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From: wowfony
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  • I am really disappointed with Canon. I wish I had known about this problem beforehand I would have never bought one of their cameras.

  • Well I inquired several times about the AGC issue and I actualy got a rely this time. Unfortunately, the response pretty much told all 7D owners to go F them selves:

    Thank you for your inquiry about adding Audio Gain Control to the EOS 7D. We value you as a Canon customer and appreciate the opportunity to assist you.

  • An old trick to extend the dynamic range is to record the signal into both channels of a stereo recorder, but you attenuate ONE channel by say 20dB. Then on playback, choose the attenuated version for loud sounds (so it won't clip), and the the non-attenuated version for quiet sounds (to minimise hiss). Any tried this on the T2 or 7D?

  • That's a great trick.... Side chain, basically. Smart

  • smart ! thanks

  • IPOD!!! that's amazing. I was aware of this problem with the 7d. but never thought of the ipod. awesome idea. thank you

  • how do you reduce it when the sound from the tone mixes into the sound of the microphone line? its very noticeable.

  • syncing the sound up in post production isnt tht hard if you use a clapper! (or just clap your hands)!

  • there is a way to still get stereo adaptor 7 left input a noise that kick in the agc noise reduction also

  • Thanks this works well and has saved me a lot of problems

  • lamplight is out for the t2i now

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  • If I Install magic lantern... will i be able to install canon firmware when it comes out?

  • Now T2I support Magic Lantern! I'm so glad I was in a pinch and bought the 550D rather than the 7D!

  • @cannedgravy rub it in..

  • the dslr gain and controllability audio issue is ably overcome with the juicedlink, bringing xlr to dslr i'm a great fan

  • Great solution. Anyway, it sucks that Canon doesn't do anything about although the problem has been known for quite some years now...

  • I'd like to add that this type of set-up also works with a Sennheiser MKE 400 and my 7D. I tried it with a stereo 3.5 male to dual mono RCA female adapter (similar but different to mikeb's video) and it worked.

    The trick is converting the 3.5mm to RCA. IT WILL NOT WORK WITH A 3.5 male to 3.5 female.

    SPLIT TO RCA WITH CABLE OR ADAPTER AND IT WILL WORK

    This goes for the Sennheieser MKE 400 and the Rode VideoMic

  • you rock

  • Do you still have your tone available to download?

  • If anyone really wants Canon to update the firmware to the 7d, please write them a letter. Here is the link to their site. Click on the Professional Services tab and leave a comment.

    usa.canon. com/cusa/professional?pageKeyC­ode=contactUsLanding

  • @KowalFilms Nice. I just left them a comment.

    Canon... disable the AGC !!!!!

  • Hey can you upload the file again or can I make it myself somehow?

  • the file isn't available anymore! 

  • The Sony F-V620 Dynamic mic has no sound issues. It is cleaner than what I am hearing on this video. It has XLR adaptors and a long cord. :)

  • can i put a Rode videomic into the other channel????? PLEASE RESPOND

  • Who cares about the camera audio? It will suck no matter what, loud zoom noise, handling noise, and more. You should be using an external mic either way

  • I hate all camera manufactures because they won't release open source cameras. They should build stuff that WORKS, because that is what they are supposed to do. Damn it.

  • so if u can disable the AGC why do people need a mic u know like the rode video mic?

    sorry its dumb but im new to all of this

  • ok im still learning about the t2i. so any news on the canon upgrading the filmware to disable the agc because i cant stand the hissing

  • Will this work tutorial work with an AT8035 and Oktava cardoid mic or will I need different adapters?

    Would I just need to get a y-adapter, and an xlr to 1/8 adapter? Thanks and great find/tutorial!

  • Worked with a bit of fooling around. Thanks!

  • Excellent idea! This is great if you only need to record in mono. Of course, for live music where you need stereo, then the Zoom H4N makes a great outboard solution.

    Please, Canon, listen to us and fix your crappy firmware!!!!!

  • Would I have same problem usin a Rode NTG2 with a Bechtek?

  • Very creative fix! Pretty genius of you!

  • Can you PLEASE make a tutorial for the 7D with the Rode Videomic? I've tried the other video tutorials and it hasn't worked for me.

  • @octor there's an explanation to this on my website. I can't post the link cause youtube deletes it, but just google for "dslr cable agc" and you should see my site among the firsts.

  • Very nice idea but my decision was the new Zoom H1 Handy Recorder (96khz & 24 bit) because I am using the RODE Video Stereo Mic and I want stereo instead of mono. Thumbs up.

  • This trick lowers the gain, but it DOES NOT disable it or give you a constant level. After following the instructions exactly I can report:

    (1) Much improved agc / audible hiss

    (2) Gain still increases very slightly during silence on the mic channel

    (3) The auto levels still clamp down harshly when someone starts talking

    So you get much much more usable audio then without this trick, but you don't get a constant level and you're much more prone to clipping then with an external recorder.

