Record sound directly in UMP G2 or external in Zoom H6?

I doing a low budget documentary and i want to know what is the best option for a interview: to record the wireless microphone directly in Ursa Mini Pro G2 or external in Zoom H6? Was significant quality difference between this 2 methods? I ask because in post-production is more easy to edit the linked image and sound if i record directly to UMP G2. But if is significant quality difference then i will do it with Zoom H6.Worth this effort?

In my opinion Zoom products are the worst. Especially the H series products. If you want better audio quality record into a Sound Devices. The lowest cost option would be a MixPre-3, and the quality will definitely be better than Zoom H6.

If doing interviews for the documentary I’d suggest getting a boom pole and a microphone you can put on the boom pole so that you can mic from over head your subject. This can either help eliminate the need for a lav, or add an extra source while hiding the lav mic better. Hiding the mic always looks more professional.

The nice thing is the MixPre-3 can take up to 3 XLR inputs. I’ve used both the MixPre-3 and MixPre-6 and highly recommend them. They both provide 32-Bit Float Recording functionality in a PolyWav file.

If you can I’d also suggest getting Timecode boxes and attaching Timecode to your camera(s) and sound recorder. This makes syncing in post a breeze. The Zoom H6 doesn’t accept Timecode input. The Sound Devices do accept Timecode.

Otherwise, I do record straight into the UMPG2 a lot for interviews. It works easily and well. And, the quality is more than fine and acceptable. The main benefit for not recording straight into camera is freeing up the camera from audio. But for sit down interviews doing boom mic straight into camera has worked extremely well for me in the past.

Preferably you’d record audio externally. And, if you do then use a great external recorder like one from Sound Devices. However, if you need to then recording into the camera’s XLR inputs works perfectly well.


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What wireless mic are you using? I’ve used the Sennheiser AVX MKE with the receiver plugged into the XLR on the UN4.6K successfully. As Tim suggested it may actually be better to use a MixPre-6 II or MixPre-3 II as the circuits are higher quality than usually found on cameras. The MixPre-6 II has 4 XLR inputs which I use on most projects; so sometimes I’ve wished I had a couple of more XLR inputs like the MixPre-10! Then I could use more of my additional Sennheiser mics.

If you are considering Sennheiser AVX do not buy the intro level, I think it’s called ME, the better level MKE is much better audio.

I’m not a big fan of putting mics on a person. There’s the strong possibility of noise with movement of your subject and the mic and transmitter may make the subject feel awkward. A boom is a good suggestion, especially if you have a boom operator if the subject will move about.

However for interviews or more intimate narrative work you can even place a quality wireless mic like the AVX MKE close to the subject but conceal the mic by a small flower vase or anything that hides the mic from your camera’s angle. I’ve found the concealed wireless mic very effective as the mic can have a close and unobstructed line-of-sight to the subject, but the mic will never be in your frame. The AVX frees a sole operator from monitoring levels as the system adjusts levels up or down automatically responding to changes in the strength of the sound.

The Zoom H Series is terrible.

I repeat: is a low budget documentary. The interview is shooting by me and a cameraman without a sound specialist in the crew. My technical equipment is : 1 x Ursa Mini Pro G2, 1 x Sennheiser EW 112P G4-B kit, 1 x SENNHEISER MKH-416, 1x MBP105K Boom poole, 1 x SENNHEISER MKE 400, 1 x Zoom H6 external recorder. I dont have extra budget for rental or to pay a sound specialist. What is the best option in this condition?

I mean, I’ve operated the camera and the MixPre-6 simultaneously for an interview. It’s not that hard and you don’t need a sound person. And, since it’s 32-Bit Float you don’t need to ride audio gain for fear of clipping.

Here I had both the Sennheiser 416 and Sennheiser G4 Wireless Lav going into the Mix-Pre. And, putting the boom on a C-Stand is super easy as well.

Overall, it’s very possible to do this low budget.


