How can I hear the sound during recording with a simple DSLR?

Question

I have a Nikon D7000 and RØDE VideoMic Pro.

The DSLR has only a jack for the microphone, but no second jack for the headphones, unlike Nikon D4. RØDE microphone has no jacks for a headphone either.

Is there a device which will make it possible for me to hear the sound I'm recording while I record it, similarly to "Monitor input during recording" option in Adobe Soundbooth?

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After some research, I found three solutions:

1. Play with 3.5mm splitters such as:

   

   This is not a solution: not only I will hear only the sound from the microphone, and not the one actually recorded by the DSLR, but it will also alter the sound which is actually sent to the DSLR. It also requires an additional amplifier, which makes things only worse.

   This was recommended on several websites, but for the reasons mentioned above, it should be avoided.

2. Use an audio adapter similar to Beachtek DXA-SLR MINI PRO HDSLR Audio Adapter.

   

   This does exactly what I need, but given its cost ($300), it's much more interesting to follow the third solution suggested in the accepted answer.

3. Use an external recorder, like suggested below by AJ Henderson. This offers several benefits not mentioned by AJ Henderson:

   • The extreme flexibility of the setup. If I want, I can record the sound to both the recorder and, through the recorded, to the DSLR. I can plug up to two microphones while using the recorders' one as well.

   • The ability to visualize the audio input level. This is particularly useful when I haven't my headphones with me. With headphones, having this sort of visualization is helpful too when hearing the sound through the headphones is hard (for example when recording a rock concert).

   • The ability to record both the audio from the RØDE microphone and the ambient sounds from the microphone integrated to the recorder.

   • The ability to adjust the input volume of different channels.

   So yes, the solution suggested by AJ Henderson is a winner for me. It costs approx. $290 at the moment of writing (price includes additional cables), which is not really expensive for someone who needs good quality audio.

   

   The only difference is that AJ Henderson suggested to buy Zoom H4n, while I bought the newer Zoom H5 (for only $20 more in my country). One of Zoom H5 additional features I will actually use a lot is the ability to connect the DSLR (for backup recording) at the same time as the headphones.

   Thanks a lot to AJ Henderson for his valuable suggestion.

Answer 1

From cheapest (really poor quality) to best. The main options I can think of is a) hacking headphones in to the RCA connector from the video out port. The signal type on the white and red RCA jacks for the A/V cable can be fed in to headphones, but there will not be a volume adjustment, the impedance will mismatch and the quality will be pretty bad as it is not designed to run headphones.

The next best option is to use a battery powered headphone amplifier or preamp. This will be within your budget, but is not the most effective use of your funds. The headphone amp could accept the same A/V cable hookup and produce a proper signal designed for headphones, this is a lot of cost for what you are getting though, so it isn't all that great of an option. The preamp option is kind of similar, but it would go between the microphone itself and the camera. It would allow you to monitor the audio if you got a nice enough one, but is again overly expensive for what it offers you for your needs.

The most expensive option, and also the best option if you are concerned about quality, is to use an external audio recorder, such as a Zoom h4n. While an external audio recorder costs the most, it also offers far more advantages. You get a wider range of input capabilities allowing for use of higher quality microphones. You get better quality audio recording if you use the file directly off the audio recorder. The down side is that you have to sync your audio in post production, but this is really not that hard to do and the quality and monitoring advantages are well worth it.

Answer 2

Yes indeed, my same question. A bit of research led me to this wonderful invention... One end into your mic port one end into your recorder and theres a feed line off out to your headphones. Its also an attenuator which drops the high signal output from your camera to the recorder. For $36 is really worth the investigation. go to b and h camera and type in the search box KOACH425MONR and you should have it.