  • @ReberthFilms You have to crank the MP3 player, and make sure the generated tone is normalized to 0db for it to push it down to the point of zero auto-gain.

  • @wowfony My tones are all wav files created at 0db using Sound Forge. The iPod was at full volume for all of the tests. I tried multiple different tones (20hz, 30hz, 440hz, 15khz) to make sure that the results were correct.

    The 7D test clips imported into an NLE show the channel with the full volume tone at a constant -6db. The shotgun mic I used for testing was hotter than this when speaking towards it at close range (attempting to emulate interviewing someone in a loud environment). Ideas?

  • @wowfony how to figure out if i do not have magic lantern on my cam?

  • @wowfony hope this does not get a double post, but my post does not appear even after reloading the page in a other browser. how can i figure out to be at 0db when not having magic lantern installed?

  • @ReberthFilms It's perhaps your player levels. I wouldn't agree with ReberthFilms that you have to normalize the tone, as in that case you get spillovers. You just need to find the maximum level at which you can't practically hear spillovers and the agc is still dead.

  • @slavicdragovtev sorry - meant to say wowfony, not reberthfilms :)

  • Ok, this seemed like it would work great, but when I tried it, and deleted the tone track, I could still hear a faint sound of the "tone" in the other channel.

  • id rather bare with the noise than have 3cpo coming out of my 7d

  • Ok, after watching your video once more, I think I understand. So in one side of the Y-Adapter you have your ipod, and the other you have your wired mic. I'm a little confused, because I actually didn't see the wired mic plugged into the other side of the Y-Adapter. Also, the audio tone, is it 48khz or 44khz? Just wondering how loud the tone has to be to push the AGC down. Thank you so much for this video, as I JUST bought a 7D and am pretty ticked off with the audio recording issues.

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  • I don't understand what the problem is, are you saying the AGC stereo "link" feature is a bad idea? This is actually what you want, without it, stereo imaging suffers to the point where it can sound like you're recording in mono, or you will have what is called "image shifting", which will make you pull your hairs out.

  • @misctrader The simple way to rectify this is to thake the audio into your NLE and delete the tone signal first. Then you simply replicate the original recorded audio and then pan left and right. In FCP after this is done, you simply lock the audio channel with the graphics or film you recorded. Easy.

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  • clever......thank you..

  • WowFony i am about to go buy the adapter it sounds great. question. besides playing the 20 min clip while recording do i need to set any aoudio settings on my 7d? or is just plug and play?

  • @papikache plug and play.. if you are using a rode videomic, you'll need another adapter. It's a 1/8 stereo to 1/8 mono (I think)

  • @wowfony I got the 1/8 stereo to 1/8 mono, and the Y adapter, with an iPod, playing the tone, and it didn't fix the problem for the rode video mic. :( Any suggestions? Or has this already been proven fact, that you can't use this technique for the rode videomic?

  • Very smart, great work. I'm loving my 7D, but this has p**sed me off for so long. Going to try this. Thanks again

  • You RAWK!

  • will doing this by-pass make all audio mono-sound instead of stereo?

  • so, you play the ipod the whole time? or just in silence? how does this come out in post... thanks for making this!

  • Hi please help!! I watched another video on youtube of how to convert a canon 7d video codec to another codec to make it more easier to edit. Do you need to do this? Why do you need to convert the codec? what program do you convert it with? and What codec do you have to convert it into to make it easier to edit and get the best quality? By the way the video that watch is on a MAC so I dont know what program I can use for window. Thank for anyone who would explain this.

  • Well done - aren't you a clever chappy - I must try this out.

    Thank you ;)

  • Thanks so much it s a great tutorial.

    I m tryng to do the trick with a seenheiser me66/ and a 7d

    So far is not working

    Any advice? Is there any main difference with other mics?

    What i get is that the 20 hz tone goes for both channels.

  • You mentioned using Premiere. I'm using Final Cut. I know I'll have to transcode the clips, but do you foresee any audio problems? What would the workflow be on that? Thanks!

  • Can you do this without using a external microphone and using the microphone on the camera?

  • wow thats really clever. Will try this out.

  • dslr videographers have suffered so great... i hope they will keep doing better products. i hope canon could create a cheapo mys-x red one.

  • simple solutions to complex problems .. GREAT !!!

    wont i be able to adjust camera audio level by changing the volume of my mp3 player ???

  • wow , simple solutions to complex problems . GREAT !!!

    wont i be able to camera audio level by changing the volume of my mp3 player ?

  • What a great fix this is. Wowfony, you're a genius.

