Talk To The Hand

If you are worried about people who give you funny looks - or throw things at you in train stations - then this column is not for you. We acknowledge your sensitivities and will not compel you to put yourself in the public firing line. The rest can crowd around and settle down.

The days of writing down your exposure details for each test shot you do have gone. No more scraps of paper or grubby notebooks. No more stubs of pencils. You can reserve these for writing down locomotive numbers - the digital age has put all the data you will ever need right there in each file you create. And there are any number of editing programs that will show it to you on demand, together with international conventions for copyrights, naming of files, technical details, and hot dates. It is an age of information overload and you are expected to shoulder your share of the burden.

But there are any number of things that the camera does not record...and that you may really wish to know later. Things that you would be wise to note down as they occur. Things like atmospheric conditions, location information, details about who is in the picture, or what kind of car it is. What you had for lunch and the waitress's telephone number. You need a personal assistant to do this - or you can personally assist yourself. ( Heaven helps those who help themselves, and particularly at a smorgasbord when they bring out the fresh prawns...)

So. Try one of these for size. Olympus personal recorder. Size of an old mobile phone or a cheap dollar candy bar. Records over 800 hours on a 2 GB micro SD card. You talk discretely into it and then play the thing back to yourself later to get the information. Heck, you can sing to yourself in a Charles Aznavour accent if you want to and listen late into the night. You'll get a seat to yourself on the late night train, I can tell you...

Or turn the thing on in a Uni lecture and doze - play it back later and make notes. Send it to an 8:00 in the morning lecture or staff meeting and let it listen for you. Beware; when the lecturer or team leader looks up and sees only one person in the room, frantically pushing the "record" button on 15 of these suckers while smiling nervously, you'll know you are in for trouble.

In short, it is a portable memory that can go with you everywhere. If you are going to engage in nefarious doings, do them quietly, as this Olympus recorder is quite sensitive to the surroundings. It may be just the thing you need to prove to someone that they really did say what you say they said. Olympus will not get you out of a fight but they will give you the evidence to sustain one.

Speak into the hand, please.

Now, Camera Electronic has come across a number of these dangerous devices and would like to sell you one at a bargain price. Come ask the sales staff and they'll go upstairs and bring down a selection. Go on. You'll either get yourself a very useful adjunct to daily life or a packet of trouble beyond your control, and either way it will be interesting.

Electric Ears Get Smaller

The video shooters amongst us - and there are more every year - are a versatile lot. We see them come into the shop for a variety of equipment and accessories that were frankly unheard-of a decade ago. Apart from odd tapes, monitors, and aluminium Jungle Gyms...also known as video rigs...they need microphones.

We've had some beauties - big things from Sennheiser and Røde. Stereo, mono, shotgun, cardioid, powered, non-powered, and a variety of sizes. Many were intended to go on top of quite large DSLR cameras and featured complex suspension mechanisms. Some were quite daunting.

Well, mirror-less cameras are here and mobile phones and tablets with recorders have become quite fashionable. And they are capable of quite decent sound recording...but they are sometimes let down by their in-built microphones. It's not surprising, really - the internal mics are close to all the noisemaking electronics and mechanicals in the camera and close to the noisy hands and fingers that are operating it. A stray puff of wind can make a roar like an express train*.

Mirror-less in most cases means a smaller camera. This in turn may make a larger microphone hard to handle - or maybe it is the other way around - the whole rig becomes quite clumsy. Røde have now introduced two solutions:

1. The Røde Video Micro is intended for mirror-less cameras with a hot shoe, Rycote Lyre suspension mount , and a jack plug feed off the rear of the unit into the side port of the camera. A furry windshield is included in the package for increased wind resistance. The whole thing is less than half the size of other Røde microphones and sits well within the profile of the smaller cameras. At $ 79 it is not a bank breaker.

2. The Røde VideoMic Me is what I suspect to be the same basic capsule and body of microphone as the previous item, but with a dedicated mount for the Apple iPhone and iPad. The fact that it plugs into the side of the smart device while pointing forward means that there is a spare socket at the rear of the unit like the Video Micro. In this case it is plugged for a headphone play-through jack. Furry blob windshield is also included in the box. Again only $ 79.

If you'd like to hear the microphones in operation please go to the Røde site:

rode.com/videomicme   or  rode.com/videomicro

They're in stock at Camera Electronic right now.

*Do any of the children know what an express train is...?

Røde Talk - You Listen - People Watch

Making a video? Making it on your DSLR, mirrorless, or cine camera? Thinking to have someone out there in the middle distance do some talking? Would you like to hear what they have to say?

So would your audience. Trying to get to get clear speech recorded from the camera position with an in-built microphone can be impossible. Even using a shotgun microphone with all the housings, mufflers, and booms can still result in bad sound - the wind and background noises can conquer all your efforts. You either have to have the actors hold up signs with their lines printed on them or hire Marcel Marceau...

