Hello!
I recieved a HDR-SR5 for christmas of last year. I recently bought a shout-gun mic for it but i ran into a problem. The audio that is captured picks up the camera noises and other outside sounds and does not do well with loud noises (I.e. Daft Punk concert.) I realized that i needed a mic that was either mic in or XLR but i still want to keep the camera. Does anyone know how i can get a mic with either a mic in or XLR to a Sony hotshoe?
Any help is encouraged
Johnboy
Member
shock mount the mic and see if you can control the audio levels.
John
Pardon me, but what does "shock mount" mean? Im a little new with film speak jargon
A shock mount is a contraption that will isolate the barrel of the microphone from any vibrations that can be picked up. Here is a link to show you what a typical shock mount looks like. http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/398316-REG/Rode_SM3_SM3_On_Camera_Shockmount.html
If you want to test this before you plunk down cash, take an empty toilet paper roll and stretch 2 rubber bands on each end to simulate the device in the link. Place your shotgun in the middle of the rubber bands. You can actually just hold the test shock mount while you record with your shotgun. I think you'll find that Johnboy is right on with this one.
Good luck,
Trey
Also, you may want to try a wind screen or even one of these in conjuction with the shock mount to eliminate wind noise.
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/392861-REG/Rode_DEAD_CAT_Dead_Cat_Wind_Muff.html
Okay, let's start with the mics you can actually use. None of the other posters bothered to research the actual product and are therefore giving useless advice. Searching through both the Sony and the B & H Photo web sites, I can't find the device you'd need to get the mic off of the hot shoe. (The B & H Photo site does sell a "Cold Shoe Adapter" which does the opposite of what you need.) So you can try to search through all sorts of video suppliers, but I'm not encouraged by the prospect. If you want to keep your camcorder, you'll have to deal with the mic the way it is.
So since you can't take the mic off the camcorder, you need to learn techniques to avoid the noises. I believe your model has the capacity for 5.1 surround sound. Be certain to turn off the 5.1 mode when recording from your shotgun mic. Although the mic is connected to the camcorder, the Active Interface Shoe doesn't override camcorder controls. I'm not sure what mic you purchased, but the one identified as an accessory by Sony has both a wide angle mode & a normal mode. Be certain you are NOT in the wide angle mode and try to select a mode where the camcorder zoom doesn't also zoom the mic pick-up pattern. Hopefully this will help cut down the sound occurring near the camcorder.
Once you are sure you are recording using only the shotgun mic in the full zoom setting, try shooting something & see how the noise is effected. You may be surprised at the amount of improvement. But if you still have annoying sound pick-up, you'll have to use a tripod or a monopod. And try touching the camcorder as little as is possible. If you have a remote control for the camcorder, use it to zoom in & out instead of your hand on the camcorder control. (If this works to reduce unwanted noise, you can purchase either a remote control cable unit or a tripod with a remote control arm. It is done with the LANC input on your camcorder.)
Now as for the sound you recorded at the Daft Puck concert (you lucky bastard) the problem isn't in your mic at all. Your camcorder has no headphone jack (along wih no mic jack) so you can't monitor the sound accurately. And since your camcorder was built for "average" users, it has no capacity to manually adjust your audio levels anyway. So you have to rely on automatic controls, which work pretty well most of the time. But your problem with audio distortion at the concert isn't that you used auto-level controls, but that the sound levels at the show exceeded the capacity of your camcorder to adjust to it. At the last concert I recorded, I had one camcorder only about 15' from the speaker bank. Between songs and in quiet moments, this camcorder recorded audio normally. But when they started to kick out the jams, the camcorder couldn't deal with the volume. I tried to adjust the audio levels manually, but I ran into the same problem you most likely encountered. Turning the recording level down & down, I finally reached the lowest setting, which effectively turned the mic off. But just one step above & we had almost pure distortion. So my audio choices were either nothing at all, or mainly distorted sound. This wasn't a problem for me since I had two other camcorders getting the audio I needed (one camcorder taking a line feed from the mixing board and the second camcorder back a ways getting a cover shot & all the ambient audio I'd need.) And by the way, I was using a professional, full size DVCAM camcorder. And as a possible helpful hint, you may want to record your next major concert just using the built in mics. Sometimes they get better recordings of loud sounds because the mics are not nearly as sensitive as the shotgun mic.
And in closing, I did notice that other users were very complimentary about using the Sony wireless mic available for your camcorder. Good luck on your future productions.
