An amateur journey of digital recording
Posts tagged Youtube
Remembering Steve Jobs
Oct 6th
On July 4th, 2010, my mother past due to breast cancer, she was 63 years old. Too young to leave this earth. Yesterday, Steve Jobs left this world even younger at 56 years. To say this is a shame in an understatement.
I came across a graduation speech given by this college dropout at Stanford University. It is powerful and revealing about the inner workings of Steve. The speech is viewable below.
Audio Technica BP4001 Cardioid Dynamic Microphone Review
Nov 28th
MSRP $259
Available January 2011
Everyone knows that the on-board sound for the Canon 7D (actually all DSLR cameras) leaves something to be desired. Yes it will work in a pinch, but it does not compliment the high quality of the video it records. In a noisy area like a trade show floor, the internal microphone on the camera is nearly unusable. This fact has Canon 7D users looking for audio recording companions. Many of us are using the Zoom H4n or shotgun mikes like the Rode Videomic. While better, these solutions do not completely eliminate loud ambient environments. Fortunately, on-site interviews have being going on for decades and companies like Audio Technica have been building hand-held microphones optimized for this task. Coming soon in January 2011, the BP4001 is one of their latest offerings. How does it handle the task? Let’s find out.
First Look
The Audio Technica BP4001 is a professional cardioid dynamic microphone. It sleek black design has an extended handle making it perfect for on-location interviews like trade shows. The cardioid polar pattern focuses the sensitivity away from the sides of the microphone optimizing isolation of the subject of your interview. Frequency response is stated to be 80Hz to 18kHz. The BP4001 has an impedance of 300 ohms.
The BP4001 has a rugged housing and the grille, made from hardened-steel has an integral foam windscreen that protects against wind and breath noise. The overall length is about 9.5 inches long with a barrel diameter a litter over 1.5 inches long. The weight comes in at 275 grams or about 10 ounces. Included with the Audio Technica BP4001 is a nice black case, a shock insulated carrying case, microphone stand mount and external foam windscreen. Connection is made through a standard 3-pin XLR connector.
Initial Observations
This microphone feels solid and rugged. After removing the grille, you can see how the microphone back cavity assembly floats inside the handle shell. General handling of the BP4001 produced no sound in the audio recording. Even slight taps to the handle casing resulted in no noise. I was also pleasantly surprised that the Audio Technica BP4001 was unaffected by mechanical noises transferred through cabling. This can be a problem in lesser microphones. The XLR cable connection was solid, never feeling loose. The quality of this microphone is obvious when you hold it in your hand.
The Audio/Video Rig
I connected the Audio Technica BP4001 to my Zoom H4n with a standard XLR cable. For the interviewer, I used the Audio Technica ATR-3350 lavalier mic also connected to the Zoom H4n. This made it easier to facilitate syncing during postproduction. Video was taken using my Canon 7D with an external monitor and a Litepanels Micro for additional light.
Performance
For comparison, I put together a clip of the Audio Technica BP4001 audio versus the on-board sound of the Canon 7D. The results are, well, staggering. The audio came through extremely clear, not boomy and especially not burdened with the background noise of the trade show.
Obviously, the microphone has an advantage over the on-board microphone of the Canon 7D but I never expected it to be that drastic. When compared to the internal microphone of the Canon 7D, it sounded like we were in a different venue. In fact, it sounded clearer than I remembered the actual interviews.
During the entire time we were recording interviews, we did not experience any mechanical noises generated by the handling of the BP4001 or cabling. That is very impressive giving the situation. The result was clear, well-balanced audio that sounded great and required no post edited except to normalize levels.
Conclusion
The Audio Technica BP4001 fills the audio performance gap found on all DSLR and even professional video rigs. At an expected street price of $200, you get a professional grade microphone that looks and feels as good as it performs. If you are looking for an professional grade audio microphone for field-interviews, the Audio Technica BP4001 is an excellent choice.
Specs
Frequency response: 80–18,000 Hz
Length: 240.8 mm (9.48″) long
Head Diameter: 40.0 mm (1.57″)
Weight: 275 g (9.7 oz)
Connection: Integral 3-pin XLRM-type S8 AT8470
Included: Quiet-FlexTM stand clamp for 5/8″-27 threaded stands; 5/8″-27 to 3/8″-16 threaded adapter; foam windscreen; carrying case; soft protective pouch
NOTE: The unit reviewed is a pre-production version of the Audio Technica BP4001. We at 7DSLR expect the production version to perform the same as the provided pre-production sample. No money was paid for this review.
Lighting, Lighting, Lighting – Shooting in 720p versus 1080p
Sep 2nd
I recently attended the Cincinnati JACL Potluck. Great food and company and Taiko Drummers. The room was relatively small. To shoot the video, I used the Tamron 17-50mm f2.8 VC lens my Canon 7D with my zoom H4n for audio. Finally, I matched up the audio and video using Final Cut Express. (Can’t wait to get FCP)
First, it was a very good thing i decided to use the Zoom H4n for audio. When I got home, the audio off the Canon was severely clipped and sounded like, well… you know what it sounded like. In order to get the transients corrrect on the H4n, I had to manually reduce the recording level to 20 (Which is real low). The results speak for themselves. The audio really does capture the dynamics that we experienced live.
For the first video, I thought I would try to record in 720p 60fps. My thought process was that the high speed of the drummers would be better captured at the higher frame rate. When I looked at the full res version of the video I was, not impressed. Here is the video below.
720p 60fps + Low Light = Digital Noise!
I was really surprised to see all the digital noise on the drum casing. At first, I thought is was an issue with the lens. Luckily, I recorded one of their later songs (performance?) in 1080p 24fps. There is a significant difference. See the video below.
1080p 24fps + Low Light = Less Digital Noise
Even in the compressed youtube version, you can still see a significant improvement in the digital noise. What gives. So I looked at my settings for my Canon 7D. In the 720p mode, I have the shutter speed set to 125 or roughly double what the fps (frames per second) spec of this recording mode. In the 1080p mode, I have the shutter speed set to a lower 50 speed. From these settings I can assume that more light will get let in at the lower setting. This makes sense.
Conclusion
I guess I learned the hard way that if you shoot at higher frame rates, you need more light. Duh. The ambient light was not enough to prevent the digital noise captured in the 720p mode. Good lesson. Let me know what you think.