So I went to the Wilmington & Western's "Pufferbelly Days" on September 16, and it was my first time ever going out and chasing steam. I think I did a good job filming, but the one thing that bothered me is the sound. When the train would whistle, ring its bell, or chuff along, the audio got very distorted...being obviously very loud. But I've seen videos on youtube where people are right up next to a train and the audio sounds 100000x better than mine does on a good day. I've tried adjusting the recording volume on the camera, but it was still a lil too distorted...I'm using a Canon XH-A1.

So for those who have filmed steam before, could you give a newb any tricks and tips? Not just for the audio but anything else...thanks guys!

- PRR Forever

The first rule: Buy professional-grade equipment. Virtually every videographer in any field found that out the hard way. Marc Belkin of Mark 1 Video wrote two long "Camera Bag" essays in the late 1970s on this fact, especially after one cinder got into a tape drive and creased an entire day's worth of videotape, rendering the whole thing unplayable. You might be able to get better video with modern cheap equipment than the video stuff of 20 years ago, but the audio gear is still cr*p. At the bare minimum, you will need a pro-grade microphone with pro-grade weather/wind protection, separate from anything built into the video camera.

I have on my desk a set of Sony professional grade headphones (MDR-7506), now selling for around $90-100, though I saw someone eagerly pay $160 years ago.. Once you put those things on, you'll never go back to tiny, tinny "Walkman" stuff again. I had a radio expert, when I attached them to my two-way radio to hear in a crowd, say "OH, MY GOD............ I NEED THESE!" He described the experience, after a weekend of using cheaper Motorola earpieces, as "like discovering sex for the first time!" In my hearing-impaired case, it's the audio difference between understanding the radio transmissions and hearing only gibberish and garbage.

I bought a external mic, works like a charm. I highly recommend one.

Back around 1994, I bought a Canon A1 Hi-8 Video camera. It had volume input controls for each channel, and when I used that, the whistle never distorted. It was excellent audio and while it was new, very good video. However, it spent more time in the shop than taping. I would get it out, and shortly it would screw up again. I quit getting it fixed when the extended warranty ran out. I had a couple of service guys tell me that the boards in them were going out quicker than they could replace them. It was a shame because I really liked the job it did.
Not long after that my Canon AE-1 took it's third trip to the shop for mirror box bearings, so I got out of the Canon business. I sold the video camera on ebay for $60.
Moral of the story is to look for something where you can contol the input to keep the sound from overdriving. 1522 when working hard separated the good from the bad video cameras.

PRR,
Sorry for not responding earlier as I've been away from internet access for the past week.

You've got the audio set too high on the camera. Therefore, when you get a loud noise, it overloads and distorts the sound. Judging from the fact that everything is distorting the sound, you've got it WAY hot.

Trains in general are difficult to get the audio correct--especially when you are dealing with steam whistles. If you are experienced, you can set the level manually, but you've got both distance audio, and that shrill blast of a whistle on top of you.

As far as the A1 goes, I'm using an external XLR shotgun mic, and the following is what is working for me. Set the XLR input to Mic Attenuation (or both inputs if you are using both channels). Then, go to menu, audio setup, and turn the XLR gain up to 12db. Run the audio on automatic. In effect, what you get is 20db down from the attenuation, and 12db up internally, which gives you about a 8db decrease in volume. With those settings, I haven't had any problems. It's not as good as manually setting audio, but when you are running and gunning in the field, you often don't have time to manually set audio. Remember, the microphone makes the difference.

As far as any other tips and tricks of the trade, make sure you have a good fluid head tripod, and remember that basic still photography rules (rule of thirds in framing, etc.) also apply to video. Beyond that, go to the dvinfo.net forums, and there is an A1-specific forum with boatload of info on how to get the best out of your camera, and some really nice presets if you don't like the Canon default factory one. It's a great camera, but it takes no prisoners.

If you need anything more specific, just PM me.

Good luck,
Kevin

Most definitely, I use a Sony HDR-FX7 with an Azden SGM-1X Mic, it's a good setup, but I highly recommend the use of an attenuator, something which I lack. Luckily the XH-A1 has one built in, a good shotgun I've heard with it is a Sennheiser, I'm not sure what model, but it cancels out almost any noise from talkative still photographers and their noisy shutters and nearby playful children.