Getting around the deficient audio in DSLR video production is always a tricky problem for one reason or another. There are several ways to do it , depending on which camera you are using but it also depends on whether you want to shoot separate audio tracks and sync in post using Plural Eyes , or whether you want to record straight into the video track on camera. The latter route will never be as high quality but sometimes you just don’t have time for the extra step in post of syncing and managing the audio files. Of course the first step to better audio is just to use better microphones and those all have XLR outputs on them so you need a way of connecting XLR’s to your camera. A popular solution has been the ZOOM H4N and it’s been good at that price point though it was never really designed for this use. The H4N is several years old now, predating the so-called DSLR revolution in fact, and was designed to record music, both live and at line level through 1/4″ plugs from guitars. One of the problems with it is the sensitivity of the 1/4″ line in signal is not at a typical line in level so inline pads are required as well as xlr-1/4″ TRS conversion of you want to record a line level signal and bypass the pre amps in the H4N. For me, no line level XLR input on the H4N is a big shortcoming for the flexibility of it’s usage.
The Tascam DR-100 was also used by quite a few people instead of the H4N but the original version also lacked the line level input that I would like to see. Tascam has just recently started to ship two new recorders though that BOTH feature mic and line level XLR inputs. The updated MKII version of the DR-100 and the brand new DR-40 which now takes over from the H4N as the most affordable XLR recorder on the market at around $200. Let’s take a look at their main features:
