Hey all
Curious as to whether anyone here has used a hot shoe mounted micrphone for their DSLR? The reason i ask is because the videos I took at last year’s airshows surcumbed to wind disturbance creating a terrible noise over the love noise of the aircraft 😉
Also, what I found annoying was having to use the LCD screen to take the video (can be difficult when holding a Canon 7D with battery grip and Canon 100-400mm IS USM L series lens!). Some things I noticed on ebay are the LCD viewfinder’s but I’m wondering what the hassle is involved and whether they are any good!
Many kind regards in advance
Griff
By: Orion - 10th March 2011 at 19:02
I use a Jessops monopod but I also have a Manfrotto tripod. If you are using the monopod fully extended you might find (I do) that it wobbles a bit. This doesn’t matter for stills providing the shutter speed is reasonable, but for movies it might. The solution, I find, is to mount the camera on the monopod so that the panning handle sticks out at 90deg. Hold the camera with the right hand in the usual way and steady it with the left on the handle. Don’t grab on hard, that will cause a PIO (!), just steady the monopod with thumb and forefinger as though you’re flying an aeroplane.
Bare in mind that static shots get to be boring if they last more 7-8 secs!
Regards
By: Griffhawk - 9th March 2011 at 20:46
thank you for the response Orion, thought no one was interested lol. With regards to the mic im considering something along the lines of this
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=230565415759&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT
Also the reason i ask about the view finder is because the glass element flips up for the video the regular viewfinder becomes useless (no light refracted onto the mirror for the viewfinder apparently) so means the LCD screen needs to be used. It gets rather shakey as a result, hence why i was thinking of the external viewfinder e.g. this http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=320551977328&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT
Also looking at one of the manfrotto monopods that have the tripod like feet to help steady it in small spaces close to the crowd line or in the grandstands
Thanks again Orion
Griff
By: Orion - 9th March 2011 at 20:35
I don’t have DSLR, but I do have a video camera and I do use an external mic. Generally the mic is attached to the hot shoe but there are occasions, like when it is very windy, I attach an extension to the mic and plug the other end of the extension into the camera. The mic is then laid on the ground, on a towel. The wind is much lower at ground level so the wind noise is less too. This doesn’t mean that you will not need some form of cover for the mic (like say a ‘dead cat’) but it does help.
My video camera has an eye level viewfinder as well as an LCD screen. Generally I prefer to use the eye level viewfinder unless I’m mounting the camera on a tripod/monopod, when the LCD screen is better.
Regards
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March 8, 2011 at 10:18 pm