August 12th
www.sam-mallery.com In this video I’ll show you how you can use a portable recorder like the Zoom H4n as an on-camera microphone for an HD video-enabled DSLR. I explain the necessary settings, and explain the special Sescom -25db cable and the Pearstone shoe mount that are required. For complete instructions, I suggest you visit my blog post on the subject: www.sam-mallery.com
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why do you still have to sync audio in post? you are already recording from the zoom directly connected to the camera right?
hey!! you’re from B&H!!!!!
For the -25db sescom feature, could we work around by adjusting the level in h4n or the dslr?
Hi. What about the Canon 7d AGC? will be disable, recording like this?
Is there an alternative to the cable, I need a cheaper one.?
i don’t understand. what’s the point in that cable if you still need to sync the clips? i thought the point of it was that you wouldn’t need to take the time to sync them if you had that cable. can you explain this to me please?
@felixpetit Yes, it should work fine. Just keep the length of the cable short. Don’t buy an extension longer than 10 feet, and make sure it’s a stereo cable. Tell the clerk you need a stereo 3.5mm female to stereo 3.5mm male cable.
Is there a way to make this cable longer? I need to set up the zoom about 6 to 8 feet away from the camera. If I get other cables to make it longer from radio shack or something like that will it work ok?
@JogBird The reason you would use the Sescom cable is to have the option not to sync the audio in post. You can get a pretty nice sounding recording directly into the camera with the Sescom cable, therefore it saves you the trouble of having to sync.
If youre going to toss the audio captured on the SLR anyways, why not use the on board mic, its just as easy to sync with it.
@HiddenDriveways
Thanks for the info!
@FocusGroupPromo You asked if using a Sescom cable only lets you record in stereo… The Sescom cable will pass whatever audio is coming out of the portable digital recorder into the camera. So, for example, if you’ve only got a mono microphone plugged into your portable digital recorder, it will pass that mono audio signal into the camera.Whatever is coming out of the headphone jack on the recorder will be passed into the camera, mono or stereo.
Your method, I mean, not the Zoom product.
Does this only record in stereo?
@lwill85 The Zoom H2 should work fine too. That one has its tripod thread at the base, so when you mount it to the camera it will be sticking straight up (which isn’t a problem).
HOw about the Zoom h2?
Just to clarify. The Sescom pad cable lowers the Lin level signal to a more DSLR friendly Mic level signal. It is a Line Level ( high voltage) to Mic Level(low voltage) cable. A simple splitter will work but it is technically incorrect and will not provid ethe best audio quality possible. The signal has to match for optimum quality.
@3tmentoring I just took a look for it, but I didn’t find it. I did end up getting side tracked into reading a bunch of other kinds of threads there, watching Vimeos, and what not.
@HiddenDriveways Do you have the link to that DVXuser thread?
@HiddenDriveways Thanks for all your incite, but what is the advantage of a sescom cable over a regular line-to-line mic cable????
@ams914 All the cable does is lower the volume. It doesn’t stabilize the audio or do anything fancy. It’s just a simple little cable designed to do one thing and do it well. It’s not a mic cable. It’s a cable that allows you to connect a line-level signal (the headphone output) to a mic-level input (the mic input on the camera).
@HiddenDriveways Thanks very much, the sescom cable lowers the volume, but what does it do as opposed to just any old mic input cable? Does it basically stabilize the audio?
@ams914 Connecting the H4n to the camera with a USB cable doesn’t accomplish anything. In order to use the H4n instead of the internal mic on the camera, you should do what I did in this video. You need a Sescom cable, and you connect it to the headphone output of the H4n, and plug the other end into the mic input on the camera.
Is there a way to use the zoom h4n INSTEAD of your internal mic? I know you can use a mini-to-mini usb between the zoom and the camera but I don’t know exactly what that would do. What I’m trying to avoid is having to sync the audio in post, rather just recording the audio straight from the camera using the zoom so that it all comes out as one linked audio/video track when imported from the camera. Do you know if this is possible? I am planning on making my purchase of the zoom h4n soon
@CHANDSOME I only had the cable for a night, so I can’t test that out. But someone posted on the dvxuser.com forum that they use a splitter coming out of the headphone jack of the recorder, and that it worked fine for them. The results may vary from recorder to recorder, but I think the chances are that it would work fine. The bigger criticism to worry about is having the mics way back at the camera, instead of closer to the action.