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I repeat: is a low budget documentary... What is the best option in this condition?

You want a recording device that doesn’t require an operator.

Find away to rent or purchase the MixPre-3 II and leave the H6 behind.

The Wingman app for Sound Devices can start and stop your recording and monitor your audio levels whenever you want to glance at it.

If not possible, drop the H6 and go with two XLR mics and plug them into your camera forgetting about the advantages of external recordings including Timecode.

You are better off recording directly to camera. I would rent a recorder off of Share Grid.

Drop the H6… use a shotgun mic and position it as a boom overhead of the person being interviewed, another in front of and run those to your camera via XLR. Alternatively, run the mics through a 2 channel mixer which are fairly cheap and run a line-in from the mixer to the camera. This latter will allow you to mix and monitor via a headphone from the mixer. This is a poor man’s setup but works very well if you already have the XLR mics. A cheap mixer like the one in the link is sufficient and cheap if you want to use 2 mics with a mixer. Also, one mic directly connected to the camera works too. But I would again do the boom setup.
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/ ... rface.html

Here a sample pic of how the mixer can be used…. One mic on an overhead boom pole and another on a mic stand in front of the person being interviewed. Lav mics work too if you fancy that. There are many low budget options. . Of course, the pre-mix is the way to go if you have the funds as Tim, Rick, and others already suggested.

IMG_1155.jpeg (111.78 KiB) Viewed 2863 times

EDIT: There are many other affordable mixers. I just want to share one mixer (not the mic) but it’s up to you to choose what’s right and affordable if you go that route.

I dunno. Of course I’d prefer any sound devices over a zoom but I don’t think they’re as god awful as everyone here is saying.

For sound quality I’d far prefer a zoom with a good boom op to a sound devices with a poor boom op. I think it’s way more in the usage of the gear than the gear itself. With an exception for really poor mics - and the 416 is a fine mic.

For sound quality I’d far prefer a zoom with a good boom op to a sound devices with a poor boom op. I think it’s way more in the usage of the gear than the gear itself. With an exception for really poor mics - and the 416 is a fine mic.

Totally agree.

I dunno. Of course I’d prefer any sound devices over a zoom but I don’t think they’re as god awful as everyone here is saying.

For sound quality I’d far prefer a zoom with a good boom op to a sound devices with a poor boom op. I think it’s way more in the usage of the gear than the gear itself. With an exception for really poor mics - and the 416 is a fine mic.

True. A brilliant operator can make the world’s difference despite the gear. However, for a sit down interview where you can strategically place the boom mic just out of frame overhead the subject it makes a difference what gear you use.

The MKH 416 is a beast. I’ve used it for years and love it. The quality from that microphone alone makes a difference. Such that the original question of straight into camera or Zoom H6; I’d choose straight into camera.

I’d choose straight into camera any day over any Zoom H series recorder. That’s how much I detest those recorders.


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I have tested today Sennheiser EW 112P G4-B kit directly to the UMP G2 and i have a big surprise. When i recorder from USB-C to Samsung T5 camera record a noise like a heart beat fast. When i record to Lexar CFast and don`t use SSD then camera don`t record this noise. With Zoom H6 i don`t have this problem. How i can record with SSD without this issues?

I never use SSDs with my cameras. I record with CFast 2.0 always. I have two 1TB CFast 2.0 Cards from Angelbird. Usually I’ll have one in the UMP and one in the P6KPro. Then if I need to go to more media I have four 256GB ProGrade Cards. I basically do two per camera so each camera has 1.5TB of recording capacity. I don’t shoot more than that in a day. And, if I hit the ProGrsde cards then I know we need to slow down and be more conservative in how we are shooting.

It does depend on the compression ratio you choose. But usually I don’t have any challenges with using more CFast cards for the P6KPro than the UMPG2 because the 4.6K BRAW tends to be smaller size than the 6K BRAW. And, I usually regulate the 6K to the B-CAM.


