Consumer vs Pro Wireless Microphone Systems
Why do professional level wireless microphone systems cost so much? Do they just have audio quality that is that much better? Or are there other features that pros need that enthusiast filmmakers don’t need? What am I missing if I go for one of the consumer/prosumer wireless systems?
In this episode we explore these questions by talking about 3 wireless microphone systems I use: RODELink, Sennheiser G3 (and now G4), and the Audio Limited A10 system. We clarify the important differences so you can understand when a consumer grade wireless system is everything you need for your projects and when it might make sense to rent or buy a pro-level wireless system.
Links to gear discussed and used to shoot this episode:
RODELink Filmmaker Kit - Good digital wireless consumer/prosumer system - Been a useful part of my kit for 3 years.
Sennheiser G4 112P - Good analogue prosumer wireless system (If you buy this, be sure to choose the block that is legal to use in your locality. Buy through a dealer that can help you if you’re not sure. Also, it does not appear that the older G3 is retailing for less at this point. I’d go for the G4. The technical differences are negligible):
Audio Limited A10 Dual Channel Receiver - Pro level all-digital wireless system for lavalier and boom microphones. This receiver supports two channels (i.e., two separate transmitters can transmit to this receiver which then sends two separate audio channels to your audio mixer/recorder).
Audio Limited A10 Transmitter - body pack transmitter for the all-digital A10 wireless microphone system. This supports lavalier microphones plus boom microphones, even those needing phantom power (via 3-pin lemo to XLR adapter cable)
Sennheiser MKH 8050 Microphone - used to record this entire episode
Aputure COB 120t - This is the light I used as a key in the talking head clips
Aputure Light Dome Soft Box - Used to soften the key light
Lupo DayLED Fresnel Light with Barn Doors - Used for the “rim/hair” light
650, 1000, & 2000 in daylight, tungsten, or bi-color
Blackmagic design Ursa Mini Pro Cinema Camera - used for the talking head shots in this episode
Sigma ART 24-70mm f/2.8 OS Lens (Canon EF Mount)
Panasonic GH5 - Used for some of the product shots
Panasonic 12-35mm f/2.8 OIS Lens - incredibly versatile lens that is on the GH5 most of the time
Copyright 2018 by Curtis Judd
Music - MzA by Cary Judd, used with permission
Timecode Systems Demo: Pulse, UltraSync One, SyncBac Pro
In this week’s Sound for Video Session, we demonstrate how timecode works with the Timecode Systems series of timecode generators and wireless sync devices: Pulse, UltraSync One, and SyncBac Pro. In addition to wireless syncing which keeps all of the timecode generators for each cinema, DSLR, or mirrorless camera and audio recorder perfectly in sync, the SyncBac Pro also allows you to use GoPros to perfectly sync the footage and audio from all of your cameras. With reality shoots being so common these days, having a good option for automated synchronization is something I wanted to show you.
Gear and links discussed/used to record this episode:
UltraSync One Wireless Timecode Generator for cinema, DSLR, and mirrorless hybrid cameras
SyncBac Pro Wireless Timecode Generator for GoPro Cameras
SyncBac Pro for Hero 4
SyncBac Pro for Hero 6
:pulse wireless basestation - Transmit timecode from your bag or cart to all of the Timecode Systems devices on set & control your Sound Devices 6xx series mixer/recorder (with ethernet ports to hardwire connect to your Mac, and soon, PC)
:wave wireless basestation - Transmit timecode from your bag or cart to all of the Timecode Systems devices on set & control your Sound Devices 6xx series mixer/recorder (without ethernet ports)
Sound Devices 633 Mixer/Recorder - My main production audio recorder/mixer
Sennheiser MKH 8050 - This is the microphone I used to record this session
Copyright 2018 by Curtis Judd
Outro music licensed from Artlist: Keep an Eye by Back to Dream. Artlist provides high quality music tracks for your film and video projects.
Sound for Video Session: Microphone Preamp Self-Noise
In this week’s Sound for Video Session, Julian Krause joins us to talk about pre-amplifier self-noise and other places in the audio signal chain where self-noise can be generated. My hope is that this will help inform where you may want to invest in your audio gear to solve any self-noise issues you’re experiencing.
