External mic for Canon t3i
- Thread starter riz
- Start date
As we have discussed frequently here on IndieTalk the audio implementation of DSLRs is quite substandard. It is best to treat DSLRs as film cameras without any audio capabilities at all - until you get to post.
You should get a decent quality audio recorder and a shotgun mic kit. Yup, it's going to be (relatively) pricey; between $500 and $2,500. The less money you spend the more potential problems you will encounter.
This thread may be of some help:
http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?t=44668
Yes, you can connect a mic directly to your DSLR camera, although I do not recommend this.
My primary recommendation is to hire a pro sound team. Since this is way beyond what most indie types can afford, the next recommendation is to hook up with an ambitious up-and-coming production sound guy/gal; s/he will have the gear and more knowledge than you currently have, and it will take one burden (production sound) off of your shoulders when you shoot.
I also recommend that you go through my posts on sound-for-picture and those of AudioPostExpert. You may also want to spend some time at FilmSound.org (an all around sound-for-picture site) and jwsoundgroup.net (a forum for production sound professionals).
As I mention frequently, it is the skill with which you use the tools you have, not the tools themselves.
You should get a decent quality audio recorder and a shotgun mic kit. Yup, it's going to be (relatively) pricey; between $500 and $2,500. The less money you spend the more potential problems you will encounter.
This thread may be of some help:
http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?t=44668
Yes, you can connect a mic directly to your DSLR camera, although I do not recommend this.
My primary recommendation is to hire a pro sound team. Since this is way beyond what most indie types can afford, the next recommendation is to hook up with an ambitious up-and-coming production sound guy/gal; s/he will have the gear and more knowledge than you currently have, and it will take one burden (production sound) off of your shoulders when you shoot.
I also recommend that you go through my posts on sound-for-picture and those of AudioPostExpert. You may also want to spend some time at FilmSound.org (an all around sound-for-picture site) and jwsoundgroup.net (a forum for production sound professionals).
As I mention frequently, it is the skill with which you use the tools you have, not the tools themselves.
Although I agree with alcove the one mic always recommended is the rode video mic plugs right into the headphone socket of the dslr.
Before we get people muddling up inputs and outputs...
The RØDE VideoMic and VideoMic Pro are much better than using only the camera's little built-in mic, but they do NOT plug into the "headphone socket" of the DSLR. This is especially important since there are some newer DSLRs that actually have headphone outputs. The mic plugs into the mic input. If you try to plug a mic with a 1/8" connection into a 1/8" headphone output, well... it won't do you much good at all.
Also, to the OP: since this is such a common question, it's important to understand along with what Alcove said that on-camera is the absolute worst place to put a mic 99.99% of the time if you want usable audio, especially dialog. It's too close to operator handling noise and other sound from the camera, it cannot maintain a constant placement to the source as the camera moves, it's often too far away to get clear dialog, and it's always pointed straight ahead and thus will record any background noise that is straight behind the talent.
^^^That holds up perfectly true for drama but if you are shooting low level ENG or run and gun style factual you can get away with a good shotty mounted on cam as long as you are within a few feet or so of a static subject.
To answer OP depends on your application and resources (meaning manpower here).
If you are shooting drama you have two real choices, dual system or ADR. For guerilla style run and gun docs you could get away with a rode videomic pro (only the pro) for straight to youtube stuff. When shooting on my own I've had decent results with an ME66 connected with a custom made XLR-minijack balanced connection using magic lantern. If you can afford some external preamps in your audio flow all the better. But whatever route you need to appreciate the limitations and work within them ie stay close and keep your subject static and nothing noisy behind them. If you are forced to stray from these your audio will degrade pretty rapidly.
To answer OP depends on your application and resources (meaning manpower here).
If you are shooting drama you have two real choices, dual system or ADR. For guerilla style run and gun docs you could get away with a rode videomic pro (only the pro) for straight to youtube stuff. When shooting on my own I've had decent results with an ME66 connected with a custom made XLR-minijack balanced connection using magic lantern. If you can afford some external preamps in your audio flow all the better. But whatever route you need to appreciate the limitations and work within them ie stay close and keep your subject static and nothing noisy behind them. If you are forced to stray from these your audio will degrade pretty rapidly.
OK, now I'm curious, how do you get a balanced connection using a magic lantern and a custom XLR-minijack cable? If you do explain, please bare in mind I have no idea what a magic lantern is!
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Magic lantern is a firmware hack/upgrade for many Canon DSLR cameras. I assume it 'solves' the balancing internally with software, swapping the 'L/R to +/-. I didn't make up the cable but, again, assuming pin two goes to tip, 3 to ring and ground to sleeve. Magic lantern sees this as one mono balanced input and even allows you to also take built in mic audio (if you are a fan of wind-noise and operator noise) to the other track.
Here's a link to the user guide though there's no real explanation of how it 'solves' the balanced audio but has a nice wiring diagram
http://magiclantern.wikia.com/wiki/Unified/UserGuide#balanced
real shame there seems to be no way to implement line input otherwise I'd record to cam a lot more often.
If they ever find a way of piping digital in it would be solid, unarguable proof that God exists and is, in fact, a software engineer.
Here's a link to the user guide though there's no real explanation of how it 'solves' the balanced audio but has a nice wiring diagram
http://magiclantern.wikia.com/wiki/Unified/UserGuide#balanced
real shame there seems to be no way to implement line input otherwise I'd record to cam a lot more often.
If they ever find a way of piping digital in it would be solid, unarguable proof that God exists and is, in fact, a software engineer.
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Mmm OK. It doesn't really explain. I can see in theory how it might be possible to route the hot and cold signals to separate input channels on the camera and then in software flip the phase of the cold signal and sum it with the hot signal. But I can't see how it would be possible to do that without either internal balanced circuity or using both input channels for the single balanced mic. Thanks for trying to explain though!
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I'm guessing (yet again) the built in mic must have it's own, totally separate signal route including DACs that can get routed to one of the tracks after the ext inputs have been 'solved' to a mono signal on the other.
I can't see any way the solving of the balanced input outside of the digital domain so it is in reality a 'pseudo' balanced input. Having said that the maths is fairly simple and I can't see why that solution would not be effective, especially at this kind of level.
I can't see any way the solving of the balanced input outside of the digital domain so it is in reality a 'pseudo' balanced input. Having said that the maths is fairly simple and I can't see why that solution would not be effective, especially at this kind of level.
Agreed. Seems strange that a built in 2 channel recorder would have three separate signal paths and ADCs but I have seen what looked like weird and more expensive design decisions in the past which actually turned out to be cheaper with mass production, so who knows?
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