Sound recording for Canon XL1S vs Sony PD 150?

greenspun.com : LUSENET : Dirck Halstead : One Thread

I am considering purchasing either the Sony pd 150 or the Canon XL1S. As I will be shooting short films with sync and non-sync sound on the camera the sound quality and options are very important to me. I have heard from friends that the Canon XL1S produces significantly inferior sound to the Sony PD 150.

I appreciate any advice regarding this issue.

-- Seppi Udo (seppiudo@yahoo.com), October 18, 2001

Answers

i do not have an answer for you just a comment, i've heard canon has bad sound but with an xlr adapter it can be up to good quality. also, I have read that the pd150 has a hum with its audio due to manufacturing problems.

-- (frederick_trevinoj@mac.com), October 15, 2003.

Hello... You may want to check out a few of the Tech articles on the Sound Devices website regarding the audio performance of both the cameras. Either way you go the best option is to use a highquality audio mixer and bypass the lower quality micpreamps of both of these cameras.

http://www.sounddevices.com/tech/pd150.htm http://www.sounddevices.com/tech/mixpre_to-xl1s.htm

Hope this helps

-- (native_22@sbcglobal.net), February 20, 2004.


stop oppressing the need for creative birth. the ear is easy to decieve. if the need for onboard sound is that critical a criterior neither formentioned would ever do..you want to catch an image firstly so this must be your only consideration...as for the xl1s......mate it fuckin rocks the shite out of the sony arse pick of an effort...its like something youd give yer kids to kick around in the kitchen when the dogs just died...put it this way...looking at both... if one was going to be what you were shagging for the next three years, which would you rather go down on...?..well..?...for hands on creativity the Canon is a tool you could do something with... it lets you open it up and aint shy with what it gives out....as for sound...im a fuckin swarmy twat who can hook up a vintage Rhodes mic on a boom through a Joe Meek valve pre amp compressor and am actually at this moment listening to your heart beating as you sit there reading this message..as good as my xl1s is it cant actually see you but it does a grand job of capturing what i see and thats the important thing...is it not?..you with me fella?..if ya wanna chat shit on sound without all the jarg..just chill and it will all come in time...if it dont it looks better as an ornament on the fireplace. later.

-- martain miller (martainmiller@hotmail.com), May 12, 2004.

Well put old boy!

-- Adam Lincoln (adzlincoln@yahoo.com), June 18, 2004.

the xl1s vs the pd150 is like mac vs windows, they are both good tools to work with but the operator who knows how to use his or her gear can make all the difference. as for the idiot martainmiller@hotmail.com who wrote a response 2 sections above mine, you should learn how to write before you give opinions on camera gear....you sound stupid.

-- joe allen rosenberger (cloudsedge@hotmail.com), June 29, 2004.


I usually shoot with a the XL1 and believe the qualities are the same as on the XL1S. My assistant shoots with the PD150. While recording two days ago I used the 150 to record interviews and noticed the audio sounded much cleaner than what I normally get. What I like about the PD is that it has the xlr inputs; the XL does not. I believe the PD allows four channel recording at 32 bit. As opposed to the XL where you can record at only "12 bit ST-1,2" The picture quality seems higher on the PD, especially in low light conditions. I am on line at this moment, considering selling 2 XLs to get a PD 170.

-- Jim (info@4videography.com), September 20, 2004.

I delegiwa keep offfffffffffff danger arounddddddddddddd oyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

-- Don Billy Ocean (Ocean@maga.net), October 30, 2004.

The very first run of DSRPD150 Camcorders had an audio setting based on Consumer levels. This was picked up by SONY very quickly and all subsequent units were modified to operate at Broadcast Spec. Sony provided a full return-to-base repair at that time. Also to clear up any speculation on the DSRPD170. A modification was installed immediately after the first batch exhibited a "background" sound only when no Pro mic was installed, on full open Audio level and whilst the LCD viewer was in operation. This also has been eliminated. Re differences in audio quality this is a mixture of, Mic capability, processing ,recording format and media. However DV will never provide the same Stability or S/N as DVCam or DVCPro.

-- Mike Symes (mike@audiovideo.co.nz), November 09, 2004.

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