So, I am looking to have a few things sorted out in the sound dept. for a doc I am working on. I have decided that the subjects will have lavs with Tascam DR-05 recording on 16GB cards (enough space for the 12hrs or so quoted by Tascam on battery life with Eneloop Pros) I can't afford wireless, so the recorders are the best combo right now for lavs (opinions welcome on this) I heard samples of Zoom H1 vs the Tascam and the Zoom has too much hiss to my taste.

On camera:

This is where I am finding a bit of a hard time deciding. I want a compact kit (preferably without a rig)

Kit 1: Roland R-26 using all of its mics recording to their own independent channel (thats 2 omnis + XY) AT875r recording into the Roland R26 Since this test showed that the Roland has a bit of a hiss, I thought that using a Fethead attached the already short AT875r will give me a lower noise floor.

• Omni + XY + Shotgun channels to mix in post along with the lavs. --For this kit, I would need to get a cage to have both the Roland and the Shotgun mounted on the GH2.

Kit 2: For a lower price as the above: Zoom H6/H5 w/ SSH-6 mic. This module mic is a XY and short shotgun at the same time, which (with Zooms software) you can then choose how much of each set (XY and shotgun) you can have in your final mix later.

Sample of software and mic tests:

• on this one is that the AT875r takes the bench of gets sold because the module replaces it. The recorder mounts directly on the hotshote (no cage, or rig)
• Not enough samples from the SSH-6 mic out there, especially indoors and with dialogue, so it's a bit of a gamble and I don't know how well the noise floor will be with that combo. -/+ XY and Shotgun only left to mix later in post with the lavs. Hearing samples from the Omni+XY+Shotgun on the Roland leaves me with a bit of nice feeling.

Kit 3: The original kit I imagined I would get.

Tascam DR-70D AT875r

• cheaper than both above
• Dr-70D pre-amps are very nice but could also compliment them with a Fethead
• DR-70D built-in mics may be stereo...but they don't really give a stereo feeling so kind of pointless and the main reason for me to look at the above

That's pretty much what I have right now as options.

I also read about the Olympus LS-100 which has nice quiet pre-amps (for the XLRs) but I was advised by a friend that the 16bit recording may be too limiting if I need to compensate for either noise or for mixing. Any opinions on that?

Sadly enough no shop in London has all of these so I can test them all in one place and see what may fit best.

Also, my doc stuff is multi-field (indoor, outdoor) fly on the wall style 95% of the time so I really like the idea of having mixing options between the lavs, stereo and shotgun.

What do we think??

I accidentally started a conversation on the Driftwood patches thread on audio straight into the GH2 with the 448kbps audio patch.

I am a documentary photographer and recently joined the PV forum after deciding that a GH2 is the tool to have for my work.

I had two queries regarding spanning and in-camera playback and they both have been answered in the Driftwood patch thread: 64GB SD Sandisk Extreme Pro 95mb/s is the only card that spans with Moon T7 reliably and the 448kbps audio patch will make any clip non playable in camera.

Now, to the reason of this thread.

My needs are to simplify the gear I carry with me. I used to work with Rode Videomics plugged to my 5DII and that was that. The audio from them wasn't great.

Now, with the 448kpbs hack, the GH2 can be a great audio recorder without the need for an external recorder like an Edirol or a Zoom.

The conversation as left in the Driftwood patch forum relates to these two tests I found for shotgun mics (most of which can be plugged straight to the GH2) which are outdoors and at two distances.

The distance from where I work and from where the mics would be to my subjects is in between those two tests, both indoors and outdoors.

So far, through my DT770 32ohm which is fed by a Dragonfly, the MKE600 is a bit bassy but very good and the AT897 and the MKH 416 perform similarly at a distance. Close up, the differences are far more obvious.

Also, there has been a suggestion of using an ISK CM 60 which is battery powered:

http://www.swamp.net.au/isk-cm-60-battery-powered-condensor-microphone.html

However, I am unable to find a sample from it. @oto02 said he is getting one and getting ready to test it.