    I tried it and it works a treat. The AGC is almost disabled during quiet patches.

    For the record the mic I'm using is a wireless Azden WLX-PRO and the sound quality I get from this inexpensive mic system now is awesome.

    Thanks for the fix.

  • Do you know if they have patched this yet?

  • You kinda sound like sxephil lol

  • so i did it with my T2i and my azden smx10. it didnt help at all. still sounds like a cell phone, and the noise is just terrible.

  • Dude, good video, well explained, well put together.....well done, you have a future.

  • For those that didn't follow what he's doing here, he's basically blasting a loud tone in 1 of the 2 stereo channels so the firmware thinks there is loud audio incoming and doesn't ramp the audio gain (AGC = Auto Gain Control, btw) creating noise. To clarify, you're now only able to effectively record in mono though! That may be OK for some users, but a complete deal-breaker for others... plan accordingly.

  • dude this is awesome... clever observation and experimentation... time to find an appropriate gain 'watch battery tone generator' from radio shack in a small form factor

  • can't thank you enough. having this problem right now and i so wish they're gonna fix it rather sooner than later. just saw eyepatchs clip that magic lantern is not making that much of a progress for the 7D, hope the best.

  • kinda got it... but you went through it to fast...

  • i wish u were my dad

  • nice bro!

  • Nice trick - I would suggest that an external, dedicated recording device would be the best solution for anything with critical audio (like a musical performance), since the mic pre in the 7D isn't on par with its optical quality.

    Also, all those jump cuts were killing me! Good work anyway...

  • Will this work on my ATR6550 shotgun mic?

  • Genius!

  • Amazing, thank you.

    Does this work with a stereo mic too?

  • nice work, makes sense.

  • Go to ebay.com, search for "Metronome Tone Generator". For less than

    $3 you get a replacement for your mp3 player.

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  • I have done a similar set-up with my 550D (t2i), but somehow the tone is leaking into my left channel too. I have used a Nikkai 3.5mm Jack Left/Right splitter.

    Does the cable from the splitter to mp3 player have to be mono or doesn't it matter?

    Thanks Matt

  • ingenuous!

  • just get a different mic to plug in?

  • god damn i love youtube for shit like this! thanks bud

  • Do you know if this method would work with the Azden SGM-X? Far as I know its a mono mic, but it works regularly through the stereo input on my cam, so I'm not sure if it'll work correctly.

  • well man, im trying this and testing it out, with and without the tone but it doesnt seem to be helping, should i be cranking the mp3 player?

  • Cool shit man, thank you i was wondering how i was going to cure the auto gain problem, and reduce extra noise

  • Way to go! This may be the solution to a problem we are having at work! As you started talking about how you came up with the idea.. I was thinking "I know where he's going with this and it's genius!" You're the man. If this solves the problem I'll update this and thank you again. Good solution homie!

  • This was a stroke of pure genius, thank you!

  • Awesome! I was just about to buy an audio recorder and do this exact same thing, and run the line to the 7D...you just saved me a large chunk of cash by removing the intermediate step!  You basically just bought me a flycam with the saved money!! Thank you so much!

  • Thank you for this. Till Canon comes up with a Firmware update, this is a pretty good alternative for my T2i. After all, HD DSLRs are meant of more controlled environments. The Y adapter adds no big hassle to the kind of practical nature these cameras are meant to shoot with.

  • Wow, pretty awesome hack :-) ...

  • nice trick. Never should have needed to waste your time doing it though. Canon needs to get this taken care of, especially when some of their lower end cameras like the SX20IS actually does have the ability to monitor Mic input level already!

    SIGN THIS PETITION IF YOU AGREE:

    google this phrase and it'll be the first thing that comes up in the search:

    "Disable AGC on EOS Video Cameras Petition"

  • That is brilliant thinking. One question - with the tone playing does it mean that the AGC cuts the record level to the lowest possible, or is it that it just doesn't add any extra gain to the signal? I'm not entirely clear how AGC works. Thanks

  • Great job and thanks for sharing! I sure hope though that they do release that firmware update for the 7d. It would not make sense to allow something like that effect how amazing the 7D really is.

  • I'm having trouble getting this to work on the 7D with a Sennheiser mke-400 mic. Any idea's why? Thanks.

  • does this also work with the t2i? I mean, not just with the 7D

  • This is one reason why I chose canon over nikon...nice vid btw xD

  • Well... I'm not sure which one rules.. Canon 7D, 1D, HF100 or HV something. I'm looking for the closest to the one used in Motion Pictures or HollyWood like 2012 movie.

  • For some reason I cant get this workaround to work on my T2I.

    I have the right connector and a shuffle with the test tone. When I use my rode videomic and the shuffle with the test tone I can only hear the test tone on playback.

