NJphotodoc Loc: Now in the First State

Hi - More and more I'm being asked to take videos as well as still photos at numerous events. I have a D7200 and know that the internal mic is less than perfect so I added a shotgun mic (Rode VideoMic Pro) to my gear. The result was better but still not great.
Sooo - I decided I need a wireless mic so I could either mic the individual directly or use a wireless handheld and get better results. This resulted in better quality, but still need to do some heavy duty audio editing to clean it up. I also quickly found that the frequency response on the D7200 leaves a lot to be desired so I'm thinking that if I really want to get the kind or results I want I may need to go to an external recorder but before I take this (expensive) leap of faith, I'd ask my fellow UHH'ers what they have seen that works.
Thanks!

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

Paying attention to the inverse square law helps most. (All radiation dissipates with the reciprocal of the square of the distance, or 1/D^2)

Beyond that, a camera with:

Decent preamps
Peak meters
Independent L/R level controls
Switchable limiters or AGC (auto gain control)
Headphone jack with level control

...is needed, if you wish to avoid using a separate recorder.

Canon and Nikon dSLRs are sub-optimal for audio recording, so a separate TASCAM or ZOOM recorder may be your best bet.

If you use an external microphone mixer, you can control sound better, but then you need an attenuator cable to drop the level 35dB.

Alzo Digital is a good source of audio for video information. Curtis Judd's videos on YouTube help. Major microphone companies have videos, audio sample comparisons, and white papers on audio. Sweetwater and Gearslutz and other audio companies have TONS more...

Learn all you can about

The four basic microphone pattern shapes
Dynamic and condenser mic types
Balanced and unbalanced line audio circuits
High and low impedance circuits
How to avoid ground loop hum, RFI, EMI
Input pads/attenuators
Level control to avoid distortion
Dynamic range compression
Peak limiting
Equalization
Delay, reverb, echo
Digital audio post-processing tools
Audio plugins for post-processing software

Learn to use Apple Garage Band or Audacity or some simple audio editor. Much of what you need can be done in that.

There is much more to great sound than most folks realize! I used to work for a sister company of the old Glen Glenn Sound in Hollywood. When I toured the place in 1982, they told me that some of their best audio mixers made six figure incomes. The stars wouldn't let just anyone twiddle the knobs! They all had their favorite mixers.

NancyS Loc: SE Michigan

Bill, do you have a camera recommendation for video?

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

Panasonic Lumix GH4 or GH5. One camera for stills and video.

The GH5 costs $500 more (list) than the GH4, but the updates and upgrades are worth it.

Sony mirrorless a6300, and a7s II are the low light champs, but the GH5 is a better all-around pick.

Read this link:

http://www.personal-view.com/downloads/GH5_Presentation.pdf

GH5 info doesn't get much more thorough than that.

See also:

https://m.dpreview.com/reviews/panasonic-lumix-dc-gh5

I've had the GH4 for quite a while. I love it. It is tough as nails and ergonomically brilliant. (I used Canons and Nikons for 44 years, and don't miss them.)

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

Also take a look at the Sony cameras - RX10 and the 6500 have some seriously good video capability.

Here are a couple of good links to start with as far as some of the things Bill mentioned.

http://www.desktop-documentaries.com/dslr-audio.html

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/explora/audio/tips-and-solutions/what-works-you%3F-guide-dslr-audio

It covers high-end, broadcast quality digital recorders, digital preamps to bring audio directly to the mini-jack of the camera, and some microphone options. If you are recording people speaking, a wireless lavalier mike is also an excellent option. If you use a separate recorder, you will have to sync up the audio to the video, but that is not much of a problem with decent software.

Here are some approaches to syncing audio

http://thinkinghard.com/blog/HowToSyncVideoAndSeparatelyRecordedAudio.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5aeuy6MrbHY

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

I've used a small Sony wireless mic with good results. I prefer a large Rode on top of the camera.

Retina Loc: Near Charleston,SC

I would recommend taking Burkphoto's advice all the way. The list of topics seems long but it is manageable. You will enjoy it all since you obviously care about sound. Pardon me if this is all common sense, but I would add the following (if someone hasn't already by the I started this reply). At some point you will decide which is easier for most situations: getting the best sound into the camera live with external mics and preamps followed by adjust the audio within the video itself, or recording on a separate recorder, processing the audio separately, then combining with the video after you are happy with the audio. I personally prefer the latter if the sound happens to need a lot of processing since the audio-only files are so small and processing is easier. One caveat with the separate audio recorder option: keep the audio in WAV or PCM uncompressed, i.e. no MP3, and with no cutting or splicing of the audio file between the beginning and ending of the video segment. This makes it much easier to keep the audio and video time-aligned. You can sync the sound and video with a "director's slate" or similar, like have someone snap their fingers at the start of the video segment. Burkphoto is a pro at all this, so I invite his corrections and additions.

