[richandfleur]

Premiere will sync audio to a video audio track (for a single video clip) for you, by comparing the waveform.

Or as Steve says, just make a short loud noise on both audio and video tracks and you have something easy to align later.

[PiDicus Rex]

PluralEyes: That's a heck of a lot of money for a plugin.

Yuuup,.... and there are Free Clapper Board apps for BlackBerry, Android, and that other phone brand.

[kadajawi]

PluralEyes: That's a heck of a lot of money for a plugin. Syncing audio it pretty simple without a fancy plugin if you just clap at the start of recording then match the peak in post.

True, but it works when Premiere Pro CC throws its hands up in the air and gives up. My concert footage was too difficult for PP.

[Dreamweaver]

I've got a K30 that I use for video, and you're right - the built-in mic is horrifying, both on the K30 and the K50. On most DSLRs, in fact. I have Dual Eyes and its successor, Plural Eyes, and just do external audio with a Zoom H2N and match it up with the Pentax's clips in either of those afterwards. You can also sync the Zoom H2N's (or the H4N or H6) audio direct from its card in Final Cut Pro X (or most of the other NLEs). It's less trouble than it seems; the quality is outstanding and you soon get used to it. Not sure if the K50 has a mic input plug (my K30 doesn't) - but even than the quality can be very disappointing sometimes. IMHO DSLRs are not designed to produce quality audio - in fact I think audio is there purely because they have to give you something, but sound has always been the poor relation of the picture.

[Imp]

Not sure if the K50 has a mic input plug (my K30 doesn't

Nope

but sound has always been the poor relation of the picture.

Although it shouldn't!

[kadajawi]

The poor audio is understandable though. There isn't much space or money for a good microphone, and in the case of Pentax the microphone needs to resist water too. That greatly limits the abilities of the microphone.

What sucks is that Pentax deactivated video SR because of audio. Those who care about audio wouldn't use the built in mic anyway.

[Dreamweaver]

The poor audio is understandable though. There isn't much space or money for a good microphone, and in the case of Pentax the microphone needs to resist water too. That greatly limits the abilities of the microphone.

What sucks is that Pentax deactivated video SR because of audio. Those who care about audio wouldn't use the built in mic anyway.

Exactly, kadajawi - and even the lack of a mic input is no great hardship for audiophiles. Too easy to record externally and sync up, and even at the low end of the scale (i.e. my Zoom H2N), the result is almost always significantly better than you'd get plugging a costly microphone into the camera in any case. I've no gripe with Pentax saving the money they'd spend on that and applying it elsewhere ... for example equipping the K30 with several features you might not expect to find on what is essentially an entry-level camera. But I do have a huge gripe with the 'oh, don't worry ... it's only sound' mindset that plagues not only DSLR videography but many camcorders as well.

[Dreamweaver]

PluralEyes: That's a heck of a lot of money for a plugin. Syncing audio it pretty simple without a fancy plugin if you just clap at the start of recording then match the peak in post.

Yes - but then there's also WooWave (ex DreamSync), which does a fair job too, and for less money. Problem with the clapper and peak-matching method is that it can drift out of sync over a long clip - even if only by a few frames. Be glad if someone can shed light on why this happens.

---------- Post added 09-20-15 at 02:02 AM ----------

Yuuup,.... and there are Free Clapper Board apps for BlackBerry, Android, and that other phone brand.

'That other phone brand' will probably have their lawyers contact you in the morning. They're incredibly litigious - might do better to sack some of their high-voltage lawyers and spend some money on sorting out the phone!.

[Steve.Ledger]

Problem with the clapper and peak-matching method is that it can drift out of sync over a long clip - even if only by a few frames. Be glad if someone can shed light on why this happens.

Never had this happen personally. But then the clips I sync are never that long each.

[PiDicus Rex]

What sucks is that Pentax deactivated video SR because of audio. Those who care about audio wouldn't use the built in mic anyway.

Bingo.
That's why I have a Tascam DR-70D - the only thing I care about with the on-board audio is that it's clear enough to sync sound from the Tascam, on the times we're too rushed to use a Slate. (Clapper Board)
It would be nice if the Mic input in the cameras connected to a decent preamp and the encoded sound is sampled at 48kHz 16bit,... but the in camera Mic doesn't have to be all that good for Pro use.

Problem with the clapper and peak-matching method is that it can drift out of sync over a long clip - even if only by a few frames. Be glad if someone can shed light on why this happens.

Crappy internal clocks in non timecode devices, and/or shitty coding in the NLE - Premiere used to be notorious with sync drift in the Analog and DV era - I've seen it drift as far as a couple of seconds in a 20 minute edit.

[kadajawi]

Someone tell Pentax that we don't care about audio, unless it is REALLY good, and that video quality compromises because of audio are really not necessary/not wanted... if it mattered we wouldn't be using the internal mic anyway, and if the internal mic is enough the tiny bit of added SR noise won't make a difference.

To be honest if Pentax offered a high quality mic that can sit on top of the camera without looking ridiculous (looking at you, Rode) I'd buy it. It needs to be able to survive first row next to speaker rock concert levels of noise though... not sure what mic fits that bill.

[Steve.Ledger]

To be honest if Pentax offered a high quality mic that can sit on top of the camera without looking ridiculous (looking at you, Rode) I'd buy it. It needs to be able to survive first row next to speaker rock concert levels of noise though... not sure what mic fits that bill.

None of them look great, but what matters is their performance. As far as looks goes, the Senal SCS-98 is about the best to my eye.

[richandfleur]

Basically, instead of taking something away because it may be an issue for some, they should embrace that as an opportunity to sell another product.
Eg sony offering a clip on mic to record better sound.

[PiDicus Rex]

if it mattered we wouldn't be using the internal mic anyway, and if the internal mic is enough the tiny bit of added SR noise won't make a difference.

He He He,.... I got accepted in to Aja's #TryCion program, have the Cion camera till the 30th, and shooting on my SMC Primes, thanks to getting out in the shed with Dad and whipping up an adapter plate,... Image quality is everything with the Cion, as it is with all cameras at that price point - you can't use any sort of hard mounted microphone, as it picks up every sound from the body, including the continual buzz of the sensor / processor fan.
In the rare occasion that cameras in this price range have an onboard mic, the manufacturers just put a note in the instructions to say it's there for convenience, and not for sound quality.

Oh/And,... classic Pentax glass looks amazing in 4K video.

[WildBikerBill]

Problem with the clapper and peak-matching method is that it can drift out of sync over a long clip - even if only by a few frames. Be glad if someone can shed light on why this happens.

---------- Post added 09-20-15 at 02:02 AM ----------

What you are seeing/hearing is manufacturing variance in the exact resonance frequency of the time keeping quartz crystals. I record concerts up to two+ hours in length with five cameras. I have to deal with this or there are problems! Afterwards the first thing I produce is a full length audio track. The footage from each camera is then synced to that audio track. That can mean the video gets stretched or shrunk by a frame here and there as needed. Only then does the real edit begin.

---------- Post added 09-25-15 at 11:20 AM ----------

To be honest if Pentax offered a high quality mic that can sit on top of the camera without looking ridiculous (looking at you, Rode) I'd buy it. It needs to be able to survive first row next to speaker rock concert levels of noise though... not sure what mic fits that bill.

I guess it depends on your definition of "ridiculous".

I have one of these: RØDE Microphones - Stereo VideoMic

One of these: RØDE Microphones - VideoMic Pro

And Rode just came out with this: RØDE Microphones - VideoMicro