Also, @Jim_Simon mentions that the GH2 can record really good audio so I have hopes that I can work out this rather simple rig for documentary work (TV, festivals)

Many thanks for all contributions in advance.

EDIT: I just heard the tests again with my Sony V6 and still, the AT and the 416 sound roughly similar on both. I am not sure if the MKE 600 equalized would be similar to the 416 raw or if one can up the bass a bit on the AT and make it sound less flat. Both, At and 416, sound crisp.

I noticed that in all the discussion of audio on the site, experienced people have frequently covered inexpensive mics and recorders, and occasionally covered more expensive mics and software - but we have not often covered the audio interfaces used in project studios and professional audio environments.

Audio interfaces, pres and converters determine how your sound both gets recorded and how you hear it when it plays back.

Since we have a lot of experienced audio people here, I would like to open the floor to discussing some of the options and pros and cons of different options.

I'll list some of them below.

Note the interface (Firewire, PCI, USB 2.0, etc.) required and see whether it is compatible with your current hardware as well as portable to other systems. USB options tend to be compatible with the widest range while Firewire is the most popular type used in professional audio interfaces for the last decade.

USB 3.0 options would be great (greatly exceeding the bandwidth of the Firewire flavors supported on the audio interfaces listed so far on paper) but the audio interface manufacturers have not readily embraced it.

Thunderbolt deserves special discussion. Thunderbolt has massive bandwidth and some computers feature it instead of Firewire. There are accessories you can buy to connect Firewire devices to your Thunderbolt port, so don't rule Firewire interfaces out just because you have a Thunderbolt computer.

For a discussion of the even higher-end gear, check http://personal-view.com/talks/discussion/4816/entry-level-professional-audio-interfacesrecorders-pres-and-converters-for-studio

Audio interfaces, pres and converters determine how your sound both gets recorded and how you hear it when it plays back.

Since we have a lot of experienced audio people here, I would like to open the floor to discussing some of the options and pros and cons of different options.

I'll list some of them below.

This is for the higher end ones.

Note the interface (Firewire, PCI, USB 2.0, etc.) required and see whether it is compatible with your current hardware as well as portable to other systems. USB options tend to be compatible with the widest range while Firewire is the most popular type used in professional audio interfaces for the last decade.

USB 3.0 options would be great (greatly exceeding the bandwidth of the Firewire flavors supported on the audio interfaces listed so far on paper) but the audio interface manufacturers have not readily embraced it.

Thunderbolt deserves special discussion. Thunderbolt has massive bandwidth and some computers feature it instead of Firewire. There are accessories you can buy to connect Firewire devices to your Thunderbolt port, so don't rule Firewire interfaces out just because you have a Thunderbolt computer.

Firewire cards can also be purchased for PCI and PCI-e systems, so if you have a desktop, there is a good chance you can use a Firewire interface. When buying a Firewire card, try to get one with a Texas Instrument chipset - these are the most widely compatible.

Note that some Firewire interfaces can be powered by the computer connection, while others require AC power. Few laptops provide enough power to run a Firewire device off this alone, but some do. Look for a full-size 6-pin connector as opposed to a 4-pin one if this your intent.

If you have concerns about the compatibility between your system and your audio interface, you can buy pre-built audio certified computers (with or without your chosen interface) from any of the following (as well as may others).

http://advanceddesignky.com/ http://www.studiocat.com http://www.musicxpc.com/index.php http://www.pcaudiolabs.com/ http://raincomputers.com/

So my question is: is it worth getting this "upgraded" version for extra £25? Is it worth the extra cash? All I want to do is to plug it into my Zoom H1 and get a clean dialogue sound.
So which one should I get? HT-81 or HT-81A ? Also any tips about good and cheap cables for the boom pole, would be greatly appreciated.