Mic Into Camera Incompatibility

T

thecolorsplorge

Let me start off by saying I'm a total amateur just starting out, and my gear reflects that. Now that that's out of the way, none of you are allowed to snicker.

I have a Kodak Zi8, and though I got a Sony condenser mic to use instead of the built-in mic, I need a mic setup that allows me some distance from my camera. I have a lot of audio recording equipment and thought I would put some of it to use.

So I first took a regular vocal mic and hooked it up. I used a cable that's XLR on one end and 1/4" on the other, but my Kodak only has an 1/8" input. So I put the 1/4" cable end through an adapter and then plugged in the 1/8" into my camera.

So it should have worked, right? It didn't. Instead, I got a dull hum in my recording that I otherwise hadn't experienced. I even tested the cable and the mic on my recording equipment without the camera, and all worked fine. Then I plugged my adapter into some headphones into my computer, and that worked too.

Next I took my ten track mixer and plugged two mics into it, one being the same vocal mic I was using earlier, the other being a condenser mic that requires phantom power (the mixer has phantom). I ran a cable out of the mixer into my camera, doing the same thing with the adapter to make the 1/4" fit in my 1/8" input. The mixer turned on, I could hear the mics working through headphones, but when I recorded using my camera, I got the same dull hum and no mic activity at all.

My guess as to why this is happening would be because of the mics I'm using, though I thought I would bypass that problem by using my mixer. Can anyone enlighten me?
 
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Yeah I was afraid of that.

So here is the camera, and I'm using this mic with this mixer. I'm running a cable out of the mixer into my camera, and the cable is 1/4" on both ends. Since my camera's mic input is 1/8" I'm using this adapter to connect the cable.

My problem is that the camera isn't picking any of it up, even though I know that everything works on the mixer side of things.
 
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Okay - the mic is a dynamic mic, so is not much good for capturing sounds beyond about 6" to 12" max, unless it's really loud (screaming, gunshots, etc.). You need a condenser mic. Most condenser mics require phantom power.

This is the type of adapter to use, mono 1/4" to stereo minipin:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/408121-REG/Hosa_Technology_GMP_386_Audio_Cable_1_4_TS.html

You may want to try this one on the mic:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/589872-REG/Pearstone_8111240_LMT100_Low_to.html

If you're using the mixer you should use the TAPE OUT with this type of adapter:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/160638-REG/Hosa_Technology_CMR_210_Stereo_Mini_Male_to.html


You may want to consider a mic like the Rode VideoMic:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/757227-REG/Rode_VideoMic_Booming_Kit.html
 
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Something like the Rode would definitely make it easier. I was more going for things I already had lying around, and one of the things was a condenser mic like this one, which I also tried out going through the mixer and then into my camera and still got nothing.

I appreciate your suggestions, but I'm still trying to figure out why what I was doing resulted in no sound at all. You're saying to use the TAPE OUT outputs on the mixer and go straight into the camera. What I was doing was using the MASTER OUT and going straight into the camera, and my mics wouldn't work at all.

And I know, a dynamic isn't what I want really, but I was just trying it out to see if my mixer setup would work at all with my camera, and for some reason it didn't.
 
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Fix the problem with the adapter, you're plugging a mono adapter into a stereo input. That's step one; see if that takes care of the problem. Also check the cables you're using, that's another potential problem.
 
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I made a rookie mistake and linked you to a mono adapter when in reality I'm using a stereo one. Sorry about that. Also, the cables are good.

Is there a possibility that my camera's mic input just can't take that much power or something? I can't see why even a dynamic mic that requires no power wouldn't be able to link directly into the camera when something like this works just fine.

Thanks again for helping me figure this out.
 
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It's the hum that's the issue, so that's what you have to track down. There's also a possibility that the camera is FUBAR.

Tracking down issues like this is a PITA, but it's also a learning experience. (Keep telling yourself that when you're ready to throw everything into the sewer...)
 
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