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I dunno. Of course I’d prefer any sound devices over a zoom but I don’t think they’re as god awful as everyone here is saying.

For sound quality I’d far prefer a zoom with a good boom op to a sound devices with a poor boom op. I think it’s way more in the usage of the gear than the gear itself. With an exception for really poor mics - and the 416 is a fine mic.

The on camera pre-amp is better than a Zoom H Series recorder.

The on camera pre-amp is better than a Zoom H Series recorder.

You very well may be right. I haven’t done the research or tests to know. But I must admit I’d be more nervous to record directly into the camera than into a zoom. The Zoom’s only purpose is recording audio. I’m pretty sure it’ll manage to do so. The camera’s audio feels much more likely to be an afterthought.

People here are already telling stories about how they got funny artifacts in their audio apparently from using an SSD. Makes me much less confident in trusting the audio to the camera even if the preamps are better.

The very discernible noise people talk about blows any preamp advantage out of the water.

I agree with the other posters regarding the quality of recordings using the Zoom H series preamps. Sound Devices recorders are preferred, and are more forgiving when pushed too hard. One clue as to the Zoom’s quality is the fact that they are advertised as having greater recording times using alkaline batteries. This means that since less amperage is used there is less headroom left to handle the demands of a clipping signal if you don't ride the gain, and a harsh sound is the result. Power hungry, inefficient Class A preamps sound better.

I suspect that you will use your H6 anyway. There are a lot of them out there and they have a following.

I ran into a situation where a student was asleep at the wheel while using a old 2015 Zoom H4n recorder and ruined a take with a Shure cardioid mic by over recording. The take sounded harsh and unusable, but fortunately I recorded the same speaker using an omnidirectional Crown Sound Grabber II mic placed on a table using it as a sounding board to a Tascam DR-60D Mk. II recorder. The Sound Grabber II is a cheap, Pressure Zone Mic (PZM), boundary layer device that records excited air particles within an air gap with a piezo sensor. These mics are known for being almost impossible to clip since there is no moving coil to extend too far, and are well suited to recording crisp dialogue. They also cancel out room reflections by 6dB for a very dry articulate signal. I was able to substitute the harshest peaks of the Zoom with the Sound Grabber II in post, which saved the take. Adding one of these mics to your kit is cheap insurance if you either place it on a table, or hard floor with nothing in the way of the radiated sound. They have deep bass response when placed on a large vibrating surface. They are very sensitive, with a ruler flat pickup pattern and they don't need to be close.

The Sound Grabber II is an unbalanced mono mic with a AA battery powered preamp and a 3.5mm plug. Make sure that you do not plug it into a stereo 3.5mm jack to avoid damage by shorting out a signal to ground.

This is what it sounds like:

TrolleyproblemVimeo10804min.mp4

Here's an example for you with the Sennheiser MKH 416 boomed over subject with the XLR going straight into the URSA Mini Pro G2. Pocket 6K Pro was synced via timecode and I used the same audio from the UMPG2 for any switches to that camera.

This should give you an idea of the quality of the audio when doing this. Now, I know there is music underneath this finished video. But you can still hear the voice with clarity. Such that you can judge the quality of the recording by going direct into camera.
This is a method of recording I do often and have plenty of clients happy with the audio quality. Now, when I can I do use a Sound Devices Mix-Pre because obviously the quality will be better. And, when the budget allows we have a dedicated sound person.
I wish I could provide some other examples I've done for clients but some of it is unable to be shared at this time. The BTS photo I provided above is from a documentary that I cannot share with anyone yet as they are still in production. And, I have other corporate videos I cannot share examples from either. But I could share this other older video where I did the interviews on the UMPG2 with the 416 going direct into camera:
https://vimeo.com/767116139/954d7b156e
Again, it's a finished video and there is music under the voices. Yet, you can still get an idea of the quality of the audio from the recording straight into camera.

