5D Mark II Auto Audio Gain...Suggestions?

[Heppeh]

Hi all,

Figured out today why my sound quality on the 5D Mark II has so much static. Auto audio gain...Blah!

Canon says that they have had requests for this in an update, but nothing yet. This seems like a no-brainer, but I should have known when there was no balance meter in the display.

My question is does anyone have any good suggestion for equipment for capturing audio seperately or maybe an attachment that works directly with the camera to allow adjustments? Something that you've used and is fairly portable. I like doing the documentary/ interview type work.

I appreciate the suggestions.

Thanks,
Sean

[phillybikeboy]

My question is does anyone have any good suggestion for equipment for capturing audio seperately or maybe an attachment that works directly with the camera to allow adjustments? Something that you've used and is fairly portable. I like doing the documentary/ interview type work.
Can it be done? Sure. How easily it can be done is a whole different thing. Devices like the Zoom H4 (http://www.samsontech.com/products/productpage.cfm?prodID=1901&brandID=4) or Edirol R-09 (http://www.edirol.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=332&Itemid=390) are cheap enough, and yield great results for the price. But taking the audio clips from those devices and syncing them to your video can be quite challenging if you're not an experienced editor. Further compounding the issue is fact that those devices all record timecode at 29.97, and the 5D is 30fps. If you're editing in Final Cut (as all decent human beings should), there is a simple, cheap and mostly dependable solution to this. PluralEyes (http://www.singularsoftware.com/pluraleyes.html), from Singular Software does most of the work for you, and at $150, it's cheaper than upgrading to the type of recorder that will let you sync external timecode to your camera. There's a brief demo of it at http://blog.planet5d.com/2009/09/how-to-sync-sound-and-canon-eos-5d-mark-ii/

[Heppeh]

Thanks for the reply. Yes, Final Cut! :)

Found this update and wondered if anyone has tried it. Sounds like it fixes all of the remaining problems with the 5D Mark II audio and Chromakey.

http://magiclantern.wikia.com/wiki/Magic_Lantern_Firmware_Wiki

What do you think?

[ziggy53]

Thanks for the reply. Yes, Final Cut! :)

Found this update and wondered if anyone has tried it. Sounds like it fixes all of the remaining problems with the 5D Mark II audio and Chromakey.

http://magiclantern.wikia.com/wiki/Magic_Lantern_Firmware_Wiki

What do you think?

Whoa, thanks for that link. :thumb :clap

It looks "very" encouraging with manual gain control of audio and audio meters. It addresses some of the problems I had with using the 5D MKII as a serious video acquisition tool.

I'll be researching it a bit before installing however.

[Dan7312]

There is a lot of discussion of audio issued on the 5D and 7D here:

http://www.cinema5d.com/index.php

[Heppeh]

Whoa, thanks for that link. :thumb :clap

It looks "very" encouraging with manual gain control of audio and audio meters. It addresses some of the problems I had with using the 5D MKII as a serious video acquisition tool.

I'll be researching it a bit before installing however.

Just a heads up...if you have the latest firmware installed 1.2.4 this update won't work. I guess that they are working on a 1.2.4 version, but right now it is not ready. For this to work you have to use the 1.1.0 firmware version.

[THX1965]

Thanks for the reply. Yes, Final Cut! :)

Found this update and wondered if anyone has tried it. Sounds like it fixes all of the remaining problems with the 5D Mark II audio and Chromakey.

http://magiclantern.wikia.com/wiki/Magic_Lantern_Firmware_Wiki

What do you think?

Unless you want to record with an external device, this is the way to go. But the firmware hack is not enough. I highly recommend one of the excellent JuicedLink low noise pre-amps. http://www.juicedlink.com/

The built-in pre-amps in all Canon DSLR's (5D, 7D...) are terribly hissy. They have to be disabled (via the Magic Lantern update - for the 5D for now and soon for the 7D as well) and be replaced by a better low noise pre-amp.

I personally own the JuicedLink CX231 (http://www.juicedlink.com/index_files/CX_camcorder_XLR_microphone_adapter_audio_mixers_C X231.htm) along with this very short phantom powered AT shotgun mic (http://www.juicedlink.com/index_files/at875r_directional_short_shotgun_microphone_best_r eview_compare_vs_buy_price_camcorder.htm).

The Juicedlink site is an excellent resource for all audio questions surrounding camcorders and DSLRs. They are also about to offer a little box, that allows you to disable the internal camera pre-amp without installing the Magic Lantern firmware update. More info here: http://www.juicedlink.com/blog/index.html

The Canadian company Beachtek already has a custom solution that disables the pre-amp of either the 5D or the 7D. http://www.beachtek.com/dxa5d.html
I personally think the Juicedlink solution will be better and cheaper. The Juicedlink pre-amps also have the advantage of providing the option of 12V Phantom power (for modern microphones), which results in better battery performance over units that only have 48V Phantom Power - like all the Beachtek models.