  • @Paul68Luis The rode videomic (stereo) is the only one I didnt get it to work on, I havent tried a merger adapter (stereo->mono) but all my other condenser mics work fantastic.

  • @wowfony I'll try my lav mic and see if that works.

    thanks,

    Paul

  • @Paul68Luis let me know if u get it to work with the t2i please im a perl jam fan too lol

  • @Paul68Luis if you still didn't find the solution contact me.

  • Wow dude that's really smart of you to figure that out. Way to go! Thanks!

  • so it works but the 7D is sensitive to HOW you do it. I got it sounding AWeSome with a lav mic directly plugged into one input. It DID NOT work with a wireless lav or boom.. it didnt even work with a 3.5 to female XLR to boom mic. Do you have any idea as to why? makes no sense to me. I plugged in the boom with the 3.5 to female xlr directly in without ipod and i got audio but then it didnt go thru after i hooked up ipod. Frustratinngg.. you have any solutions to this?

  • Great Idea! Thanks for sharing!

  • How do you know that your level from the mp3-player is the right level?

    Because the camera expects a mic-level, an mp3-player will give line-level ... Do I just turn my mp3-player to the lowest level? Thanks.

    Thanks

  • Awesome idea!

  • brilliance! i like this guy! cant wait to try it out

  • Thanks for the shout-out! FYI, this is exactly the approach that BeachTek uses with their standalone AGC disabler. The only thing you have to watch out for is that the audio will sometimes bleed over from one channel to the other.

  • So um, What the iPod does while you recording? Does it have to be playing music while you recording with camera?

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  • Wow, thanks, as simple as that !

  • Wow someone finally found a use for the ipod shuffle. hurry!  get one b4 apple stops making them.

    Srsly...excellent info.

  • Great tutorial! Does this work with the T2i? Also, the 1/8" cable was it mono or stereo? Thanks!

  • awesome dude!

  • I tried it, but when I plug my iPod into the second input on the adaptor, it cuts off the feed for the Microphone, and even though the audio track only plays in one ear, nothing comes out of the other, it's quite confusing :s

  • Got the same problem, tried with two mic (rode videomic and ATM650 with xlr2jack adapter). Even with nothing plugged in the second channel, the camera doesn't even record from the mic. It only get's statics. What's the deal with that?

  • Awesome!

  • GENIOUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!­!

  • This doesn't work on the T2i, since the T2i has mono recording. I tried it :(

  • @zoemesty

    * Sampling frequency: 48 KHz, Bits: 16 bit x 2 ch

    T2i , it certainly can do stereo

  • WORLD OF WARCRAFT!

  • please learn to finish sentences without having to cut 7 times. kthx

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  • So damn smart MikeB

  • i have no idea what this means for me but im sure its important.

  • its better to use a high frequency tone above 20k so that you dont even hear it but the camera will

  • Dammit Youtube! Why did you have to change the layout! None of it makes sense anymore! It took me 5 minutes of searching for a comment button, then I realized that it was now just this box! DAMMIT! WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!­!!!!!!

  • Gamer and tech whiz, <3

  • hey hey hey, we can't have gamers finding solutions to things... that will only make things harder for the rest of us...

  • but seriously, well done. I too have had to do things like this to deal with craptastic soft/firmware on various electronic devices

  • awesome and brilliant

  • @eyepatchentertainmen Thanks EyePatch! That certainly means alot coming from you, sir!

  • Thanks Mike, this will save a lot of time when editing and filming :D

  • Fony send to me ZAM MP3 from ur "reports"

  • No thumb down's! woot!

  • Que?

  • Keep it up Mike.

  • Good idea, I use software to get rid of it, I posted a video response

  • You should send this to a Canon PR dude and tell them how many subskriptions you have :)

  • Wow, very smart Mike!

  • Thats actually quite brilliant :S

  • ingenious solution. great work :).

  • If I knew shit all about cameras I'd probably love you for this.

  • Wow... I had no idea you were so brilliant, Mike. Bravo!

  • Heh, such a hassle just to film. Find it easier to carry a flip cam instead.

  • genius! but that's bullshit to not rls a firmware update for their customers.

  • I've also heard of using a high frequency tone that you can't hear can work too. But you might want to cut that out in the final mix just in case.

  • Nice man.  Smart. very smart

  • Ahahahaha =D

  • WOO NEW VIDEO, even tho it is a guide its still something new to watch

    keep on keeping on!!

  • That's a solid hack. Nicely done.

  • Haha, awesome video man.

  • Great stuff, nice job.

  • Thanks so much for posting this. You spent a lot of time discussing the problem and then whizzed right through the solution. I don't understand, but I want to. Can you show the camera in a still state and describe what you did? You only showed one wire going into the Y adapter. Please explain.