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Beachtek announces the DXA-5D XLR adapter for the Canon 5D MKII !

If you’ve been following the maturation of the Canon 5D MKII as an HD video capture device, then you’ve probably heard about the camera’s limitations with regards to audio recording.

Yes, the 5D MKII does record audio via an internal microphone but that feature is so basic as to be nearly useless.  There is, thankfully, an “Audio In” jack but the camera’s compact form-factor has necessitated that this input be the tiny and sometimes unreliable 3.5mm mini-jack.  Most professional level audiophiles would much prefer the industry-standard XLR jacks but there just wasn’t enough room for these larger connectors.

Bummer.

Beachtek is one of the most successful manufacturers of XLR adapter for DV cameras and you can rest assured that I immediately tried one of their existing models with my own 5D MKII.  The earlier model I tested was a nicely designed and compact unit but functionally, no dice.  The previous iterations certainly worked to adapt my external mics to the new Canon HDSLR but sound quality suffered due to the camera’s internal (infernal?) Automatic Gain Controls.  To over simplify for a moment, when the AGC is active (which is all the time) moments of relative quiet will inspire the AGC to ramp-up its levels to seek sounds that are not there.  This manifests itself in the form of pre-amp hiss.

Once again, bummer.

The newly announced Beachtek DXA-5D XLR Adapter addresses this short-coming by introducing an in-audible high-frequency tone on one channel; this stabilizes the pre-amps and the result is greatly decreased camera noise.

Cool!

The DXA-5D XLR adapter also features dual transformer-based XLR inputs with phantom power and built-in level meters.  There’s also a built-in headphone jack so one can finally monitor the audio and trim controls permit the user to dial-in proper signal levels.  Extra cool….
This XLR adapter includes a nice LCD display which shows the state of various switches and battery life and also shows audio levels from -54 dBu to -33dBu so verifying proper audio recording levels will be a snap!

Hybrid shooters who own good quality wireless receivers that terminate in the aforementioned 3.5mm mini-jack are also accommodated.  There is also an additional mic level output jack for those who wish to use an external audio recorder when super-quality audio recording is required.  I use the Sony PCMD1 and it’s a peach.  My Sony was a little bit on the spendy side when we acquired it but there are now many interesting options around.  Look at both Sonys and Olympus models as you shop….

I’ve been in conversation with the folks at Beachtek since the inception f this project and eagerly anticipate its delivery.  I hope to have one before the announced May 26th shipping date and will report my findings to you after a bit of real-world experience…

This great news for Fusion shooters and independent filmmakers alike!

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