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IANAVideoPro, but my approach would be to use a completely independent sound recording setup, using the camera's built-in audio channels as guide tracks to sync up each mic. You don't want to commit to any mix up front in case one of your mics picks up some electronic interference or wanders into some turbulent air, or hits some scenery.
tl;dr: use more kit so you can #FixItInPost
Emyr-
Cheers. That would be my approach too but we've not had much luck with the Zoom. Also a bit hobbled by having to stream things live. And also another bit of faff is that we need to edit the content afterwards with an extremely fast turnaround so the ideal is the camera recording one file.
There are up to 4 x wireless mics, each one is hot for 6 hours, currently we're unplugging and plugging in the receivers to the relevant XLR slots on an FS5 and then feeding it out a mono mix via SDI to a BlackMagic web presenter which feeds via USB the audio/video to the streaming software.
It's not pretty but it works so long as the speakers remember to give us a bit of notice when they come on stage (usually 2 at a time) so we can share the mics with as many as 12 speakers over the course of the event. We have had some interference with phones etc but only a second here or there. The content isn't critical, just a reference for people who can't attend live. The client has even explicitly said "don't worry about interference, we're not prepared to pay more for more kit". However new tax year and all that and I may be interested in investing if it'll make lives easier and can be used for other projects.
I did like the idea of a Zoom/similar taking in the mics and then running that feed to the camera but we've tried and just can't get a decent enough signal - could rent in a different device to see if it's a device issue/try new cables etc as logic suggests that should work.
That's why I like the FS7 and the K1M solution as it will give us 4 xlr inputs and 4 manual knobs for level control etc. 1 cam tracking speaker, 1 wide safety and run them both through pluraleyes to sync it and we'd get down to 1 crew member from the current 2 which would pay for itself pretty soon : /
CYOA
Is there another camera apart from a Sony FS7 that can capture 4 channels of audio natively?
I know there are only 2 inputs on the FS7 but with the K1M/K2M module you can run an additional 2 feeds in and their codec has 4 channels that can be recorded to.
I know the FS5 also has 4 channels but only 2 are recordable for some inexplicable (presumably intentional hobbling) reason.
So are there any other cameras with native 4 x channel?
I could run a field recorder with 4+ chans into the camera as a mixed mono but I've tried with a Zoom H6 plugged via line-out into the FS5 and not had any luck (levels were way too low and noisy, despite lots of tinkering with the Zoom and the Sony).
Does anyone know if .R3D files allow for 4 chan audio? My understanding is they do as most of the cameras have 2 x built in reference mics and then with the REDVOLT expander you can plug in two externals. Is there a way to switch off the two in-built ref mics and somehow (with adapators) plug in 4 x external mics? Say for example on a RED Raven?
Come on bike forum, don't let me down.