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Izzy Video 150 – Shooting Video with a Digital SLR: Part 3 – Dealing with the Bad Audio

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This is part three of my series on shooting video with a Digital SLR, and it’s all about dealing with the bad audio capabilities of these types of cameras. I’m going to go out on a limb and make a big statement here:

If you have a Canon 5D Mark II, this episode could save you money because it might prevent you from purchasing a tempting-but-unnecessary piece of gear.

If I would have seen this video or something like it before-hand, I wouldn’t have spent the $350 it took to purchase the piece of gear I show in this tutorial.

This video is available to members only, but you can download the Quicktime version of the trailer here if you want. To learn about becoming an Izzy Video Member, please follow this link.

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  • http://www.absolutepresence.com Chip Dizard

    Audio is a challenge, but I use the Tascam DR-100 and I attach it directly to my camera and posted a link on my blog. My audio is pristine and I am so happy with the workflow. I don’t even have to match it up in post.

    http://www.absolutepresence.com/2009/12/audio-for-canon-7d/

  • http://www.izzyvideo.com Izzy

    Hey Chip!

    Thanks for the note. :-)

    I checked out the video clip at your site, and it sounds good. How did you turn the AGC off in the camera? I read that you turned it off inside the audio recorder, but what about the camera’s AGC?

  • Carsten

    Hi Izzy,

    Have you tried using a hotshoed shotgun microphone on your Canon 5D mark II? If you have tried what was it like? The reason I’m asking is that I’ve got a Canon 7D with the same video capabilities and I’m wondering how good the sound gets from such a mic.

    Thanks a lot for your great website btw. It’s really awesome :)

  • Carsten

    Hi Izzy,

    Have you tried using a hotshoed shotgun mic with your Canon 5D mark II? If so what was your experience with it?

    Thank you for this website btw. It awesome :)

  • Carsten

    Sorry for the double post. It didn’t show in my Safari browser.

  • Carsten

    Hi Izzy,

    In this clip you’re taking about a “recording sound” the camera makes while filming. I happen to have the same lens (Canon EF 24-105 F/4.0 IS USM) and to me the “sound” is coming from the IS being active. If you put your ear to the lens while half pressing the shutter you should hear the IS kicking in and this is picked up by the microphone.

    Just a tip incase you haven’t found out already :)

  • http://www.izzyvideo.com Izzy

    Hi Carsten,

    Yes, that’s exactly what the problem was. It’s funny because several weeks back I called Canon about it, and they asked me to turn off IS, and the problem went away. How embarrassing!

    Anyway, it’s just an indicator that I’m a video guy more than a photo guy. :-)

  • http://www.izzyvideo.com Izzy

    Carsten,

    I haven’t tried that, but it sounds like a great idea.

    Thanks for the kind words!