Toy day!
I just ordered a Manfrotto 561BHDV-1 monopod and a LCDVF for my 7D. I'm starting to get into video more now and I'm moving from my Canon Vixia HF10 camcorder to my DSLR and needed the foundation to better shots/focus.
I'm still stuck on what I'm going to do for audio. The 7D has a hardlocked AGC (auto gain control) in the firmware and there is no way to get rid of it. The 5DMII has Magic Lantern but not the 7D
AGC blows ass and fucks with on camera sound so my 2 options are...
1. Buy a hacked cable online, use an MP3 player to tunnel high pitch audio on one channel to confused and disable AGC or
2. Double system sound, externally recorded via a Zoom H1 or H4N or something then sync in post. This is the better quality option sure, just not sure the best device to get.
I want something I can mount on camera like a Rode mic, but the Rode -> 7D causes AGC, and doing Rode -> H4N -> 7D would be expensive. I was looking at just getting a Zoom H1 but I want to mount something to my hotshoe and I think a stereo XY H1 isn't what I want. A shotgun style mic is more what I'm looking for.
Any ideas from videographers on GAF?
I'm using this exact same setup. First thing you will want to do is spray some WD40 on the metal ball at the bottom of the monopod to loosen it up. The ball sticks a bit if you don't (at least mine did, and I've read of others doing the same). After I used some WD40, it moves perfectly. That monopod is really, really awesome.
As for your audio situation, it's tough. I do some weddings, and I do them primarily by myself. I have an H4n and I've synced it in post. I've also got a really good wireless mic and transmitter.
So my setup is like this. Wireless receiver connected to the H4n, and then if I'm interviewing someone, they are holding the wireless mic. I've got an adapter connected to my 7D that lets me have two cold shoes. So I've got the H4n in one shoe, and the wireless receiver in the other cold shoe. And then the wire running between the receiver and the H4n. And that's all connected to my 7D, which is connected to that fairly large monopod. It gets to be a little unwieldy and kind of stupid looking. The H4n is almost as big as the camera itself. However, if I take the time to do all that, and get it all synced correctly in post, it does sound awesome. And by the way, that audio solution combined was like $1,000.
The problem is, I still need another person to hold the mic and give it to people. I just run out of hands. Plus, with only two cold shoes, and both of them being used for audio, there's nowhere to attach my light. It's not a good system. I've had my wife help me, with her being in charge of the mic. But what I've done more recently, and what I can recommend, is just to get one of these:
The Rode Videomic pro. It's $250. I have it and I recommend it. Yes, you'll be dealing with the AGC problem. But you know what? The AGC is really not that bad. Now, the shotgun mic is not ideal for events that are very loud, because it will pic up more ambient noise than a dedicated handheld or lapel mic. But $250 solves most of the practical problems I described above. No messing with syncing in post. One BIG thing to consider, though: If you use a shotgun mic that like that, and it's wired directly to the camera, there is no way to monitor your audio. You literally won't hear what you've recorded until it's too late to do anything about it. That is my main complaint with the 7D. With the H4n, at least you can have headphones plugged in and hear what's being recorded, and make adjustments on the fly. (And of course headphones add to all the wires and connections and crap I described above.) With the shotgun mic, no such functionality. So you really need to spend some time learning how the mic works, what it will pick up in certain situations, etc. It can be stressful if you're filming things that can't be repeated.
If you are set on getting an audio recorder, the H4n is nice. I'm not sorry I have it. I've used it at concerts and it does decent. It's also good, if you're doing weddings and they have, say, a string quarter playing, to set the H4n up on a tripod or something, and just let it capture the string quarter, and then put that back into your video later. It's just hard to use in conjunction with the 7D if you're by yourself, and you're moving around. Unless you have three hands.
One thing I would stress to you is that yes there is an AGC problem. But it's not as noticeable as you think. The complaints you read about it are from high-end professionals, and to their trained ear, I'm sure it sucks. But to common people, it's something I think is blown out of proportion. I think people pick up on the complaint about the AGC, and just keep repeating it, without stopping to think about if it's really a big deal.
