IAC DISCUSSION FORUMS

My digital stills camera shoots wonderful movies as they all do these days, but the mic-in is the standard tiny ⅛'' stereo socket. I'd like to plug in my XLR mics, radio and shotgun, but I don't really want to use a bulky Beechtek box as I did with my VX2000 years ago.

So what are my options? Ideally I'd like two female XLR sockets feeding a male ⅛'' plug, maybe on a very short lead. Doing this do I lose the shielding performance that XLR wiring brings to the game? Any other thoughts?

Any Google for XLR to DSLR brings up items similar to the Beechtek. Even with the Beechtek box (I have a Juiced Link - same principle) you'd still have a very short 1/8" cable. If you still have this you could simply try it with a longer 1/8" cable and test the interference (the idea being you attach the Box to your belt in some way or put it in a bum bag so you only have the 1/8" cable interfering with your camera.

My preferred method would be to separate the two - use a digital audio recorder for the XLRs. Many have an output matched to the mic level input of a DSLR so you could use this in place of a Beechtek when circumstances dictate. The best of both worlds!

Using it separately obviously does require syncing in post - if you tend to shoot lots of short clips an investment in something like PluralEyes may be worthwhile. I believe Premiere now has audio syncing built in.