5D MKII three mikes to choose from:

[westernminnguy]

Hello All,

I'm sure there are more options...

However, I researched three external mikes for my 5D2 and came up with these:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=details_accessories&A=kitInfo&Q=&sku=450170&is=REG&friendly=Rode_STEREO_VIDEO_MIC_Stereo_VideoMic_Cam era.html

Good mike, more ambient noise, needs cables with transducers to make it work...as I understand.

http://usa.rodemic.com/microphone.php?product=VideoMic

Good mike, again needs cables with transducers to make it work...as I understand.

http://www.fullcompass.com/product/352205.html

Good sounding mike...cable ready for the 5D2.


I've checked out several mike combos for my 5D2 and these seem to be the ones that a lot of folks talk about.

I went with the Sennheiser mike from BH photovideo. I own AKG and Rode condenser mikes. This is my first from Sennheiser and Sennheiser has a great reputation.

Video is exceptional with the 5DMKII....sound is another thing....pretty average overall from my experience.

Average sound from the 5D2 is not surprising since I think the 5D2 is a still camera that shoots(surprisingly to all involved...probably including Canon) wonderful video.

I'm hoping to get above average audio(not an option through the built in mike) along with super video.

Take care all.

:D

[CyberDyneSystems]

I'd have gone with the Sennheiser too,.
Only because we don't see a lot of the Rodes in the audio business... so they don't have the reputation in my line of work.

[Jahled]

Very interesting, something i've been wondering about

Cheers for that

[Trey T]

can't really stick expensive mic on a 5DII and expect a good sound. the culprit of it is the auto gain. much like the auto iso(gain) in still, too much noise. you have to correct that first b4 jumping onto expensive mics.

[westernminnguy]

can't really stick expensive mic on a 5DII and expect a good sound. the culprit of it is the auto gain. much like the auto iso(gain) in still, too much noise. you have to correct that first b4 jumping onto expensive mics.

Trey,

You are right. The autogain is a shortcoming of the 5D2...lots of sound background noise.

My guess is that Canon has already compensated for this in the 5D2 just like they did for the autoexposure. They may feature advanced sound in a 5DMKIII or 5DMKIV...that's what I would do if I was in marketing for Canon and already had the technology to improve sound.

Assuming better sound is a marketing ploy on the part of Canon...compensating for sound....

(1) Control with gain is good. A good external mike is still better than any built in mike.

(2) Overall, hiss(background noise) will show up in silent spots where no outside sound is recorded.

(3) Hiss(or sound noise) can be edited out with a good program.

(4) A good built in program(like my Canon XH A1) will take care of all of the above.

:)

[Trey T]

3rd party firmware have correction to 5dII sound already, as you already know that. however you need a pre-amp to boost the sound.

xh-a1 is a different animal when it comes to audio. Canon will R&D something like sticking a 5DII or a crop sensor onto the XL body, instead of the other way around.

we use Rode stereo videomic, but only for syncing purposes. we use xlr w/ balanced signal mics to keep a low noise gain.

[joove]

I had tried the Rode stereo videomic once. The mike itself was very good however the AGC killed the audio completely. The portions where the mic was picking up voice was very good and the rest was just ridiculously loud hiss.

I have since experimented with and used the following combo. A Rycote hotshoe extension (4 inch) on the 5DII. The Zoom H4n mounted on one end using a micro ballhead and a Rode NTG-3 shotgun on the other end feeding into the H4n. I set the H4n to 4 channel mode recording the ambient with the onboard mics and more focussed audio with the shotgun. The ambient levels can be adjusted in post separate from the shotgun recording. However this is painful for someone like me who is not doing this professionally.

I tend to forget to press the record button twice and then all I get is the onboard audio. I tend to forget to turn phantom power on the H4n (NTG-3 doesn't take batteries) and then I only get the H4n's onboard mikes.

What I have learnt is this.

Being able to turn AGC on is best as audio/video is always synchronized and no need to turn two different things on (No option currently)
When I cannot carry the NTG-3 (feeding into the H4n for a 4channel solution), the H4N's onboard mics do surprisingly well.
When I don't have either mic on, using the 5D's builtin mic is better than using an external mic. The continuous medium grade audio is far better than continuous hiss with pockets of great audio.
Synchronizing audio in Vegas is not that bad and just a bit more work than regular editing.
I think feeding any mic into the 5D gives surprisingly bad results. Getting a separate recorder improves the audio dramatically.

[westernminnguy]

we use Rode stereo videomic, but only for syncing purposes.

Trey,

Not sure what this means.

Tx.

:)

[Trey T]

oh... majority of our sound recording are off-camera using XLR mics. we stick on the rode mainly to give us the guide to sync our audio bc we can see the audio wave in post and just match it up.

kinda like another way of using clap-board to sync the image to sound, nothing biggie.

[Trey T]

rode is a good product, I use it to capture events here and there. we upgraded so we have to use better mic system and record off-camera, both senn and rode.

many ppl see senn is a exellent product bc it gives high quality sound and build. rode has high quality sound but the build sucks. our rode stereo videomic and shotgun(ntg-2) get screwy here and there but nothing that you and I can't fix.

if you got the money, get senn. many ppl are happy w/ rode products.

