Posted by Scubajam on 03/10/06 18:54

You have some great responses to your ?? Still, for just recording
for a friend it seems a simple solution is best. I'd recommend

1) have the sound board tech make a recording for you. That's by far
the easiest. You can synch in post, if not by varying audio, use a
program to adjust the video speed and just tweak it 1% or 3% to get
back in synch. No one will notice such a small video speed adjustment
in post. Sometimes better to adjust video instead of audio, just work
in small sections, readjust total length during vocal pause so there's
no gaps in the video.

or

2) I've had good luck for non critical sound working with a zoom
shotgun mike. They make them fairly cheap (I used ebay) for the Sony.
Point it at a speaker and leave it on shotgun, otherwise it varies the
pattern with your zoom. Your levels are probably much too high,
however, for even this option. There are mikes at less than $100 that
cut out the ambient noise on the sides. Still, without a level
adjustment capability, that's tough. Just be sure you get the mike
connection that matches your camera. Sony has used a couple different
shoe connectors. The Sony mikes use this instead of a cord to mic
input.

or

3) Borrow a different camera. I've used 3 different Digital8 cameras,
now shoot a Sony HD (HVR A1U) with XLR inputs. Find one with XLR
inputs and adjust level to suit. If you can do this, have someone else
use your Digital8 as a 2nd camera unit. Now you can get 2 angles and
really wow her with your results!! Use tripods!

Jim McG
Washington State




muzician21@yahoo.com wrote:
> I may be video taping a friend's performance at a local country bar.
> Since it's a typical noisy cowboy/cowgirl type of place, we're thinking
> we should hook up my camcorder to the house sound board.
>
> Using a Sony Digital8 Camcorder, has an 1/8" mic-in jack, though I've
> never used it. Since the camera has onboard mics that record stereo, I
> assume the jack to be stereo as well. It also has one of these 3 into 1
> jacks on the side for analog audio and video input, but I'm guessing is
> strictly for use in VCR mode, and won't accept sound input in camcorder
> mode. Will fiddle with it further to confirm this.
>
> Going on the premise I'd be using the mic-in jack for taking external
> sound input, what issues do I need to be conscious of? Do these boards
> typically have some kind of auxilliary stereo output that can be routed
> out to something like this? I'm got penty of patch cords and size
> adapters since I assume the stuff on the board will be 1/4", but I'm
> concerned about impedance/compatibility issues with the in-house board,
> certainly don't want to fry my cam.
>
> Is it likely this consumer cam will accept input from this board as is,
> or might I need something between them? If more info is needed, I
> imagine I could find out the specifics of the board they have. I've got
> some time before this friend's gig there.
>
> This cam has no level meter, the sound is auto level, so I'd have to do
> some trial/error tape and playback while something is going on to make
> sure the levels aren't being overloaded. It has a headphone jack also,
> so maybe I could use that for level monitoring. Haven't used it yet.
>
> Thanks for all input.

[Back to original message]