Derek H

Nice detective work! Maybe those are actually inductors not resistors?

That would be smart. Or just out a panel mount Lemo on the edge of the disc. Pretty irritating when the cable gets damaged and the entire mic has to be serviced for 100s of dollars because of a tear in the cable jacket or something.

As misguided as this is in some ways I’d argue it’s a better solution than just accepting defeat and letting people default to watching shows with subtitles on. You can’t fault Amazon for trying to do something about this problem. The Audio blame game around this issue is ridiculous and if no one is willing to just ask for more intelligible dialog out of the source and prioritize better, quieter, sets and favorable camera blocking well then… Looking forward to the day when an impatient AD tells me “don’t worry about it the AI will fix it!”

I don’t buy anything used unless it’s at least 20% less than brand new. Even if it’s mint never used. Any more than that and I’d rather buy new, have a return policy, warranty and not take the risk. If stuff is really rough looking but functional I’ll offer 50% or less.

I would not recommend putting a Comtek receiver on camera as a reference track feed. They’re too susceptible to interference, especially the kind of intense RF noise that a camera is going to put out at such close proximity. Especially a camera that has a lot of accessories hooked up like a wireless transmitter, outboard monitor, follow focus, etc. Maybe if you’re using a base station to overpower that but the M216 doesn’t have a lot of transmit power to punch through in this situation. You could certainly try it and see how it goes but I suspect there would be some amount of unwanted static noise going to the camera. Maybe that’s ok for your purpose or maybe it will cause you to receive an annoying email from post.

Wow, thanks Roland. Love your blog btw.

Yeah I’ve used the Cosi a bunch and I just don’t agree. It’s great to a point and then a full size windshield, Rycote or a piano is needed if it’s really windy.

Well that all sucks. Isn’t Vitec the same conglomerate that bought petrol bags? I’m mainly thinking of a new blimp for a MKH50 or similar sized mic. Mini CMIT perhaps. The Cosi is great for light wind days but there’sa lot of gray area of when exactly it starts getting too windy. I’m slightly confused as to what Rycote considers is it’s top of the line windshield these days. Is it the cyclone? Or this nanoshield or is the old Modular still the gold standard? Maybe they don’t know either?

I like the minimalist lightweight look of the Rycote nanoshields but how are they comparing in the field? I read that early models had a handling noise issue that was possibly sorted out by new fabric? NAB 2023 seems to be showing them with the new fabric as standard. Or maybe that’s another new fabric? The Cinela piano works great but is heavy ands bit over-engineered if you ask me. The original Rycote Modular system still seems to work great… the cyclone looks ridiculous and heavy to me but I haven’t tried it so who knows. So where does this Nanoshield fit in? Does it offer the same amount of wind protection as the traditional modular system? Thanks to anyone with some real time using these who would like to share.

Does it transmit and record simultaneously?

I fly with a large Versaflex light stand padded soft bag checked which carries a normal sized (12’ ktek) boom pole and a full size C-stand with turtle base. I manage to cram all sorts of stuff in there as well. Cables, backup gear, small hard cases with IFBs or whatever non essential stuff I have to bring. I carry on a 1510 and my mixer bag that has all the essentials to go to work if the luggage is lost.

That thing is a chunk fest!!

I’d rather they just make a plug on

Please do!

Inviting anyone who has shoot experience with the new A20 Nexus system to share their thoughts here. I’ve read the material, watched the videos but I know I have questions that only time can tell things like… - Stability… does it ever crash? - Bugs? - A20 battery life? Is it practical to get 5-6hrs from these if you’re actively managing them? - Nexlink Interference to other film gear? - Transmitter durability -Range! Sound mixers only please! Thanks!

Shane, thanks for posting this. How is it just using whips mounted on the front panel? Comparable to what we’re used to from the usual bag type receivers on whips?

The 633 is the perfect small ENG mixer-recorder. I think it was a mistake on their part to discontinue it. I think it would have been smart to keep the 633 in production and then pare the 8-series down to just the 888 and the Scorpio. 633 is the right price point for that work.

