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GH2 Audio Hacks
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  • @gameb I ordered the mic on ebay. The audio quality is very good, slightly bright. Pickup pattern and noise are also very good. For under $20, incredible. I just ordered 2 more.

  • @Jspatz please post an Ebay link

  • thrpalalias thanks for settings. Sorry for "out if topic". gameb I ordersd mic thanks for link. I will test it with the audio settings. How you mount this mic to your camera?

  • @konjow Thanks, and no worries about going off-topic: you just have to post samples using the mic with the GH2 now. ;)

  • I will. mic was dispatched today from china, it will take a while. looking for a mount in a meanwhile

  • glad to see people working on audio improvements as well!

    any recommendations on wider/omni mic's? i use my GH2 to record my audiovisual installations and performances. often they have surround sound. i know i'm not gonna get faithful sound with a stereo mic but i'd like something which is reasonably good at ambient/atmospheric sound.

  • @dtr nice avatar! mine's a still from something i made in jitter :)

    I've not used it a whole lot with the GH2 directly because i usually record on an external recorder, but an Audio Technica AT822 works nicely plugged directly into the GH2 in my tests. It's a battery powered stereo cardioid condenser that is not made anymore, but i got mine on ebay for around $100 each. Needs a special cable because it sends unbalanced stereo on a single 3-pin XLR. I ended up making my own cable.

    The AT822 is useful for recording concerts and stuff too - nice flat freq response. The noise floor is not fantastic, but quite good enough to not matter unless you're in a totally quiet studio - I have lots of experience using them for classical concerts, and mic noise is always overshadowed by environmental noises.

  • Yeah, the AT822 tests are some of the best in that style so far with the GH2 recording that people have put up.

  • thanks for the tip!

    @arvidtp: yeah big max/msp/jitter nerd here...

  • Now if there are any Jeskola Buzz nerds out there, I would like to see your hands, too. :)

  • Ah, Buzz, haven't heard that name in a long time. It was my first foray into trackers and synthesized audio. Interesting stuff and great learning experience.

  • @Jive Glad to hear it Jive. :)

  • @Jspatz Thank you!

  • One of the voice artists Rob does a spectacular Lucas lol - think he ended up doing some stuff in the films too

  • @thepalalias I made another test this time with a super budget DIY stereo setup.

    This setup costs less than $10 including the capsules, plug and cable. The sound quality is very good for the price, you just have to build this stuff yourself (which is pretty easy).

    This test uses adjusted settings for slightly lower sensitivity from 'Pasadena Pulse Audio V2 Beta 2' (in conjunction with 'cluster'), with my homemade binaural omnis. These mics are a good match with the GH2 input. I wouldn't be surprised if these are the capsules already inside the GH2. They just give a better stereo image when separated.

    Here are the original values with adjusted settings for this patch next to it: AGC 3 128 > 144, AGC 2 160 > 160, AGC 1 176 > 176, AGC 0 203 > 203,

    Please listen with headphones. I attached the omnis to the sides of my hat in a 'Binaural' array. This gives a very realistic effect of "being there". These mics are very sensitive and easily are affected by wind noise which can be heard occasionally.

  • This is such an amazing bit of work. Just acquired my GH2 two days ago and hacked it this morning - itching to shoot. Need to track down the 2.5mm adapter yet.

    I do have a NTG-2 which I will try out soon. Wasn't happy with it going into an external recorder and opted for a AT875 for that. Very curious about the Rode in this set up. A clip earlier in the thread indicates it is not as sensitive and perhaps not as full sounding; I'll need to make my own experiences.

    Really excited about a stereo mic setup for nice ambient sound right in to the GH2!

  • @thepalalias Where can I find your Pasadena Audio settings in order to merge them with video settings?

  • I was wondering: has anyone tested using a 4-ring (TRRS) 2,5mm jack to allow for mic input AND shutter control at the same time?

    @DirkVoorhoeve, yes I tested this with the 1.0 firmware, and it doesn't allow both remote and external mic use simultaneously. See http://personal-view.com/talks/discussion/comment/1265#Comment_1265 for details.

    Seemed to be a firmware limitation only, so worth trying again with 1.1.

  • @_gl tried it, unfortunately still doesn't work.

    So other solution would be to make a nice 2x XLR connection to the built in mic connector (4 cables, see pictures of the mic unit). Anyone tried?

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  • Interesting. I have not tried opening the camera like that at all, but I will be curious to hear what people come up with if they do.

  • @DirkVoorhoeve : I have done that a few years ago on my JVC DV camcorder which did not have an external mic jack. It still works. I had available space inside the camcorder so I used a PCB 3.5mm 5 soldered pins female jack (for 3 pins male jack) which is enabling the internal mic when unplugged, and the external mic when plugged (thanks to the 2 additional pins). I'm not sure that there is enough space inside the GH2, but if there is, then it should work and then an XLR to jack adapter would do the trick for your need.

  • Hi there - I just bought a Rode mic to go with my GH2 -- upon reviewing the recording, it had a pretty bad hiss. I had the Rode set to +0db and the internal camera audio set to "3." I figured setting the camera audio back to "1" might help...but I was wondering if anyone had any other ideas. I'm open to a hack to help with this, but I don't want to compromise any of my other systems.

    Thank you!

  • @SilverPepper How did the recording sound? Were the levels quiet or strong and punchy? Which Rode mic do you have?

    The audio hack by @thepalalais fixes some of the hiss problems by adjusting the cameras need to auto adjust the signal (i.e. over boost the levels and cause hiss).