X-Matt_Winslow
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Apr 3, 2001, 1:05 AM
Post #4 of 4
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Below is a copy of a little rant I posted a couple of months back. Since then, I've just come to accept the fact that I'm going to be spending more time editing audio. I'm still experimenting with different types of mics though.
>>>Okay, I'm prepared to have rotten e-fruit thrown at me for this next statement but I have to say it anyway. I hate the audio on my PD-150.
There, I said it. Don't get me wrong, I love this camera… no, let me rephrase that; I LOVE this camera. I've been using VX-1000s to do wedding work for about 5
years now and I am extremely happy with my upgrade to PD-150s, but this audio thing has me vexed.
I'm not talking about 'hissing' or an 'inferior pre-amp' (whatever that may be). I'm talking about the fact that when I listen to the audio from my VX-1000s, I hear full,
rich, three-dimensional sound. When I listen to the audio from my PD-150s I hear flat, dull, one-dimensional sound that sounds like you're listening to everything
through a pipe. I know from frequenting this forum that unidirectional shotgun mikes are all the rage, and what any respectable videographer should be using. But, it
seems to me that it's a step down, not a step up from the stereo mike on the VX-1000.
So, I've decided my next purchase is going to be a stereo mike (any suggestions? I'm considering the Audio-Technica AT825.). However there's another problem
I've noticed and I'm surprised I haven't heard anything about it in this forum. The PD-150 (on AGC) records at very low audio levels. In the latest WEV magazine in
a review of the PD-150 George Alford says, "The audio is recorded… with lots of headroom. This is generally true of all digital cameras because if the audio peaks,
it is very distorted." But, the VX-1000 doesn't record that low, and I very rarely have a problem with distortion. So now I spend most of my post-production time
tinkering with the audio to make it right, normalizing the clips that are too low, and compressing the clips that are mostly loud enough but have some background
audio that's too soft.
I know I could mike everyone in the house and run it all through a mixer or spend countless hours in post getting things just right, but I bought this camera to make
things easier not harder.
So there's my rant, and now to my questions:
Is there anyone else out there who feels this way? Am I doing something wrong?
Thanks,
Matt Winslow
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