Beachtek DXA - SLR | Wildlife Whisperer

Beachtek DXA - SLR

Reviewed 04/12/2010 by Simon King

Good audio to accompany the astonishing high quality of the video image produced by the new generation of Canon DSLRs can be a problem. Some, like the 7D, do not have a manual gain level control and so will ‘hunt’ for audio when things get a little hushed. This can result in a rising background hiss on your audio track. A great solution to this problem is the Beachtek DXA - SLR.

Beachtek DXA - SLR

A great solution to this problem is the Beachtek DSLR… This little box of tricks can be used screwed directly onto the base of your camera, or else mounted elsewhere on a video rig (as I do when using it in conjunction with a telephoto lens.) It offers two, 3 pin XLR inputs for stereo sound recording on cameras which have manual control (like the 5D Mk II with the most recent firmware upgrade), or you can choose to use one channel to produce a constant, hi-pitched audio signal (inaudible to the human ear) that has the effect of blocking a cameras Auto Gain Control (AGC). You can still record onto this channel too, but most of the time I am using a single, directional microphone to pick up the best possible synchronous audio of the subjects which I’m filming, and so can leave the AGC disable channel to do its work.

Each channel has its own record level control. Built in amplifiers ensure the finest performance from your microphones, and a phantom power allows the use of mics that need the boost.