Today, I received the Sennheiser EW-100 ENG G2 in the mail, a wireless system for video cameras, complete with all cables and a quality lapel mic as well. Here's what I have found after testing it for a few hours.
Initially, I had major problems. It was easy to set up, except I did have some difficulty attaching the clip to the receiver. I didn't realize right away that here is a little screw that you need to unscrew, before you can get that clip to go on. After that, you just slide it in place on your video camera and tighten the large plastic screw. Well that wasn't that hard, really.
What worried me was that after I took the cable from the receiver's AF out, into my Panasonic HVX200, all I got was a squealing feedback. Seriously bad!
Looking in the manual didn't give me an immediate answer, so I went looking on forums. Someone mentioned checking the output settings for the AF Out. It turns out, that Sennheiser's default setting for the AF out is at +12 DB, which was WAY too hot for my Mic level input on my Panasonic HVX200. I read the manual now, and figured out how to change the AF out to a lower number. In fact, I went all the way down to -30 DB, and of course the feedback squeals stopped. I did a test, and nice! It sounds very good.
I also realized that I have a switch on my camera, where I can go from Line level to Mic level. I will make comparison between these two, and see what will give me the best sound in the end - the Mic Level input with AF out sensitivity low, or Line Level input, with AF out sensitivity set higher.
The mic is good and doesn't give me too much trouble with pops and issues with "T" and "S", like some cheap microphones do.
I can go pretty far away from the camera without losing quality. The system is easy to use and to understand, so I'm feeling very good about this purchase.
If you need a quality wireless system for your video camera, the Sennheiser EW-100 ENG G2 is one of the best options available. I have had VERY bad luck with Samson and Aztek. It was complete waste of money - I wish I had gotten the Sennheiser right away. It would have saved me money (on not having to ship items back) and it gives me so much better sound. The EW 100 G2 system gets a big thumbs up and my personal stamp of approval.
By Robert Renman - www.dolphinstreet.com
» RSS