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Casey Preston

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Everything posted by Casey Preston

  1. That is a nice looking set-up. I am currently working with a mostly LT's, LR's, SRC's, and SSM's. I have sold off my older generation of the Lectrosonics. The great part about the new generation is the IR sync. The SRC's I use in my bag and the LR's I use as hops unless I need a couple extra channels in the bag. The LR's are the most versatile receiver due to the menu system and the IR sync and the size, but they are really designed to be used as a camera feed. I tried using them in a bag for awhile, but it is hard to get to the IR port and menu. That bag set-up is nice but the SRC is a better solution based on my experience, especially when used with the Sound Devices SL-6.
  2. After much searching and trying both beefy babies and c stands, I went with this. It's not light, but the legs are low and wide and I don't feel the need to sandbag it. It is wider than the avenger equivalent. I also really like the wheels for when I need to do a last minute adjustment. https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/862398-REG/Kupo_ks300712_Junior_Roller_Stand_8_8.html
  3. The LT's are much less water resistant than the SMQV. In fact, I've sweat out an LT probably due to the switch on top. They are noticeably larger than the SMQV, but I find them better for quick set-up interviews and for sending hops to camera. I do find myself reaching for SSM's quite a bit more recently due to the fact that they are water resistant and light enough to put anywhere on a person.
  4. I don't work for Lectrosonics, but I can offer my own anecdote. I switched from 411a's to the SRC and got one of the first batch of SRCa's. There was a substantial problem with the first batch and I heard that some were recalled from dealers. They replaced one of the board's. I have since sent in my SRCa for a much needed firmware update and it appears that there has been another change in the board since the board was replaced again. I'm guessing (hoping) that Lectrosonics has all of the bugs worked out now. The previous anecdotes you heard about rf problems may have been people such as myself who had early builds.
  5. I appreciate Larry's insight on the relative water resistance of the different units. Thank you. Based on experience, I can say that the LT's are unlikely to survive any type of water contact as I had one become water damaged while being clipped to the belt of somebody who must have been sweating on it. The top of the LT has a recessed switch and the IR port. I'm guessing that the recessed switch may actually act as a place for sweat to pool and enter the unit if pressed against skin. The LT, however, is good for quick ENG work. It's also currently the best wideband transmitter option for Lectrosonics for a camera hop while using the LR or SRc.
  6. I went from G3's to Lectros last year. It was a nice step up in terms of usability with figuring out sound levels and sound quality. That being said, I have a Lectro SRC and LT set and I'm not real impressed with their build quality. The SRC I had to send in due to a bad component and the LT's are a lot like G3's but with some drawbacks. Battery life is far worse, they are quite a bit heavier and get fairly hot. The range is probably a bit better, though. The battery compartment is a sore spot with weird bumpers that fall out and a door that isn't compatible with some types of batteries. That might have been fixed in newer updates, though. I just had an LT which appears to have fried the internals due to sweat and is going to cost more than a new G3 transmitter/receiver set to repair. I never had a problem with G3's under the same conditions over the years I was using them. Just personal experience and bad luck maybe. I actually like the SSM's more than the LT's, but they have noticeably worse range than the G3's and their own quirks. I haven't tried the Wisycom's.
  7. I sent in my SRc and got it back at the end of last week. I received paperwork today saying "Applied needed ECO updates to correct out of band interference" from Lectrosonics. I tested it out today by comparing it to my 411A's in block 20. I do not have any SRb's so I do not have any comparison of the previous generation to go on. I set up three transmitters all crowded in the front of the block 20 range without interference and then added a transmitter to the bag at the end of the block 20 range to mimic a hop. Unlike before the SRc fix, I never got any extra interference from adding transmitters or turning on the SRc, and the SRc was able to find open channels without a problem. I then did a walk test and the range on my 411a's and the SRc was identical. I couldn't hear any difference in the sound or output from the 411A or the SRc. The 411A's tended to pick up a bit of static or noise right before dropping out whereas the SRc just held on with slight losses in sound quality until dropping out completely. I didn't find any difference in range switching between "div" or "ratio" mode. The smart scan and sync mode is nice if you just need two quick channels and have the newer wideband transmitter. It takes about five button presses and the SRc will find an open channel for the first transmitter, sync over IR, and then repeat for the second transmitter. I believe everything else is the same as the SRb.
  8. Jeff, thank you so much for the info.
  9. Yeah, I don't think my report is necessarily how the src is supposed to function unless people have had similar experiences with the srb. I could have a bad unit or an odd powering issue. My first test for using the SRC as a replacement for two 411a's in my bag. As soon as I turned on the hop, reception to the two transmitters became really bad and I was getting dropouts all of the time and a lot of interference noise. I never had that problem with the two 411a's using the same frequencies and setup.
  10. I don't have any experience with the srb so I don't know how the src compares, but I did just pick up an SRC5p in the A band. I've been using a mixture of LR's in the A band and 411A's in block 20 and they both function pretty much the same in terms of range and sound. For me, the src picks up much more interference than the 411A or the LR. If I have more than two transmitters operating within about four feet of src, the src becomes nearly saturated with RF interference throughout almost all three blocks. Neither the 411A or LR have much of any problems finding clear frequencies in the exact same location and conditions. I've tried changing the powering source, changing the divmode, etc and nothing has improved the signal reception. I have no idea if I have a faulty src or if this is a just a part of the design. I wish I knew since I don't think I can use the src in it's current condition. It definitely isn't able to operate with a transmitter as a camera hop in the same bag.
  11. On my LR receivers, the groups are not preprogrammed. I was hoping it would be more like the older preprogrammed blocks just for ease of use, but maybe Lectrosonics figured most people would like to just like to fine tune to their area. Does it make sense to just manually add in the old a, b, c ,d groups for the blocks, or is their a newer wide range frequency scheme?
  12. The current firmware for the Osmo has apparently fixed most of the sound issues. Audio can now be used for syncing, the fan can be turned off, and internal audio may be useable if you don't mind cheap preamps.
  13. I think the Osmo is a great tool, but I would suggest recording the audio externally and slating both the beginning and the end of the shot to check drift. You can run audio from the recorder into the Osmo, but the Osmo track itself will still not be synced with the video so it isn't of much use. Even with the audio problems, I don't think there is anything that currently competes with the Osmo for ease of use on stabilized tracking shots.
  14. I am an Osmo owner and I have been doing testing for sound sync and quality. The Osmo X3 camera does not hold sync to an external source. It doesn't even hold sync to its internal source and it appears to drop samples as indicated by pops in the audio. It may be a hardware issue or it might be able to be fixed by software. Most people have internal audio about three frames ahead of picture and everything drifts over time. Also, the video autorestarts at the end of the 4GB limit, but there is a gap in coverage. I recently did a shoot with the X5 camera that is compatible with the Osmo and the X5 holds sync for at least 4 minutes based on syncing with the longest clip I recorded. The Osmo is a great tool, but it has serious limitations. Oh, it also has a fan that gives a Red a run for it's money.
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