Fri May 26, 2017 2:24 am
When I first starting having to deal with the Blackmagic headsets, I did a bunch of looking and researching and here is what I found.
The headsets that Blackmagic want you to use are most common to fixed wing aviation-style headsets.
They consist of 2 plugs:
PJ-055 (.25 inch / 6.35mm) - this is a standard 1/4" connector that we all have seen in regular audio gear. It is used for the headphones.
PJ-068 (.206 inch / 5.25mm) - this is the "weird" one to us video people! It is used for the microphone.
Now, in aviation terms they call a 5-pin XLR cable an "Airbus" cable. You can buy a PJs-to-Airbus adapter if you want to use a standard 5-pin XLR headset, but I've not personally tried this so I can't say if any adjustments have to be made to improve volume or clarity, or if the thing would even properly work.
I tried a few types of headsets and, without a doubt, my favorite is the Rugged Radios RA200. They are about $100. Great sound, mic works well, and it has a headphone volume control on the outside of the ear on the headset, like you might see on a set of David Clarks. They have worked great for us - we use them on a couple of Talkback/Studio converters and on our BMD Studio Cameras. (Oddly, I'm using camera converters at every other control room position and for our floor director, strictly for headsets and for carrying program or multi-view to each person - with those I've had good luck with the Yamaha CM500 headsets, though I'm starting to buy some of the Camplex Blackjack PTT adapters so that we can use some of our old collection of regular headsets with the Cam Converters). Maybe someday Blackmagic will realize that productions sometimes have more than just a director and camera operators and create some kind of talkback interface box for the other people on a production!
Of course, the only issue with the RA200 is that is double-muff. I've yet to find a good choice of aviation headset that is single-muff, since I imagine that helicopter and airplane pilots might go deaf if they were only covering one ear!
Public Access Director, Peters Twp Comm TV
Freelance TV Broadcast Camera Op (sometimes Dir, TD, EIC, Video)
ATEM M/E 1, 2 & TVS, Studio & Broadcast Cam, Smartscope/view, Cam Conv, Studio Conv, Talkback Conv, Hyperdecks, Videohub 40x40 & MC