Model: DXASLR

Firmware Update 2.0.3 for Canon 5D Mark II
 
To all Canon 5D Mark II Owners,

Here is a summary report on my audio tests of the 2.0.3 firmware upgrade which was released March 16th.
To recap Canon has now added the following audio features:

1) Ability to disable the audio gain control (AGC)
2) Manual adjustment of gain via the Quick Control Wheel over a 64 step range
3) On camera audio bar graph to show the levels
4) Sampling rate bumped up to 48 kHz from 44.1 kHz

While we are happy with these new features, we were disappointed to see that the level meters and adjustments are not active during recording. They have to be preselected on the Live View menu prior to turning on Live View.However, having the ability to set the gain manually is certainly a welcome feature.

Getting the Best Audio Performance - Update

The most common question will be "How do I set the controls on the camera and adapter to give me the best audio?" Because the biggest problem with these DLSR cameras are the poor quality preamplifiers they have, we need to
address this issue to reduce the amount of hiss they produce. It is quite simple - the higher the gain, the higher the hiss. Therefore, you want to disable the AGC in the camera and set the gain via the Quick Control Wheel to less than 50% of the maximum for the best signal to noise ratio. After testing we found that a setting of about 25% was the ideal for the cleanest audio and the least amount of hiss. This also calibrated the camera meters with the level indicators on the adapter. Since the meters are not visible on the camera during recording, you can rely on the level indicators on the
DXA-5Da or DXA-SLR adapter. Simply use the controls on the adapter to set the proper recording level.

You will need a relatively hot signal to feed into the camera to take advantage of the low gain setting. If you are using the passive DXA-5Da you should be using wireless mics or sensitive condenser microphones that do not
require any additional amplification. For most other microphones, our DXA-SLR will be ideal as it has built-in low noise preamplifiers to replace the noisy gain in the camera.

As I mentioned previously, it may sound counterproductive, but for some circumstances it may still make sense to use the AGC of the camera and activate the AGC Disable feature on the adapter to get the best of both worlds. This way you can take advantage of the AGC to reduce the possibility of clipping and distortion while the AGC Disable feature avoids the hiss that normally occurs during quiet moments of recording - ideal for run and gun style shooting.

Regards,
Product Support
BeachTek Inc.