sound help (dslr)

P

pen

I'm desperate, Ideally i'd like a field recorder to do the sound in post, but they're just too darn expensive. Could you ebay link me or something to something that costs around 100$ and will give me nice clean sound? we are shooting a web series, 90% of the shooting will be outdoors.. we'll be careful not to be in too noisy areas but i really want something that just gives me clear sound!
so, what can i buy for 100-150$? Is there a sound recorder for the price that is known to record pretty good sound for a series and dialogues, I don't want it too sound weird, I want it to sound natural..
 
Sort by date Sort by votes
i just checked out the zoom h2, though it costs more it looks great.. what's one step behind the h2? and how well would it work for a "tv show"? would it be a cheaper/better choice to get it a mic on a boom?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Describe "TV Show" Sit-com? Interview? Variety? Truth is, there's not much out there for that price.

pen said:
i just checked out the zoom h2, though it costs more it looks great.. what's one step behind the h2? and how well would it work for a "tv show"? would it be a cheaper/better choice to get it a mic on a boom?
Click to expand...
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Huge Sighhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...

Everyone always wants to get away cheap on sound.

"I think I'll blow every single penny I have on a new camera!"

"Man, the sound in this camera really, really sucks!"

"Hey, can someone save my ass and recommend something that will give me Hollywood sound for $1.99?"

It's an old familiar story.

Being a filmmaker is a lot more than pointing a camera at a couple of actors. Being a filmmaker means being aware of every aspect of the filmmaking process. That includes capturing clean, solid dialog, and editing & processing sound during the post process. That means planning for it from the very beginning of the preproduction process. If that means going with a a lesser camera in order to capture solid sound you have to make that compromise.

SOUND IS HALF OF THE EXPERIENCE!

For anything resembling professional sound you will need to spend about $500 to $700. That will include a shotgun mic, a digital audio recorder and not much else.

we'll be careful not to be in too noisy areas
Click to expand...
It doesn't work that way. The world is a very noisy place and the way microphones work only exagerates the noise. Only the right gear selection combined with skillful use will yield reasonably clean production sound.

So, now that I have all of that off of my chest... The Zoom H1 or H2, or Tascam DR-03, -07, PR-10 or similar device taped onto the end of a painters pole or hidden on the set near the talent is one option. If you have an audio input on your DSLR the MXL FR-304 shotgun with the Pearstone LMT100 adapter may do the job; remember to disable the AGC/ALC. That's as good as you're gonna do for $150 or less.
 
Last edited:
Upvote 0 Downvote
thanks for the last couple lines alcove! i'll check into that, and no i'm not like what you've described, I haven't even bought the camera yet, I'm just trying to figure out a good balanced sound system, and i think I'm gonna go for the h1 or the painters stick thing, sounds great to be honest..
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
you are correct cracker funk =)

I've been looking at the h1, it looks great, with some furr on that thing would it be sufficient and will it sound natural? i'm thinking it would..
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
It's not "cheap", but this appears to be something that could be very useful for direct audio recording into a DSLR. It features the AGC disable feature, audio leveling, XLR inputs, and level monitoring. It doesn't have phantom power, but this model does have the audio level lcd display. And for $329 I think it's a pretty decent deal.

http://www.beachtek.com/dxa5da.html
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
firemedic096 said:
It's not "cheap", but this appears to be something that could be very useful for direct audio recording into a DSLR. It features the AGC disable feature, audio leveling, XLR inputs, and level monitoring. It doesn't have phantom power, but this model does have the audio level lcd display. And for $329 I think it's a pretty decent deal.

http://www.beachtek.com/dxa5da.html
Click to expand...

I've got a friend who had a bad experience with one of these. Plus, AGC isn't the only reason audio sounds bad on DSLR. Biggest reason not to get one of these is that the H4n is less expensive, so why not use that, and free up your camera from any pesky cables?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Cracker Funk said:
I've got a friend who had a bad experience with one of these. Plus, AGC isn't the only reason audio sounds bad on DSLR. Biggest reason not to get one of these is that the H4n is less expensive, so why not use that, and free up your camera from any pesky cables?
Click to expand...

Exactly. Better quality sound, proper monitoring and freedom from the camera for less money is a no-brainer. (And it'll still be useful when you buy a different camera.)
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
pen said:
I haven't even bought the camera yet
Click to expand...

And that was my point, you're willing to sacrifice the sound quality of your project to get a new DSLR rather than picking up a decent used camcorder and spending the rest on sound.

pen said:
i think I'm gonna go for the h1 on the painters stick thing, sounds great to be honest..
Click to expand...

You'll need to devise a shock mount for it, and you will probably still have a great deal of handling noise. You'll also pick up lots of ambient sound.

firemedic096 said:
It's not "cheap", but this appears to be something that could be very useful for direct audio recording into a DSLR
Click to expand...

Pretty much the same thing from juicedLink, the DT454 has had some favorable buzz.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
wrong again actually,
the 550D is the cheapest option because I am selling my canon 30D to get the 550D, I'll spend around 250$ on the 550D. Camcorders are out of the question.

I don't mind syncing sound in post, if the h1 is a good deal then that's what i'm getting.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
I'm not too familiar with the h1, but the h4n has been by my side since I got it. It's pretty awesome, and there's so much you're able to do with it!

Super wide long shot? Hide it beneath your actors.
Need a sound effect for something? Record it yourself!
I recorded rhythm and lead guitar tracks in a matter of ten minutes for use in a piece. It's quite a handy tool.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
pen, are you a first-time filmmaker? If so, it doesn't really matter what equipment you're using in the beginning, because your first handful of films will be more about learning how to do this than anything else.

With that in mind, if you are a first-timer, a camcorder is just fine. I like the T2i a lot -- great bang for buck, so if you wanna get it, by all means, do. At the same time, I personally think that it's okay (just in the beginning) to buy a cheap $30 unbalanced mic, and plug it directly into your camera. Know that your audio won't sound good at all, but it won't be as distractingly bad as the in-cam mic, either.

Eventually, if you want people to see your work (as in, festivals, etc), spending a minimum of $600 on audio is pretty much necessary to get something that will be even halfway decent.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
I just wouldn't be happy if the audio sucked so bad cracker funk.. wouldn't the H1 be sufficient? is it THAT MUCH worse than the h4n? I know i'm going to get amazing video visually, but I want at least audio that wont put off any viewers..
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
pen said:
I just wouldn't be happy if the audio sucked so bad cracker funk.. wouldn't the H1 be sufficient? is it THAT MUCH worse than the h4n? I know i'm going to get amazing video visually, but I want at least audio that wont put off any viewers..
Click to expand...

The main problem with the H1 is the lack of an XLR input, so you can't plug any professional microphones in. I think the H1 will be heaps better than the built-in microphone for ambient sound recording, but sticking it on a boom and recording sound in stereo won't necessarily be that great.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
If you record your audio separately you might want to look at getting PluralEyes, which promises to automatically synch up separately-recorded audio tracks.

I haven't purchased this program yet, but I'm guessing it looks at the "bad" audio from the camera, finds common points between that and the "good" audio, and synchs the audio up that way.

I'm going to echo what everyone else here is saying: Spend the money on some decent audio equipment, regardless. If you don't you'll be cursing your footage later. :)
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Cracker Funk said:
I've got a friend who had a bad experience with one of these. Plus, AGC isn't the only reason audio sounds bad on DSLR. Biggest reason not to get one of these is that the H4n is less expensive, so why not use that, and free up your camera from any pesky cables?
Click to expand...

Just checked the price for the H4n...I retract my last comment. One more reason I love this site.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top