GEAR MINI TESTS
Our round-up of great kit we’ve tested in this issue includes a bright camera- topmonitor, roller bag, hard drive, motorised gimbal, lenses andmore
WORDS ADAM DUCKWORTH, KINGSLEY SINGLETON, WILL CHEUNG & PHIL RHODES
SENNHEISER XSW-D ENG WIRELESS AUDIO SET £379/$449 sennheiser.com If you have lots of experience setting up audio equipment, then there are alreadymany full-featured wireless kits available with suitable pro-level adjustment. However, tomany, audio is not only a black art but is filled with equipment that has complex settings. Sennheiser comes to the rescue with the latest XSWireless Digital series that still offers the professional-level audio quality, but in kit that’s minimal and offers easy plug-and-play use. At the heart of the systemare the cylindrical wireless and transmitter packs which aremuch smaller than the conventional Sennheiser wireless systems. You plug your mic into the stereo input jack on the transmitter, and the receiver comes with a clip-on hotshoemount that sits on top of your camera, and plugs into themic socket with the included coiled lead. Turn both the packs on with the single button and they automatically link up together. You’re ready to shoot. Pushing themain button oncemutes the audio. Hold the button for three
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seconds and the kit powers down. It’s that simple, and worked flawlessly every time we used it. The units are charged via USBwhich lasts for up to five hours, and are part of a whole system so you can use them for live performances or anything else that needs to transmit audio wirelessly. The kit we tried was the ENG kit which adds theME 2-II clip-on lavalier mic, and a second transmitter with an XLRmount that you can use on a handheldmic. We tried it with one of Sony’s E835 cardioidmics which costs a reasonable £74/$99. The lavmic was crisp, clear and to our ears every bit as good as Sennheiser’s more expensive audio wireless kits – but obviously without the control these offer. The XLRworked excellently and was simply plug-and- play. It’s simple and fuss free. We had no dropouts, just clear and crisp audio. The range is claimed to be 75metres/250 feet in ideal conditions. We tried themoutdoors past this distance and they still worked. But like all 2.4GHz systems, objects in the way
ABOVE Add a handheld
SPECIFICATIONS Range: 75m/250ft Audio frequency response: 10-18,000Hz Audio output: Max 12dBu Signal-to-noise ratio: >106dB Run time: 5 hours Wireless network: 2.4GHz External charging: USB Connections: USB-A,⅛inmic socket, XLR
mic and you’re ready to shoot
or electrical interference can reduce this. AD
PROMOVIEMAKERRATING: 9/10 Light, easy to use, affordable, very portable and expandable into a full system. All thismakes these ideal for the less tech obsessed Pros: Very simple to use, small and light Cons: No full manual control
“We had no dropouts, just clear and crisp audio”
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PRO MOVIEMAKER SUMMER 2019
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