The answer is a small microphone attached to the actor and some way to transmit this back to the camera wirelessly. Røde have now introduced their equipment for this - the Rødelink Filmaker wireless microphone/transmitter/receiver set.

The pack shot is included above to show you the basic boxes for the set - there is an omnidirectional lavalier microphone and a number of connecting cables in the carton as well, but it seemed a pity to unpack it when it was such a cute parcel.

The range of the transmitter/receiver combo is 100 metres and it throws the signal with a series II 2.4 GHz digital transmission. The signal is encrypted as it goes so only you share the info with yourself. If you need to adjust the gain control there is a three-level system.

At last - a neat, clean, Australian sound linkage. No mimes need apply...

Save Your Ears, Save Your Reputation

Lots of people start out to make award-winning cutting-edge iconic masterwork video productions. They get a DSLR or a mirrorless camera from a bucket shop, an orphan tripod from Cashies, and the earphones from their sister's old Walkman. The script is written over pizza and a slab and the iconic video master 's mates all agree to be stars in the video. Generally the hoped-for audience does not eventuate, but the cameraman's sister eventually misses the earphones and then all hell breaks loose.

One feature of the video as made on the DSLR is the lousy sound. This is a blessing as it disguises the voices.

Should you, as an iconic video master, wish to avoid the wrath of the sister and the contempt of the crowd may we suggest that you buy your own set of professional headphones and an adequate professional microphone. Sennheiser have these and we have them in-store right now.

The MKE 600 is such a microphone. Super-cardioid pattern, 40Hz to 20kHz, max SPL 138 dB. Comes with stand mount and wind shield. Pro quality and clean sound.

You can hear that clean sound - or at least hear how bad your mates sound - on the Sennheiser HD 28o Professional with its high passive noise attenuation. you will be able to hear whether you are making too much noise operating the camera as well. Beware.

If it all sounds dismal, take heart. Learn to draw cartoon mice and dress them in white gloves. It worked for Walt and it can work for you.

Go App Yourself With Røde

Yesterday we had a training session with the chaps from Røde Microphones. The subject they covered was...microphones.

It was very detailed and informative. I had no idea that this Sydney firm was making the microphones here in Australia and had achieve3d such world-wide success with the broadcast and recording industry.

The real ear-opener yesterday was to watch  a particular Røde app on an iPad. They have a couple of these comparison programs that you can get free from the App store that basically allow you to hear the same speaker in different situations but through a whole range of recording microphones. I think they bedecked an actor with lavaliers, headsets, and handheld mikes and had her read out a script.

She was outside in front of a theatre and there was wind and passing traffic as she did her speaking. They recorded the result through the camera's basic in-built mike and at the same time on all the other ones. You can stream the things together and hear the difference between the various mikes quite clearly.

The most startling one was the basic camera compared to an inexpensive reporter's mike with a similar pattern of pickup. While the camera did pick up clear sound it was somewhat restricted and all the traffic noise came in with the voice. The reporter's mike canceled all the traffic and the actor's voice was far cleaner - the difference between a professional sound and a real mess.

If you pop over to the Røde site, and then off to the App store you can get yours for free and see what I mean.  It shows that just a little accessory can make all the difference.

Listen Up Dummies!

Those photographers who wish to listen to their clients...and listen in stereo...will be pleased to see the new microphones and recorder that have come into the store.

The Røde microphones are made in Australia. Here. Where you live. Buy one and the money stays in the country. ANZAC, meat pies, kangaroos, beer. Wave the flag and go all tearey-eyed. Now that we have gotten that out of our systems, the microphones are good quality and good value for money. The one you see mounted on the Cullmann Copter tabletop tripod is stereo and intended generally for the top of a DSLR - a wedding show or a school concert would be perfect for this one. it is not heavy, despite the size. It is adaptable to most DSLR's directly or you can go the super-professional route by connecting it to....

The Tascam DR-60D Linear PCM recorder. The device records sound onto SDHC cards - in stereo normally or in up to four separate channels. Input connectors for regular small jacks as may be found on the cameras are on the left hand side of the box. There are also the big plug and cannon plug inputs there as well - you can feed it from a variety of microphones.

On the right hand side is the card slot as well as headphone, line, and USB output. Joy of joys - the battery compartment in the back is accessible without dismantling the rig and it only takes 4 AA batteries!

Note that there is a camera attachment on the top and a tripod attachment on the bottom - you can bundle the lot up and then run, gun, or sit on a tripod just as the occasion presents. Please note the little bars on the sides of the front fascia. I was initially afraid that they were just an attempt at fake rack handles to make for cosmetics but I've decided that they are for attaching straps to let you hang it off your shoulder. Cool.

Peak display on the front, Three sets of channels coming in. Easy start and finish buttons. Retire the dear old Nagra field recorder and give your Revox A77 to the Sally Ann. This one looks like a winner.

Please note: The purple tripod is completely professional. It's just a different profession...