Julian’s videos on self-noise:
How to measure preamp self noise
Preamplifier noise explained
Comparison of self noise on 4 preamps
Gear and links discussed/used to record this episode:
Zoom H5 Audio Recorder
Sound Devices MixPre-6
Sound Devices MixPre-3
Zoom F8
Zoom F4
Electrovoice RE20 Dynamic Microphone - used to record this session
Copyright 2018 by Curtis Judd
Outro music licensed from Artlist: Keep an Eye by Back to Dream. Artlist provides high quality music tracks for your film and video projects. You can receive two months off an Artlist account by using our link.
Sound for Video Session: Q&A Stretch Time & Pitch, Poly Wav, Balanced vs Unbalanced, Zoom F4n
In this week’s Sound for Video Session, we cover the following topics:
0:11 Retime & Pitch Shift to fix an old recording
1:35 Resompling
3:00 Poly Wav Files
6:40 Unbalanced vs Balanced Cables/Interconnects
9:03 Zoom F4n?
Gear and links discussed/used to record this episode:
Difference between balanced and unbalanced cables/interconnects
Wave Agent application from Sound Devices:
Zoom F8 Audio Recorder
Zoom F4 Audio Recorder
Electrovoice RE20 Dynamic Microphone - used to record this session
Copyright 2018 by Curtis Judd
Outro music licensed from Artlist: Keep an Eye by Back to Dream. Artlist provides high quality music tracks for your film and video projects. You can receive two months off an Artlist account by using our link.
Sound for Video Session: Headphone and Output Routing Demo - Zoom F8 Recorder
On your audio recorder, what is headphone routing? What about output routing? And why would you want to change it? In this session, we cover the purposes of routing and show a couple of examples of routing for specific production situations. We demonstrate this on the Zoom F8, but the same principles apply on the Sound Devices MixPre series of recorders as well as the professional level recorders from Sound Devices, Zaxcom, and others.
Gear and links discussed/used to record this episode:
Zoom F8 Audio Recorder/Mixer
Zoom F4 Audio Recorder/Mixer
Sound Devices MixPre-3 Audio Recorder/Mixer
Sound Devices MixPre-6 Audio Recorder/Mixer
Sound Devices MixPre-10T Audio Recorder/Mixer
Sanken COS-11D Lavalier Microphone- used to record my voice in this session
Sennheiser G3 Wireless Microphone System (you will need to buy the right frequency block for your region - call B&H if you need help)
Sound Devices 633 Mixer/Recorder
Copyright 2018 by Curtis Judd
Music - MzA by Cary Judd, used with permission
Record Live Event Sound from a Mixing Board
How do you record sound from a mixing board at a live event? Here are the basics!
Recorders I’ve used and that can record line level from a mixing board (links to B&H, Amazon, or DVeStore):
Zoom H4n Pro (use 1/4” input only)
Zoom H5 (use 1/4” input only)
Zoom H6 (use 1/4” input only)
Tascam DR-60DmkII
Tascam DR-70D
Tascam DR-701D
Zoom F4 (use 1/4” input only)
Zoom F8 (use 1/4” input only)
Sound Devices MixPre-3
Sound Devices MixPre-6
Sound Devices MixPre-10T
Sound Devices 633
XLR Female to 1/4” TRS Cable (XLR connects to mixing board, 1/4” to your recorder. Good choice for Zoom recorders)
XLR to XLR Cable (do NOT use this cable for Zoom recorders)
Radial Engineering Ice Cube Line Isolator/Transformer (need 2 for stereo mixes, one for mono)
Blackmagic design Ursa Mini Pro Cinema Camera - used for the talking head shots in this episode
Sigma ART 24-70mm f/2.8 OS Lens (Canon EF Mount for the Ursa Mini Pro)
Panasonic GH5 - Used for some of the product shots
Panasonic 12-35mm f/2.8 OIS Lens - incredibly versatile lens that is on the GH5 most of the time
There are more sophisticated live show recording techniques. We discussed some of these with Mike Stranks here:
Copyright 2018 by Curtis Judd
Music - MzA by Cary Judd, used with permission
Zoom H1n Review for Filmmakers - Impressive Sound Effects Recorder
After nearly a decade, Zoom has released an update to their very popular H1 stereo audio recorder. The “H” in H1n stands for handy, and I agree, that’s a very apt name for this little field recorder. In this episode, we review it from a filmmaking perspective. I find it to be a great device for recording stereo sound effects and as a general purpose learning tool for those new to recording sound.
