- Camcorder/DSLR Selection

DESIRED CAMERA / DSLR FEATURES FOR QUALITY AUDIO

When shopping for a new camera, make sure you go through its User Manual and check for these features. 

MICROPHONE INPUT JACK

This is an absolute must. Without the ability to use an external microphone, you will not be able to boom the microphone and get the microphone close to the source for quality signal to noise performance for dialogue. There are a variety of juicedLink low-noise preamplifiers to choose from, which will allow you to interface quality balanced XLR microphones to the camera's 3.5mm stereo mini jack input. 

MANUAL CONTROL OF AUDIO GAIN

The way to reduce camcorder "hiss" is to throttle back the noisy amplifiers in the camera, and replace the noisy gain with clean gain from a juicedLink low-noise preamplifier. This can be done much more effectively and with better results using a camera which has manual control of its gain and override of the Automatic Gain Control (AGC) circuitry. So, if you are in the market looking for new camera, and make sure that you check out the camera's User Manual and verify that it has true Manual control of its audio.

For cameras which do not have manual control or override of the AGC circuitry, then you will need to use an AGC disable technique. The selection of the juicedLink low-noise preamplifiers have this AGC disable feature. Although AGC Disable is effective in improving your signal-to-noise performance from the camera, it is still not quite as good as a camera which has manual control to begin with. 

HEADPHONE JACK

Audio meters only give you an indication of signal level. They do not give you any indication as to the quality of the audio. For instance, you could have too much background noise or wind noise, and observing a meter will never give you an indication of  this. So, you always want to be monitoring with headphones. The best situation is when you're camera has a headphone jack for you to plug into. If not, any selection of the juicedLink low-noise preamplifiers include a headphone amplifier for monitoring. 

AUDIO LEVEL METERS

Monitoring with headphones gives you an indication as to the quality of the audio. However, you will not have a reference point as to what volume might be too high and clip inside the camera, or what volume level will be too low.You will need a meter give you a visual indication as to the signal level, to guide you if you need to adjust your gain up or down. The best situation is when your camera has built in audio level meters. If your camera does not have this feature, a selection of the juicedLink low-noise preamplifiers include audio level meters. 

FULL-SIZED MOUNTING SHOE

It is very convenient to have a full size mounting shoe (or, hot shoe) to provide you with a point for mounting accessories (such as a microphone, for run and gun situations ) to your camera. High quality cameras can be made so small, that this feature is often not available. For a cost effective way of mounting tons of accessories to your camera, you can always use one of the juicedLink DIY Accessory Bracket solutions. 

RECORDING MEDIA

Older tape based cameras require a motor to spin the tape mechanism. Surprisingly, these can sometimes be quite loud, and can sneak into the front end of your microphone when it is mounted to your camera for run and gun video. Recording to solid state media is silent. 

COMMENTS VIDEO QUALITY

The video quality on even small and inexpensive cameras can be really good, and DSLR cameras can have large image sensors and the convenience of interchangeable lenses. However, there is no one camera that is perfect for every situation. You will want to have a selection of cameras in your back to choose from. 

Large image sensors, such as ones that can be found on some DSLR cameras, have a number of advantages. They can be very good at a low light imagery, and they can be used to achieve a very shallow depth of field for that cinematography type look. However, large sensors also have the disadvantage of suffering from shorter recording times (and huge file size), rolling shutter (or, jello effect) for action shots, and can be a real pain for some general purpose type of video shots because of the need to continually ride the focus. 

Conversely, smaller image sensors have the advantage of longer recording times (and smaller file sizes), and ease of automatic focus for general purpose video. However, the image will be noiser in low light.

Therefore, you will want to have a couple of different cameras to choose from for your various shooting scenarios. I use the Canon Vixia camcorders with manual audio control for general purpose video, and Canon DSLR cameras with manual audio control (5D, 60D, T3i) for the more artistic low light and shallow depth of field type shots. 

COMMENTS ON SPECIFIC CAMERAS

Let's talk about some specific camera models. This is not intended to be an exhaustive list. 

Canon Vixia HD Camcorders:  I'm a big fan of these. The video quality is fantastic. They (most) also have the key features that I want for quality audio: 1) manual audio control, 2) meters, 3) headphones (check the user manual of the model of your considering). So, in combination with a juicedLink low-noise preamplifier, you will achieve excellence signal to noise performance. Although most do not have a full sized accessory shoe, you can use the juicedLink DIY Brackets for mounting tons of accessories to your camera. 

Sony Handycam HD Camcorders: I'm less excited about these models. Most you not have meters. Also, most are not have full manual control. What they typically do is have a "normal" and "low" setting for the microphone sensitivity. Using the "low" setting does throttle back the noisy amplifiers in the camera, permitting you to use a juicedLink low-noise preamplifier to get better signal-to-noise performance. But, I'm a bigger fan of the Canon Vixia HD Camcorder approach for this. Again, most do not have a full sized accessory shoe, but you can use the juicedLink DIY Brackets for mounting tons of accessories to your camera.

Canon 5D, 60D, T3i DSLR Cameras:  I am a big fan of these DSLR cameras, since they have full manual control of their audio. As with all the DSLR cameras, they do not have a headphone jack. It does have a meter, but it is only visible during setup, not recording. In combination with a juicedLink low-noise preamplifier, you will get excellent audio recording, and there are models available which will add headphones and metering. 

Canon 7D, T2i DSLR Cameras:  These do not have manual control of their audio. So, if you're purchasing a new camera then, consider a different model. If you currently use one of these, then there are juicedLink low-noise preamplifier models which include AGC disable feature so you can get better signal-to-noise performance from these cameras. 

Nikon DSLR Cameras:  Although these have different microphone sensitivity settings allowing you to set on "low", they don't implement the audio circuit as well as the Canon DSLR cameras which have manual audio control. 

Panasonic GH1: I haven't had a good experience with these cameras. The ones that I rented did not disable the cameras internal microphone when a cable was plugged into the camera's external microphone input jack. 

Panasonic GH2: I haven't had a chance to try this one yet. However, I've gotten good reports in the field from juicedLink low-noise preamplifier customers who have gotten good signal to noise performance using the cameras "low" microphone sensitivity setting.