When choosing sound gear, some of the things that will show up in use is battery life with the recorder, wind shielding around the mics, and tolerance to moisture. Nearly all recorders and all but the lousiest mics can sound great if you have a handle on the settings and factors in the first list appearing Burkphoto's initial reply, not unlike a photograph being a reflection more of the photographer than the brand or cost of the camera. I like a recorder that can use an external battery that is easy to manage. My TASCAM can be USB powered, so I use a small external NiMH USB power pack. There are many options, of course.

NJphotodoc Loc: Now in the First State

Hi all- thanks for this great advice and info. I'm not going to move away from Nikon (way too much invested) so considering either a preamp and/or moving up to a better wireless mic. I did look at option of getting a high quality recorder and then syncing the video and audio, but in all honesty, I'm doing the videos mostly as a volunteer (I work at a number of hospitals and have become "Doc Photo" for some of many of their events) and know this is almost entirely for internal consumption by staff and attendees.

cweisel Loc: Arizona

I use the TASCAM DR-100mkII. It is portable, takes XLR inputs and produces excellent quality audio...IF... what you send to it is thoughtfully set up. The right mic as discussed above is critical and dependent upon the environment especially considering ambient noise. With the Tascam and a cheap set of headphones you will hear everything that is being recorded including the passing traffic, air rushing out of vents, cats walking on carpet (well maybe not that) but you get my point. This setup is the equivalent of chimping your camera. You will get to "see" what you are getting, real time and adjust.

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

In that case, get a mixer/pre-amp with a limiter. You'll need an attenuator cable to drop the line level output to the camera's mic level input.

Some separate recorders can feed output to your camera at the same time as you are recording externally, so you can record at different levels, in case a sudden loud sound would distort the higher one.

If you do use a separate recorder, set the sampling frequency to the same sampling frequency used by the camera. If they're different, the external and internal audio will get out of synchronization, and editing will be a pain to correct it.

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

Great recorder for the money.

Reinaldokool Loc: San Rafael, CA

I do a fair amount of video. For quick and dirty, I use either a Rode or a Sennheiser==though the new Azden looks good. For quick and dirty that does the job, but . . ., even a Tascam DR05 makes a big difference. Zoom also makes a recorder at about the same $99 level. I have an L-bracket, mount the microphone to one slot and the DR05 to the second with gaffer tape (But you could easily cobble a better mount). Syncing the sound when I'm also putting on leadin/leadout and titles is easy. Just have to find sound/movement combo (Unless you really go pro with a real clapper. LOL)

Vladimir200 Loc: Beaumont, Ca.

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Burkphoto, thanks so much for sharing so much of your expertise. I'd like to ask you a question if you don't mind. I recently plugged my Zoom H5 into what I think amounted to a sound board (actually an "out" from one of the speakers that used XLR format) at the 55+ subdivision where I live to record a PG-55 show. Although the levels on my H5 appeared to be between -12db & -6db at the beginning of the show, when I did my WAV playback, the audio was somewhat distorted. I admit two things: I did not monitor the H5 audio as I was in the show so I left the H5 shortly after the show began. Also, after research, I now realize the "out" of the sound board was line-out and my H5 was "mic" in so the audio coming in to my H5 was too hot. In your reply, you said to use an attenuator cable to drop the level 35dB. I note my Zoom H5 has a pad that if I activate, would drop the signal level by -20db. My question to you is: Would that work or do you think I'd have to go the entire -35db drop w/an attenuator? Second question: In my Zoom H5 and Premier Pro, if offered, should I activate (per your advice above to learn about) level control to avoid distortion, dynamic range compression, peak limiting, and finally equalization? Whew! Hope I'm not being to much of a pest.

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

Sescom makes the attenuator cable you need. B&H has it.

I like to record at 0dB = -16dBfs (16 dB BELOW full saturation, which is the clipping distortion point). That gives me enough headroom for most transient peaks. When recording highly percussive sounds, I'll drop that to -20 dBfs.

Almost all recorded and broadcast sound is tailored with multi-track mixing, with each track carefully compressed, limited, equalized, reverberated or delayed. These controls make a world of difference between the raw recorded sound and what your audience hears.

Play around with each of these tools to learn what they do, what you like, and how to apply them. Trust your ears with both a good set of headphones and a good set of monitor grade speakers.