For several reasons I’ve recently started to look a bit more seriously at the legality (or should that be illegality) of just placing any music track onto my amateur 5D MkII films. As most of us are making films pretty much for our own pleasure a lot of us don’t think twice of adding a track from our iTunes library. We plan to address this subject in the future on the Cutting Room so I won’t go into detail right now, but just wanted to point out an option for those of you that want to take a very safe approach.
Moby has set up a site (www.mobygratis.com) that allows independent and non-profit filmmakers, film students, and anyone in need of free music for their independent, non-profit film, video, or short to download a selection of close to 80 different tracks. Should you subsequently release the film commercially, Moby promises that the licensing fees will be very reasonable and will go to charity.
Check out the man himself introducing Mobygratis:
Kevin Reylek has put together an interesting review article with B&H Photovideo that reviews the leading external microphones available for the Canon 5D MkII. The review focuses on the Rode VideoMic, the Rode Stereo VideoMic and the Sennheiser MKE 400 and includes a set of audio files that allow you to compare the outputs of each of the devices with their various filter options.
The conclusion of the article is that the $199 Sennheiser MKE 400 is the clear winner in terms of compact size and weight, while the Rode Stereo VideoMic at $249 offers great customization options and is the most practical stereo option tested (albeit it was the only stereo mic tested!)
Back in December, Vincent Laforet had less kind things to say about the Sennheiser products and recommended the Rode Stereo Video Mic as a good solution - as long as you don’t want to look through the viewfinder when it is mounted on the hotshoe.
As you might expect there has been a reasonable amount of discussion on Cinema5D about microphones, including some hissing and gain issues with the Sennheiser which raises a few concerns.
Taking all of these views into account as well as looking at the sample videos posted below, right now, if you want a self powered mic to use onboard the 5D MkII then EOScars would lay the cash down for Read more