[Trey T]

i bet to most ppl here, low signal-to-noise ratio isnt a concern, they just want to eliminate the sound of the IS, jog-dial, and wheel noises. those three are the main thing that kill the sound, not the hissing noise. that rode stereo videomic or the senn is good enough.
I had tried the Rode stereo videomic once. The mike itself was very good however the AGC killed the audio completely. The portions where the mic was picking up voice was very good and the rest was just ridiculously loud hiss.

....

[westernminnguy]

i bet to most ppl here, low signal-to-noise ratio isnt a concern, they just want to eliminate the sound of the IS, jog-dial, and wheel noises. those three are the main thing that kill the sound, not the hissing noise. that rode stereo videomic or the senn is good enough.

Trey,

Thanks for the reply.

Re: sound and signal-to-noise ratio......

Given the higher than expected(at least by Canon I'm guessing)reviews by many, that the video is 'spectacular' by some accounts.....many are especting audio to match.

Recently there's some serious sound folks out there trying to match high quality audio to what(as many) see as high quality video in the 5D2.

So far everything audio has been average.....

And yet there are folks that think there must be better audio out there(we just have to find it)given what the video on this camera can do.

What that means is that many folks are looking past hissing noise, jog wheel sounds and general camera sounds to a clean, well defined sound. After all, if the video quality is there, somewhere the sound quality must be there as well....right?

:)

[Trey T]

yes, sir. that's why we do off-camera audio recording to get a clean sound. we can add the 3rd party firmware to control the audio gain but we are not ready for the transition until all of the bugs are worked out.
T...

What that means is that many folks are looking past hissing noise, jog wheel sounds and general camera sounds to a clean, well defined sound. After all, if the video quality is there, somewhere the sound quality must be there as well....right?

:)

[Telkin]

I'm looking at the Sennheiser as well. For those of you that have it, can you use it to record audio directly into a PC as well? Is it recommended? I'd like to use it on a 5D but for a controlled sit down interview for example, I'd like to just have it attached to a laptop even if the 5D isn't recording. Is this possible?

[ItsMike]

Did someone say Mike? ...... Yes?

[westernminnguy]

I'm looking at the Sennheiser as well. For those of you that have it, can you use it to record audio directly into a PC as well? Is it recommended? I'd like to use it on a 5D but for a controlled sit down interview for example, I'd like to just have it attached to a laptop even if the 5D isn't recording. Is this possible?


Just for your info.

I think this little mike does pretty well. I've tried it outside and inside and am getting fairly good results. I wouldn't call it professional level but definitely better than the built in mike.

Telkin. The mike comes with an 1/8" stereo jack and is powered. So if your laptop has a 1/8" stereo input, it should work.

:)

[DBJ]

I think feeding any mic into the 5D gives surprisingly bad results. Getting a separate recorder improves the audio dramatically.

Hey joove, i noticed you have a 7D now, how is the Rode VideoMic on the 7D? Same thing as on the 5DII?

[Todd Lambert]

I've got the Senn as well and it works pretty good. I haven't had many complaints. I already had it from my GL2 which I sold.. but I held onto the Mic, figuring if I ever need it for my 5D. Haven't used it enough to really make claims about it, other than it fits nicely on the cam, and it works decently well.http://lambertphotography.com/forums/IMG_0006.jpg

[Right Cranium Imaging]

Ok just being picky here, but it is Mic, not mike. Anyway, I have not tried this myself, but have talked to a few that have said they have gotten pretty good results from this, and that is to simply plug in an external mic to an iPhone or iPod and use that to record your audio with. Again not a "professional" way to do things, but like I said, I have heard from people that are pleased with the results.

[datadump]

there is a lot of hiss with ext mics? AGC causes this during quiet runs ? no way to turn this off?

so, is it really worth getting an ext mic at this point?

[ChasWG]

Wow! This whole topic is very, very, very painful to me. For a living, I do sound mixing using the very best field recording mixers, Mics, wireless systems and recorders. Of course my first answer would be, Hire a real sound guy! But that isn't going to happen with most of you.

To me, the mics you guys are talking about are very low end. I use either a Sennhieser 416 or 816 if I need a little bit more reach. If I want really smooth sound with lots of deep bass and I'm in a quiet, dead room then I use my Schoeps CMC6/41. I also have an AKG for those jobs that might lead to a damaged mic. All have their uses and different sounds there reproduce. I have heard that the Rode NGT 1 and 3 mics are pretty nice sounding. Maybe a bit more expensive that the $200 video mics that have been talked about up to this point. The cheapest shotgun mic in my arsenal cost about $600. If you are all talking about getting high quality audio to match your high quality video, then spend some money. You wouldn't put a crappy EF-S kit lens on your new 7D to get high quality video, why put a $200 mic on to gather marginal sound? In many case sound is way more important that video. people will accept marginal images, but as soon as the sound is crap they get frustrated. Believe me, I work in this world every day. Images are easy, sound is hard.

But, (and this is a big but for me) of the mics talked about so far, I would suggest the Sennhieser. Above that then the Rode NTG-3 with a good shock mount to reduce handling noises.
And getting an external recorder is the way to go. Either the Zoom H4 or M-Audio Microtrack II. Both have acceptable audio input preamps.

I saw a crew doing interviews at the NLDS at Coors Field in Denver using a Canon T1i and an Edrol two channel recored with a Rode NTG-1. Now they did have the kit lens on that camera. I would love to see what the end product looked and sound like. Web based content I'm sure.