Audio and the Canon 5D Mark II

One of the biggest limitations of the Canon 5D Mark II is its ability to capture great audio. The 5D2 captures beautiful pictures, but its ability to capture audio is severely limited. With the built in microphone not only is the sound quality poor, but it also picks up all sorts of noise from the camera mechanisms and operator handling. The built in mic should be your last resort. If you can, invest and take the time to ensure your picture's sound quality matches that video quality.

"You may have a great picture, but if your sound isn’t very good, audiences will quickly become annoyed and either emotionally or literally abandon your film. That’s never a good thing.” -MIKEL J. WISLER

Having good audio is more important than having a good picture. If your content is good, picture quality is forgivable but if the audio quality is poor, it is very difficult to tolerate. So if we are going to shoot anything besides silent b-roll we are going to need an audio solution to compliment the 5D2.

I have reviewed and tested various options for capturing audio with the 5D2. This is what I have found to be the best audio solutions for the Canon 5D Mark II.

Using the stereo 3.5mm input

The 5D2 does have a 3.5mm audio input so it is possible to add an external microphone. An external microphone offers a huge improvement over the camera's built in microphone. There are a few "all-in-one" microphones on the market that mount to the camera's shoe and plug into the 3.5mm input. Check out B&H's review complete with audio samples.

One popular option is the Sennheiser MKE400. I have read reports of people experiencing considerable amounts of hiss from the Sennheiser MKE400. Additionally, the MKE400 is a mono mic.

I'm using an old school flash bracket to mount the Rode Stereo VideoMic above the camera.

I found the better option to be the Rode Stereo VideoMic. Not only is the Rode a better performer it also captures stereo sound taking advantage of the 5D2's stereo input. This works great for capturing ambient sounds and reference audio.

The Rode is not going to be the end all solution, for capturing dialogue and critical sound we are going to need something else.

You could use the BeachTek DXA-5D or the juicedLink CX231 and add XLR inputs to the 5D2. Both of these units mount under the camera, have two XLRs inputs, phantom power, and gain controls. In some situations this could be a good solution, but it is limited. You still will not have control over the camera's input levels. Even with the Magic Lantern hack your audio quality will ultimately suffer and be limited to the camera's ability to only record 16-bit/44.1kHz Linear PCM audio.

Dual system audio

The H4n has a standard screw mount on the back. I'm using the arm from my litepanel to mount the H4n to the camera's shoe.The only solution to getting great audio with the 5D is to record it separate. Just like shooting on film, we need to slate it and sync in post. It is a few extra steps and a bit of a headache if you are used to diving straight into editing, but the results are worth the extra time.

I started researching various field recorders like the Tascam HD-P2, Roland R-44, and top of the line Sound Devices 702T. These were all excellent field recorders, but in the end it was the much cheaper Samson H4n Zoom that I found to be the best option.

Not only was the H4n a fraction of the cost of these other recorders but it was also smaller and could easily mount to the camera. The Zoom H4n records WAV audio files with sample rates from 44.1kHz/16bit to 96kHz/24bit, has phantom power, and a headphone jack for monitoring. The best thing about the H4n is it has the ability to simultaneously record up to four channels, the 2 internal microphones and 2 external inputs. This is great because you can capture ambient environment sounds with the built in microphones while using the external inputs for dialogue. If recording outside, pickup a "red head" for the H4n's internal microphones.

Zoom H4n Windscreen For Your Handheld Recorder with the Canon 5D Mark II and Joby Gorilla pod from iamkalaniprince on Vimeo.

Putting it all together

Once you have successfully captured your audio, you will need to sync it in post. There are a few tricks with the 5D2. I will post a separate blog on the post process soon.

Comments

[Marco]

Great post, keep the tips coming!

[K Green]

Sweet site! I will be following your blog. Please teach and share your experiences.

[m]

How would you mount the h4n zoom to to the canon 5d II? thanks.

[Mikel J. Wisler]

Excellent article. A friend pointed me to it since he had found it and saw that you quoted me. I'm honored. I'll have to check out more of your entries here. Keep up the great work!

[Bleeif]

Unbelievealbe Wind Windscreen, Has Canon a solution/workaround to 99.9% speed issue ?
Who is the Song by Artist that you used great stuff ?
Good work

thanks
B

[Brett]

Do you know of a similar Hot Shoe adapter available through BH, for example, similar to yours? I am trying to locate a similar setup for my Zoom H4N.

Thanks!

[m.yu]

Great post!,
Thank you!

[Joaquin]

Great article! Wish to see more of your posts. This one sure helps a lot. Thanks!

[computer microphone]

Lol, nice little hat you gave it there at the end! Thanks for the tips too, very handy.