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Recording Video and using a sound board

stacyb40
Apprentice

Hi,

 

I may be using my T3i to record about an hour of video. For the audio, there will be a sound board. How do I connect a sound board to the camera? Also, besides buying a class 10 SD card, are there any other tips? Is there anyway the camera will record the entire time or is it going to stop after about 30 minutes?

 

Advice is greatly appreciated!

 

Thanks,

Stacy

6 REPLIES 6

Waddizzle
Legend
Legend

I would suggest that you consult your owners' manual, for the correct type of audio connector to use.  I believe the correct page is 160.  The camera has a microphone level, audio input jack, which is not to be confused with a line level input signal.  The manual I am looking at indicates a "mini-stereo plug (3.5mm dia.)" should be used.

 

I cannot speak about your "sound  board" because I know nothing about it.  It could be anything.

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"The right mouse button is your friend."

Thank you! I did find that information in the manual and still wasn't sure if I could hook up anything else. The other comment seems to answer that question, though.

Elf_f_f
Apprentice

Hi,


Being new to photography, I do a lot of reading on this forum but now I finally get to help someone with somthing I am famliar with.

 


There are two ways to hook a camera to a soundboard and both, most likely, require the same wires.

 

First, you can connect the cameras mic input to the headphone output on the soundboard which works OK if you split it, have two outputs, or don't care about using a headset. Another problem is you have to use the same volume as the headset, which can sometimes be a problem, especially if you're not the one running the board.

The second, and better way, to do it is to use an auxiliary send if you have one available. This allows you to control the volume by channel and not interfere with the headset.

 

Both of those outputs on a soundboard most likely are ½” TRS outputs and your camera’s microphone input is a ¼” TRS (¼” TRS is the same as consumer earbuds and 3.5 mm TRS).


So you'll need a ½” male TRS to ¼” female TRS adapter and a ¼” male to ¼” male cable as long as you need it, but I would not want it more than 25' because of signal resistance.

 

As well as the 30-minute time limit, the camera also has to stop recording if it reaches 4 GB per file because of the formatting Canon DSLRs use.
If that is a big problem for you, you could look into getting a Canon Vixia series camcorder. That is what I used for quite a while recording the audio straight from a soundboard. My particular model was an HF M50. If you purchase a camcorder because of the recording capabilities, you'll want to take a look and make sure that it has a headphone output as well, which is extremely handy.

 

Waddizzle is correct on the difference between microphone level and line level single strength.
The headphone output is not line level but the auxiliary send is line level. Although, I have hooked up quite a few different pieces of recording equipment with mic level inputs to line level outputs including laptops, desktops, camcorders, and audio recording devices.

Thanks so much! I will ask the audio person if he has any of these items. Otherwise, the recording will just be from the camera microphone. I'm going to save this, though, and check into the camcorder.

Hi Elf,

I have a Canon Vixia HF M50.  Do you know if I can connect a signal from the mixer that goes to a recorder into the mic input of the HF M50?  I don't know if this signal is mic or line level.  Thanks.


@Sunny69 wrote:

Hi Elf,

I have a Canon Vixia HF M50.  Do you know if I can connect a signal from the mixer that goes to a recorder into the mic input of the HF M50?  I don't know if this signal is mic or line level.  Thanks.


The signal output from a mixer is most likely line level.  Check the mixer's manual to be sure, though.  

 

The above suggestion to connect a headphone output to a microphone input is highly inadvisable, because of impedance mismatching.  Using line level signals, balanced or unbalanced, is the best way to transmit analog audio signals.

--------------------------------------------------------
"The right mouse button is your friend."
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