going out of production). To add a bit to his comments at the link he provided, I have used mine in the field on a 5Dmkiii, but I usually end up mounting it on an arm off the tripod rather than under the camera. (both my tripods have screw on accessory arm mounts, which I highly recommend). He is correct that it's a bit bulky combination, and sometimes I add the battery pack to the 5Dmkiii so it is not a good fit under the camera with the battery pack on. The mounting unit is plastic and much less solid than the SD Mixpre-d. The MIxpre feels like a professional design, but the Tascam feels like plastic that will eventually break. But the price difference is so great that you just have to accept that. I would be interested to know if they changed that mount.

On my C100 I also screw it onto an arm off the tripod. I do not mount it under or over the camera, though I suppose I could mount it on top.

Other than that, the specs seem very similar and the only difference I can see in the specs is that they are now adverstising the pre amps.

The one thing that I do notice on my 'older' unit is that the standard levels for mics is very low, even with the gain all the way up. Recently I had to switch to a higher gain switch to boost the volume coming from my shotgun, which did add a small amount of hiss.

All in all, it is interesting that I have not used my mixpre-d much since getting the Tascam 60d last year. Given the price that Tascam is bringing these very capable units in at (check out their newest 4 xlr in under mount unit the 70d) is under $300 even for the 'high end" version, I would suggest to SD that they look at designing a recorder into the Mix-pre.I much prefer their pre-amps, but if I have to grab something for interviews etc, it's much simpler to use the Tascam unit and have the external recording done without grabbing another recorder.

The other unit my sound engineering friends are really seeming to like is the DR680. For the price it's well worth buying if you need more than 4 XLR inputs. A friend that does professional recording felt the preamps were good enough to compete with the gear in his studio. But I feel it would have been a better design feature to simply redesign the 680 with it's more professional front panel controls to be smaller and mount under the camera, rather then the 7D design with the less professional front panel knobs. I assume chip miniturzation has improved enough since the 680 was designed that it would be possible.

William Hohauser · November 10th, 2014, 08:14 PM

Suddenly I have not had any calls for my GH3 with the TASCAM unit however two weeks ago I used it has an external recorder for a choir concert in a church with two ENG cameras. Plugged a stereo mike into it and got a great recording.

Joe Riggs · April 9th, 2015, 04:00 AM

I worked recently with a Nikon D7100, I plugged a lav into its mic input and it sounded fine, perfectly usable for most scenarios.

Any Canon DSLRs with that same ability (getting USABLE audio by plugging straight into its internal mic jack)?

William Hohauser · April 13th, 2015, 10:17 AM

Sorry to not follow up but work has been heavy until now.

I have used the TASCAM 60D for several 2 camera interviews now and it's worked great. Using an audio splinter I originally got for the ZOOM recorder I sent the output of the TASCAM to both cameras, a GH3 and a GH2. This made synching the cameras for multicam editing in Final Cut Pro X a cinch. The tone button is an excellent feature or you can program it to generate a brief tone at the beginning of a recording. The unit is really helpful and the ZOOM recorder, while still good for some situations, is going out of the shoot kit and into a drawer.

November 10th, 2014, 10:16 AM	#47
Al Bergstein Major Player Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Port Townsend, WA Posts: 456	Re: DSLR with good audio? While we wait for William's feedback, I've not used the new mode Tascam 60d mkii but have used the older model 60d for the last year, (the model just going out of production). To add a bit to his comments at the link he provided, I have used mine in the field on a 5Dmkiii, but I usually end up mounting it on an arm off the tripod rather than under the camera. (both my tripods have screw on accessory arm mounts, which I highly recommend). He is correct that it's a bit bulky combination, and sometimes I add the battery pack to the 5Dmkiii so it is not a good fit under the camera with the battery pack on. The mounting unit is plastic and much less solid than the SD Mixpre-d. The MIxpre feels like a professional design, but the Tascam feels like plastic that will eventually break. But the price difference is so great that you just have to accept that. I would be interested to know if they changed that mount. On my C100 I also screw it onto an arm off the tripod. I do not mount it under or over the camera, though I suppose I could mount it on top. Other than that, the specs seem very similar and the only difference I can see in the specs is that they are now adverstising the pre amps. The one thing that I do notice on my 'older' unit is that the standard levels for mics is very low, even with the gain all the way up. Recently I had to switch to a higher gain switch to boost the volume coming from my shotgun, which did add a small amount of hiss. All in all, it is interesting that I have not used my mixpre-d much since getting the Tascam 60d last year. Given the price that Tascam is bringing these very capable units in at (check out their newest 4 xlr in under mount unit the 70d) is under $300 even for the 'high end" version, I would suggest to SD that they look at designing a recorder into the Mix-pre.I much prefer their pre-amps, but if I have to grab something for interviews etc, it's much simpler to use the Tascam unit and have the external recording done without grabbing another recorder. The other unit my sound engineering friends are really seeming to like is the DR680. For the price it's well worth buying if you need more than 4 XLR inputs. A friend that does professional recording felt the preamps were good enough to compete with the gear in his studio. But I feel it would have been a better design feature to simply redesign the 680 with it's more professional front panel controls to be smaller and mount under the camera, rather then the 7D design with the less professional front panel knobs. I assume chip miniturzation has improved enough since the 680 was designed that it would be possible. __________________ Al Upper left hand corner of the map

November 10th, 2014, 08:14 PM	#48
William Hohauser Inner Circle Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: New York City Posts: 2,650	Re: DSLR with good audio? Suddenly I have not had any calls for my GH3 with the TASCAM unit however two weeks ago I used it has an external recorder for a choir concert in a church with two ENG cameras. Plugged a stereo mike into it and got a great recording. __________________ William Hohauser - New York City Producer/Edit/Camera/Animation

April 9th, 2015, 04:00 AM	#49
Joe Riggs Regular Crew Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 189	Re: DSLR with good audio? I worked recently with a Nikon D7100, I plugged a lav into its mic input and it sounded fine, perfectly usable for most scenarios. Any Canon DSLRs with that same ability (getting USABLE audio by plugging straight into its internal mic jack)?

April 13th, 2015, 10:17 AM	#50
William Hohauser Inner Circle Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: New York City Posts: 2,650	Re: DSLR with good audio? Sorry to not follow up but work has been heavy until now. I have used the TASCAM 60D for several 2 camera interviews now and it's worked great. Using an audio splinter I originally got for the ZOOM recorder I sent the output of the TASCAM to both cameras, a GH3 and a GH2. This made synching the cameras for multicam editing in Final Cut Pro X a cinch. The tone button is an excellent feature or you can program it to generate a brief tone at the beginning of a recording. The unit is really helpful and the ZOOM recorder, while still good for some situations, is going out of the shoot kit and into a drawer. __________________ William Hohauser - New York City Producer/Edit/Camera/Animation