Maybe snap up a used 664 or 688 (or two) for cheap, send it to SD for refurbishment and that would provide you with reliable, non-fiddly ENG bliss for years to come.

Holy crap Comtek made something new?

I agree it’s confusing to say you can record above full scale but that seems to describe what it does.

Thanks Johnny, it’s all good. I’m definitely as guilty of snarky posts as anyone. For me I’ve spent the last couple years ignoring 32 bit float thinking it’s the same as 24 but with additional (mostly unneeded, dynamic range) but when I realized that it’s really very different from the standard fixed point method we’ve all been using and seeing it used in the new A20 wireless has peaked my interest in it. That and finding out you can record above 0dBFS and still recover it in post. I have no interest in enabling amateurs only in having better tools and methods for professional use. Side question… anyone know what is the technical reason DAWs and NLEs have trim gain limitations? Just coded that way out of habit or is there an actual reason they can’t boost more than 10, 18, or 30dB?

OK. Honestly, it does seem like that’s what I’m trying to record some days. I’ll bow out of this discussion for now. Maybe I’ll check back in 5 years and see what we’re all recording on at that point.

Maybe some prerequisite reading would be good at this point. I just learned a lot. In particular, that 32 bit float can record 770dB above 0dBFS. https://www.sounddevices.com/32-bit-float-files-explained/ And a very clear video demonstration. https://www.sounddevices.com/the-32-bit-workflow/

Well I think it’s a good question and worth revisiting. Definitely more products are coming to the market that are touting 32bit float as a feature. Zoom has a few items on the low end and then you also have Sound Devices getting into it with the mix pres and more interestingly with the A20 wireless. So Sound Devices now has a wireless transmitter that needs no gain adjustment on the pack which blows my mind and supposedly this works because of 32 bit… so if that all works as advertised I’d definitely conclude that 32 bit systems are very useful. I’m not sure mixers, recorders and the rest of the workflow is setup to take advantage of it yet. I’d love to be able to turn in lower level ISOs without complaints from post. I think Zaxcom has done an admirable job tackling the frustrations involved with trying to record actors who whisper out one line and then blast the next one. The neverclip system works well with a strategy of giving you a LOT of headroom and then lets you manage both the iso track level and mix track level with various tools like adjustable compressors and variable iso attenuation. A goal for me is to never have to have mixes where I have one hand on a fader and one on a trim pot in order to control a really dynamic scene. Maybe 32 bit can help us get there?

I would argue that having wireless sync timecode gear is NOT a must. Personally, I prefer having TC gear that is simple and not over engineered. We have enough menus to dive through with our wireless and recorders I’d rather not have needy TC gear too. Best TC box, in my opinion, is the old Ambient boxes with no screen. Close second is the Denecke SB-3 black boxes. I don’t like the new small Denecke boxes with screens, the joystick control is really annoying. Also hated the ultra sync ones. The old school boxes are great, totally durable, hold timecode all day and there’s nothing for camera department to mess up with all the switches hidden. Buy a slate. Get a Denecke. I like the big ones but TS-C is fine too. When it breaks (likely only after years of abuse) Denecke will repair it for like $50 and turn it around in no time. They’re a great company and deserve the support. If you need a tiny timecode box for riding on camera I’d probably get the original tentacles. I also don’t believe in spending hundreds of dollars on every imaginable cable to accommodate every single possible new camera. It’s a losing battle and should be the responsibility of the camera owner/operator/rental house and AC. I provide BNC or 5 pin Lemo. If I owned tentacles I would have 3.5 to BNC and Lemo. My experience on narrative work is that the ACs take whatever box you give them, jam the cameras whenever they deem necessary and leave the box on their carts the rest of the day so there’s no real need for small and light. On small jobs with more owner/operator type DPs I’ve noticed a trend that they come with their own tiny TC box that they’re in love with. Sorry this turned into a rant! You should buy whatever makes you happy and your life easier but I’m in the camp of after I jam the things in the morning I don’t want to think about it the rest of the day. Have fun building your kit! Exciting times!