BMPCC external mic and pre amp ideas?

anyone with external mic and pre amp recommendations for the original Pocket camera (BMPCC)?

I have the Takstar in mind after watching reviews on the Takstar vs Rodeo.
but need a pre amp to plug into, then plug pre amp into BMPCC mic jack?

I would strongly urge you to watch this video review by Curtis Judd to ensure you understand the limitations of this (or any other) mic when mounted on the camera:

I'm not sure this mic actually needs a preamp because it takes a AA battery. To me that suggests it provides its own power and should send a pretty strong signal to your BMPCC's mini-jack input, especially if you use the 20db boost feature. You can first try setting the BMPCC's input to "line" instead of mic; if you're not getting strong enough signal change it to mic and boost the level as much as you can without clipping. The original BMPCC's internal preamp is awful, so bypassing it (by setting to line level) is a good idea. If you have a strong signal coming in, you can minimize noise even if you have the input set to "microphone."

I normally use dual system audio (recording on a separate recorder with a mic on a boom or stand) but for true "run and gun" situations I have a binaural mic from Soundman in Germany that actually does a pretty good job -- I don't even need to use their supplied preamp, but plug it into the BMPCC and set the input to Mic level (not line) and am getting reasonably good levels with little noise. At line level I can't get levels above -30dbfs even with the supplied preamp, and the resulting recordings are very noisy.

I would strongly urge you to watch this video review by Curtis Judd to ensure you understand the limitations of this (or any other) mic when mounted on the camera:

I'm not sure this mic actually needs a preamp because it takes a AA battery. To me that suggests it provides its own power and should send a pretty strong signal to your BMPCC's mini-jack input, especially if you use the 20db boost feature. You can first try setting the BMPCC's input to "line" instead of mic; if you're not getting strong enough signal change it to mic and boost the level as much as you can without clipping. The original BMPCC's internal preamp is awful, so bypassing it (by setting to line level) is a good idea. If you have a strong signal coming in, you can minimize noise even if you have the input set to "microphone."

I normally use dual system audio (recording on a separate recorder with a mic on a boom or stand) but for true "run and gun" situations I have a binaural mic from Soundman in Germany that actually does a pretty good job -- I don't even need to use their supplied preamp, but plug it into the BMPCC and set the input to Mic level (not line) and am getting reasonably good levels with little noise. At line level I can't get levels above -30dbfs even with the supplied preamp, and the resulting recordings are very noisy.

Thanks for this info, then i dont need a pre amp, since the takstar runs by batteries, i guess the purpose of a pre amp is to supply the power to the mic?

I would strongly urge you to watch this video review by Curtis Judd to ensure you understand the limitations of this (or any other) mic when mounted on the camera:

I'm not sure this mic actually needs a preamp because it takes a AA battery. To me that suggests it provides its own power and should send a pretty strong signal to your BMPCC's mini-jack input, especially if you use the 20db boost feature. You can first try setting the BMPCC's input to "line" instead of mic; if you're not getting strong enough signal change it to mic and boost the level as much as you can without clipping. The original BMPCC's internal preamp is awful, so bypassing it (by setting to line level) is a good idea. If you have a strong signal coming in, you can minimize noise even if you have the input set to "microphone."

I normally use dual system audio (recording on a separate recorder with a mic on a boom or stand) but for true "run and gun" situations I have a binaural mic from Soundman in Germany that actually does a pretty good job -- I don't even need to use their supplied preamp, but plug it into the BMPCC and set the input to Mic level (not line) and am getting reasonably good levels with little noise. At line level I can't get levels above -30dbfs even with the supplied preamp, and the resulting recordings are very noisy.

Thanks for this info, then i dont need a pre amp, since the takstar runs by batteries, i guess the purpose of a pre amp is to supply the power to the mic?

understnding the video... i have the option of plugging directly in the camera, and also on a boom with it plugged into a zoom h1...

Im wondering if the rodeo would have a better sound at a distance...

understnding the video... i have the option of plugging directly in the camera, and also on a boom with it plugged into a zoom h1...

Im wondering if the rodeo would have a better sound at a distance...

The Rode mic might be a little better at a distance, but no mic can perform miracles...it's just the laws of physics. If you want good sound you have to get the microphone close to the source, either by using a lavaliere mic attached to the person you're interviewing or else using a mic on a boom (not easy if you're a one-person crew; most people hire boom operators to do location sound). And as Curtis explained in the video, if you get close enough to get good signal on a camera-mounted mic, you're likely to get lens distortion.

Shotgun mics look sort of like telephoto lenses so people get the impression that they funnel sound into the capsule and "magnify" it somehow, but that's not what's going on. That long tube is for reducing sound from the sides, which makes the mic more directional -- it's good for shooting outdoors where there are lots of distracting ambient sounds from the sides. A shotgun doesn't work as well indoors as it's affected by reflections from walls and ceilings.

for certain projects, I use my trusty Sennheiser but for other, I have cheap neewer boom mic with xlr connection. It sounds great. check it out in Amazon

Ricardo Marty

*Rode mic*
I wrote "Rodeo"...that shows how much i really need to learn still, lol

for certain projects, I use my trusty Sennheiser but for other, I have cheap neewer boom mic with xlr connection. It sounds great. check it out in Amazon

Ricardo Marty

just ordered the Takstar, but heck, the Neewer boom mic looks reasonably priced as well, i may as well buy that one also and i guess use the Takstar outdoors within 6ft and the boom Mic at a distance... or buy the zoom h1 and a boom pole and just use that instead of the Neewer boom?? decisions decisions...

The Zoom h1 doesn't have XLR inputs, so that may affect your choices.

Honestly the h1 is not a very good recorder. Curtis Judd, whose video I linked to above, has a good rundown of audio recorders for video projects here: https://www.learnlightandsound.com/blog ... o-projects

When making these choices, much depends on your aspirations and intentions for your video work, whether you're doing it as a hobby or have paying clients, etc., and whether you'll be working on your own or will have a helper.

The Zoom h1 doesn't have XLR inputs, so that may affect your choices.

Honestly the h1 is not a very good recorder. Curtis Judd, whose video I linked to above, has a good rundown of audio recorders for video projects here: https://www.learnlightandsound.com/blog ... o-projects

When making these choices, much depends on your aspirations and intentions for your video work, whether you're doing it as a hobby or have paying clients, etc., and whether you'll be working on your own or will have a helper.

after watching videos, the takstar sounds a little high pitched with certain voice frequencies, any way to adjust tone to achieve better quality, or maybe muffle with a thicker mic covering?

after watching videos, the takstar sounds a little high pitched with certain voice frequencies, any way to adjust tone to achieve better quality, or maybe muffle with a thicker mic covering?

They probably added a high-frequency bump to improve intelligibility in dialog and interviews, since that's the most common use for a shotgun mic. You can probably fix some of that in EQ. Definitely don't muffle it! You want to capture everything you can and then you can use EQ afterward to shape the sound to your liking.

after watching videos, the takstar sounds a little high pitched with certain voice frequencies, any way to adjust tone to achieve better quality, or maybe muffle with a thicker mic covering?

They probably added a high-frequency bump to improve intelligibility in dialog and interviews, since that's the most common use for a shotgun mic. You can probably fix some of that in EQ. Definitely don't muffle it! You want to capture everything you can and then you can use EQ afterward to shape the sound to your liking.

thanks