I use the Sennheiser 416 MKH U48 on almost all my shoots, usually recording directly to the UM4.6K while the camera records video to CFast2 cards.

Although I use other mics recording to the MixPre-6 II, the 416 is included in my final mix in post as it has its own strengths and it’s there as insurance in case of a catastrophe on the MixPre (never has happened).

How i can use my MBP105K boom pole + Sennheiser 416 with a light stand? I don`t have budget to pay a boom pole man. My boom pole have 4 cm diameter.

How i can use my MBP105K boom pole + Sennheiser 416 with a light stand? I don`t have budget to pay a boom pole man. My boom pole have 4 cm diameter.

Get an Auray Boom Pole Holder: https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/ ... _POLE.html
It's a simple $25 accessory that I use all the time for interviews.

Help me! I listent all my test and UMP G2 record sound with wireless mic Sennheiser EW 112P G4-B kit with issue like a heart beat SSD and Cfast both one. Zoom H6 dont make this issue, What is wrong setting in camera? Record chanel 1 source is set: XLR 1 -Mic and Record chanel 2 source is set:none

Could there be other sources of noise being picked up, like a refrigerator running in the next room?

Help me! I listent all my test and UMP G2 record sound with wireless mic Sennheiser EW 112P G4-B kit with issue like a heart beat SSD and Cfast both one. Zoom H6 dont make this issue, What is wrong setting in camera? Record chanel 1 source is set: XLR 1 -Mic and Record chanel 2 source is set:none

Maybe provide an example video. That is something that we could use to help diagnose the problem.

I'll run a quick test with my Sennheiser G4. I have Sennheiser EW 112P G4 Camera-Mount Wireless Omni Lavalier Microphone System (A: 516 to 558 MHz). I'll run a test with an SSD attached. Generally I record straight to CFast, but for you I'll run a test. Overall, I've not had any issues running both the 416 and 112P G4 into the camera simultaneously.

Make sure you don't have Phantom Powered running on the XLR you have your 112P G4. Just in case that is the culprit.

Help me! I listent all my test and UMP G2 record sound with wireless mic Sennheiser EW 112P G4-B kit with issue like a heart beat SSD and Cfast both one. Zoom H6 dont make this issue, What is wrong setting in camera? Record chanel 1 source is set: XLR 1 -Mic and Record chanel 2 source is set:none

Maybe provide an example video. That is something that we could use to help diagnose the problem.

I'll run a quick test with my Sennheiser G4. I have Sennheiser EW 112P G4 Camera-Mount Wireless Omni Lavalier Microphone System (A: 516 to 558 MHz). I'll run a test with an SSD attached. Generally I record straight to CFast, but for you I'll run a test. Overall, I've not had any issues running both the 416 and 112P G4 into the camera simultaneously.

Make sure you don't have Phantom Powered running on the XLR you have your 112P G4. Just in case that is the culprit.

Follow up. I plugged both my 416 and 112P G4 into UMPG2 and had no issues. Then I plugged in the G-Drive 2TB SSD I have and still had no issues. This is consistent with all other instances in past I've recorded audio direct into camera. Now all past instances I've gone straight to CFast, but again no issues. And, doing my quick test with the SSD resulted in the same quality.

I tried to put here a demo with this issue. https://we.tl/t-heOEAinvfx

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202412 ... f36af5.jpg
Tim what is this app?

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20241209/77903b213e50d8139496a7977df36af5.jpg
Tim what is this app?

CameraKit: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/camerakit ... d890528993

I tried to put here a demo with this issue. https://we.tl/t-heOEAinvfx

Never heard that before. I can't diagnose it. But I also can't replicate it.

I tested again. If i connect directly in UMP G2 wireless mic Sennheiser EW 112P G4-B and just listen in the headphone and don`t record i don`t hear this "heart beat" issue. Just if i start to record the i can her this strange sound error. Can anybody tell me what is the usual Ursa Mini Pro G2 audio settings for wireless mic?