"None of the other posters bothered to research the actual product and are therefore giving useless advice."
Thanks.
Okay, perhaps I should have said, "Failed to understand your actual question."
"Does anyone know how i can get a mic with either a mic in or XLR to a Sony hotshoe?" to quote atomic9studios.
Telling him the very accurate info about using a shock mount did nothing to address his actual problem. He has to input an external mic through the "Active Interface Shoe" on his camcorder. His current shotgun does just that, so long as it is directly attached to the "Active Interface Shoe" on the top of the camcorder. By definition, a shock mount means the mic is not directly attached to the camcorder (it's attached to the shock mount which is attached to the camcorder.) atomic9studios apparently knew he needed to get the mic off a hard mount to the camcorder, or he wouldn't have asked about a way to use the audio input on the camcorder with "real world" microphones. At least that was the way I read the query.
I'm sorry about implying you hadn't done any research. I thought is sounded better than saying you didn't read the actual question. It appeared you read about half of it and jumped to solve a problem irrelevant to his actual question. And I know from reading your other entries that you very likely would have good advice, you know, tripods & remote controls. While your answer to his question about shock mounts answered a question the previous poster raised by apparently not reading atomic9studios query. And since no one was trying to say a "shock mount" for the camera or some alternative to holding the camcorder would eliminate handling noise, I felt I needed to start off on a fresh path and directly addressed the question asked by a curious member.
Once again I apologize for whatever implications my remarks have or may have in the future. I just think our fellow members deserve responses that are accurate & as complete as possible. I do get annoyed at how often real requests for help in understanding video production go unanswered, even though it has numerous postings. A lot of posters want to jump in and advise using their favorite software whether it addresses the issue or not. And perhaps I'm crazy, but I think a lot of these folks do have useful information. We just need a way to encourage that. You seem to have not only a wealth of information, but the ability to communicate it quickly, which I so obviously lack. But come on everyone, let's read the whole question for ourselves. And think about what our fellow member is going through.
It's all good man. But in my own defense, I did major in usless advice in college - so it's kind of my only natural talent. That and poor spelling. Good catch on the hot shoe. I've noticed that sometimes people use that misnomer when that are really just meaning a shoe mount. Never-the-less you are completely correct.
Trey
So i've been doing some research and i found out that sony used to sell a hotshoe to mic in port for sony handycams but unfortunetly it was discontinued 3 years ago. Any ideas? Or should i look for a new camera?
I've also been doing some research (believe it or not) on your problem. I've checked ebay, craig's list, etc., and can't find the item you are looking for. If I understand your camera correctly, there is no mic in port and all mic input must go through the active interface hotshoe. I found a sony zoom mic that presumably does this, but you are back to your original problem of getting camera noise. http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10551&storeId=10151&langId=-1&productId=11038016
Your camera does a pretty good job at capturing good HD video, however it is limited in professional or even prosumer features. If you are ready to get into the pro or prosumer realm you have many, many options. The limiting factor for most people is, of course, the cost. Personally I've invested over a grand this month alone in prosumer accessories (not professional mind you) and I will be spending over 6 thousand more in a couple of weeks. For me, I'm old and I've saved every penny so this is not an issue to invest in my passion and art, but I don't think I'm in the majority of aspiring video / filmmakers.
If you are willing to upgrade to a new camera, try to find one with XLR inputs, 3 chips, HD if that is important to you - in other words, you can minimize your investment by making a shopping list of the features that you need and that you will need in the near future. Then google everything read every review and shop the best price. I know you know all of that, but I think you may have limited options in trying to achieve your goals with this camera.
I feel your pain.
Trey
Thank you :D But i agree, i've been saving for about two months and i'm coming up with enough money to either buy a XL2 or a DVX100B. I like the XL2 because of its interchangable lenses but i like the idea of the package size of the DVX100B which can record in 24p like the XL2. Any Ideas? I'm at a lost :D
I love Panasonics and I don't care much for Canons. Having said that, I really like the native 16:9 and 24p of the XL2 and, as you said the interchangable lens. I think the audio is better with the DVX100B. If you are going in that price range, there is a lot to research. Personally, my next camera is the Sony EX1, but that is another $1500 more that either of these two.
Like I said before, make your needs list and check out the reviews. Videomaker is pretty good at giving reviews, but I'd also check cnet.
I think you are thinking in the right direction.
