Beachteck dxa-slr Review
Harry Kaufman from Beachtek supplied us with one of his DXA-SLR units. It was perfect timing as we dive deeper into using our 5d mainly for run and gun style interviews.
Sometimes you don’t want to drag the extra equipment for separate audio recording which you end up having to sync up in post as well. The DXA-SLR is the missing piece for audio recording/monitoring for the canon 5d or 7d.
The DXA has built in pre-amps with an optional +48v phantom power for mics that require power. The pre-amps and the headphone jack are the highlights of this unit. Basically they almost complete what was lacking for audio on the 5d. It is strange that canon didn’t add a headphone output.
Our first impression is the DXA-SLR adapter is a bit bulky, but sturdy built. It works great with a tripod, or some kind of stabilizer unit, but is a little unwieldy when operating by hand..
There is also an ability to disable the auto gain control from the camera. ”This switch is a means to disable the wild swings of the Auto Gain Control in the camera. It activates an inaudible tone of 20 kHz to the left channel (when set to STEREO operation) that prevents the Auto Gain Control from increasing the gain to its maximum level. This reduces the hiss that normally occurs when the camera is recording audio during quiet moments. This inaudible tone is recorded by the camera but can be easily filtered out if necessary.”…
The Beachteck DXA-SLR eliminates the extra download from a separate audio device and makes edit post production a breeze since audio is synced. The only problem is you still have the 12 min recording limitation so there is no current workaround for that.
Our only suggestion for improvement of the DXA-SLR would be to add live audio metering.
Beachtek also has a passive DXA-5Da adapter. There is no phantom power or pre-amps built in but it does have audio metering on the back which is a plus. I would still recommend the DXA-SLR because of its pre-amp ability.
Overall we will be using this device for extra XLR inputs for weddings and run and gun style interviews. No more guessing that our audio is recording. We strongly recommend the DXA-SLR as it is a great addition to your DSLR arsenal. Go to http://www.beachtek.com/ to order one today.
By Michael Sato
