Need a Microphone expert -- trying to use D5100 with external mic

benz145

benz145

New member
Hey folks. I have a Mogami 603S microphone (I believe it is mono). I've adapted it from an XLR connector to a 3.5mm stereo jack to plug into the D5100. However, I get nothing but static from the mic. The same mic/adapter combo records into my computer with no problem.

The adapter is wired for dual mono which simply sends the same signal to the left and right outputs on the other end (ie: the camera would be recieving the same signal on the left and right channels). Here is the adapter and the wiring diagram:

Photo Album - Imgur

I took the adapter apart and rewired it in every imaginable combination, including turning it into a normal stereo adapter instead of dual-mono -- still nothing but static from the camera. I've confirmed that the camera isn't the issue by testing it with other external audio inputs. The only thing I didn't try was rewiring the adapter to send audio to the ground (sleeve on the 3.5mm end), but I figured it's pretty much standard for the sleeve to be ground so that didn't make much sense to try (but I could be wrong).

Any suggestions or thoughts are welcome, at this point I am beyond perplexed!

I tried reading around to find out what could be the issue and I've read a bit about 'balanced' and 'unbalanced' microphones or sources, not sure what that's about but it could be the issue.
 
benz145

benz145

New member
jdeg said:
This one? Amazon.com: MXL-603S INSTRUMENT MIC (Wired With Mogami): Musical Instruments

One immediate problem I see is that it needs phantom power. You would need something like this to power it correctly:
Amazon.com: ART Phantom II Pro: Musical Instruments
Click to expand...

Yes that's the mic. Looks like that might be the issue (I'm not familiar with phantom power) -- however, would it explain the fact that the mic/adapter work when recording to my computing (plugging directly into the 3.5mm input) but not on the camera?
 
T

theregsy

Senior Member
I know next to nothing about microphones but I would guess that a laptop is more compatible with all types of mic especially due to it having a more robust power supply, the camera probably is designed not to power the mic so you don't drain your battery. Only a guess, good luck though.
 
J

jdeg

^ broke something
Staff member
Usually when you don't have phantom power and a mic needs it you'll just get a very low signal or nothing at all. I don't know that you'd get static in the D5100 though.
 
benz145

benz145

New member
jdeg said:
Usually when you don't have phantom power and a mic needs it you'll just get a very low signal or nothing at all. I don't know that you'd get static in the D5100 though.
Click to expand...

Just to troubelshoot, I plugged in a 3.5mm male to 3.5mm male adapter into the D5100 with nothing plugged in on the other end. I got static when I played back the recording, so it seems that the D5100 interprets no signal from the input as static.

My next step will be trying to power the mic to verify that is the issue.
 
G

gqtuazon

Gear Head
For your DSLR, there are battery powered mics such as Rhode and Senheizer mics. I personally use the Nikon ME-1 mic which does not require a battery to operate it.

You can try these mics from bestbuy or if you have a local camera store that you can test the mics by recording a short video clip and playing the video on your computer. Once you localize the culprit (most likely your mic), you can then decide if you want to get a dedicated stereo mic for your D5100.
 
J

jdeg

^ broke something
Staff member
benz145 said:
Just to troubelshoot, I plugged in a 3.5mm male to 3.5mm male adapter into the D5100 with nothing plugged in on the other end. I got static when I played back the recording, so it seems that the D5100 interprets no signal from the input as static.

My next step will be trying to power the mic to verify that is the issue.
Click to expand...

That's what I was thinking. No signal but plugged in = static.

I would eith spend the money on a new mic like glenn suggested or get that phantom power box I linked to above. Depends if you want to carry around that box in addition to the camera.

sent from my phone
 
benz145

benz145

New member
I did get a mic that doesn't require phantom power and it works fine. Thanks for pinpointing the issue for me, folks. Looks like I'll unfortunately need to drop some cash on a new DSLR-specific condenser mic.
 
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