If you’d like to learn how to make great dialogue audio for your film and video projects, please have a look at my courses at https://school.learnlightandsound.com
This episode shot with the following gear:
Zoom H1n Handy Stereo Recorder - One of my favorite tools for when I need to quickly and easily record stereo sound effects
Zoom H1n Accessory Pack - this includes the foam wind cover I find critical for recording outdoors with your H1n
Zoom Hairy Wind Cover - also critical when recording outdoors
Blackmagic Design Ursa Mini Pro Cinema Camera - Used for the talking head clips
Sigma ART 24-70mm f/2.8 OS Lens (Canon EF Mount) - This lens stays on the Ursa Mini Pro 99% of the time. Versatile and not overly sharp, which is what I wanted.
Panasonic GH5 - Used for the product shots on the white background. Small, versatile camera.
Panasonic 12-35mm f/2.8 OIS Lens - incredibly versatile lens that is on the GH5 most of the time
Copyright 2018 by Curtis Judd
Music - MzA by Cary Judd, used with permission
Sound for Video Session: Sound Devices MixPre Re-Mix Demo
In the V2.10 firmware for the MixPre-3, 6, and 10T, Sound Devices added a handy set of new features called re-mix and re-record. This allows you to create a new mix of a previously recorded sound clip. Here’s how it works.
Gear and links discussed/used to record this episode:
Sound Devices MixPre-3 - Audio Recorder & Mixer with 3 XLR and one 3.5mm inputs
Sound Devices MixPre-6 - Audio Recorder & Mixer with 4 XLR and one 3.5mm inputs
Sound Devices MixPre-10T - Audio Recorder & Mixer with 8 XLR and one 3.5mm inputs plus an integrated timecode generator
RODE Reporter Microphone - sounded really mid-range focused on this piece. This is the mic I used when explaining things.
Electrovoice RE-20 - Channel 1 microphone with high pass filter on the mic turned on
Shure SM57 - Channel 2 microphone
Audio Technica AT2005 - Channel 3 microphone, I’m always surprised at how well this holds up to much more expensive microphones. Can also be used as a USB mic in a pinch, though it doesn't sound as good with it's in-built analogue to digital converter.
Copyright 2018 by Curtis Judd
Music - MzA by Cary Judd, used with permission
Which Gear Should We Review - NAB 2018
Which gear should we review next? At the 2018 National Association of Broadcaster’s Show, we saw some interesting new audio, lighting, and camera gear. Here’s a quick look at the highlights. Let us know which of these you’d like us to review!
This episode shot with the following gear:
Sennheiser MKH8050 Microphone
Sound Devices 633 Audio Recorder/Mixer
Blackmagic Design Ursa Mini Pro Cinema Camera - Used for the talking head clips
Sigma ART 24-70mm f/2.8 OS Lens (Canon EF Mount)
Panasonic GH5 - Used on the NAB show floor
Panasonic 12-35mm f/2.8 OIS Lens - incredibly versatile lens that is on the GH5S most of the time
Copyright 2018 by Curtis Judd
Music - MzA by Cary Judd, used with permission.
Tentacle Sync E - iOS Recording App with Timecode
Last year at NAB Tentacle Sync announced their bluetooth enabled timecode generators, Sync E. I've used them over the last year and really like that they are easy to setup and monitor via their bluetooth app (for iOS). Syncing video to audio is super simple with the included Tentacle Sync Studio app for macOS.
But one thing I've wanted to do for a long time is send timecode to my iPhone when I'm using it as a recorder, such as when I do show floor interviews at NAB.
Now you can send timecode to your iPhone, wirelessly, with Tentacle Sync E and a new app from Tentacle Sync titled "Timecode Audio Recorder."
Also, Ulrich reveals that Tentacle Sync is working on full Bluetooth jam syncing capabilities with their Sync E timecode generators. This is exciting because now you can ensure that all of the timecode generators are in perfect sync through an entire production day.
Gear covered and used to shoot this episode:
Tentacle Sync E Bluetooth Timecode Generator
RODE Reporter Microphone
RODE iXLR Adapter - Record a dynamic XLR microphone to iPhone or iPad
Panasonic GH5 - A good event shooting video camera
Panasonic 12-35mm f/2.8 OIS Lens - incredibly versatile lens that is on the GH5 most of the time
Copyright 2018 by Curtis Judd
Music - MzA by Cary Judd, used with permission.
