Gear I Like: Senal Headphones

Sometimes I stumble across some gear that’s useful, and I want to share it with you guys.  I’ve been using these Senal SMH-1000 headphones for my video and audio work for over a year now and they do a really great job at a good price point (under $100).  I use them plugged into my Canon XA-20, or into my Sound Devices Mix Pre-D when I’m recording tutorial videos at my computer.  They have a detachable cable which is great because if the cable or plugs ever fail, you don’t have to replace the entire set of headphones, just get …

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Rode Stereo Videomic Pro Review

The Rode Stereo Videomic Pro is an upgrade to to the previous Stereo Videomic in a much smaller and more lightweight package. It takes a lot of design cues from the new Videomic Pro, using the same style of suspension system and a metal hotshot. Many who owned the original Videomic will know that the weak point in its design was the strength of this suspension system so it’s nice to see upgrades across the board now in Rode’s on-camera range. Watch the video below for some first hands on impressions and it will also give you an excellent idea …

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Tascam DR-100 MKII Review & Comparison To Zoom H4N

Small, portable audio recorders have become much more popular since the start of the s0-called DSLR revolution.  Of course they have always been around in the professional industry but when people began filming with DSLRs they quickly realized that the sound on those cameras was simply awful.  A solution was needed and a great many people jumped on the Zoom H4N as that solution.  At the time when the 5D MK2 was released there weren’t a lot of options at a price point that made sense to someone who is only shooting with a camera worth a few thousand dollars.  …

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New Tascam DR-40 and DR-100 MKII FOR DSLR Audio

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 …

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Zoom H1 Audio Recorder Review

The Zoom H1 has been around for a year or so now and I’ve mentioned it before on this site but only now had a good reason to pick one up for myself.  At the time of writing this I’m packing my gear to head to France to shoot the 24 Heures Du Mans, arguably the worlds greatest motor race.  I decided that the sound of the cars on the track would be interesting to capture for some multimedia content after the event and the H1 looks to be a reasonable solution.  Ever since DSLRs began to record video, photographers …

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New Zoom H1 audio recorder. Multimedia journalists dream ?

Samson Tech stumbled onto something great with the ubiquitous Zoom H4N audio recorder. When the DSLR video craze kicked off, people quickly realized that whilst the video was stunning to look at, the on-board audio sucked. All professional films use separate audio recorders though, and the HDSLR crowd quickly fell in love with the full featured Zoom H4N. Built in stereo mics and 2 XLR inputs meant 4 track recording was possible in a device that was only $300. Samson was in the right place at the right time with the right price, the H4N was and still is everywhere. …

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Video accessories for the Canon 5D Mark II: Part 1 – Microphones

When Canon launched the 5dMKII in late 2008 , the quality and look of the video it produced was lost on nobody. It changed everything, Fast forward now to 2010 and I am updating my original posting on microphones for the 5dmkII because it’s popularity has gone from strength to strength. The final episode of the worlds most watched TV show(in 2010), House, was just shot entirely using the Canon 5dMKII. And what is even crazier about the whole story, is that Canon had seemingly no idea of the potential of this camera when they released it. They never intended …

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