Audio

Many videographers will tell you that audio makes or breaks a movie. The 6D features a built-in microphone on the front of the camera (Figure 9.8). It records monaural rather than stereo sound. This can get the job done for basic video shoots, but it isn’t ideal. For a significant improvement in audio, connect an external stereo microphone (Figure 9.9).

Figure 9.8. The built-in microphone is just under the logo on the front of the camera.

Figure 9.9. An external stereo microphone, such as this one from RØDE, can dramatically improve the audio quality of your videos.

If you have no interest in recording audio, you can disable the sound-recording on the camera. But I recommend that you leave it on, even if you don’t plan to use it. That way, you will at least have some audio to work with, and you can always choose not to use it in postprocessing.

Turning Off Audio Recording

1. Set the camera to video mode using the Live View Shooting/Movie Shooting switch on the back of the camera.

2. Press the Menu button, and use the Multi-Controller to select the second Video menu tab (A).

3. Choose Sound recording, and press the Set button.

4. Select Disable, and hit the Set button (B).

5. Press the Menu button twice to go back to video mode.

If ambient sound levels increase or decrease while you are filming, the Auto sound-recording setting automatically increases or decreases the sensitivity of the microphone, often referred to as “gain.” The result can be uneven sound quality, with noticeable signal noise when the gain is increased. Consistent audio levels will result in a much more pleasant listening experience for your viewers.

---

Monitoring Audio Levels

Although the 6D does not have a built-in headphones port (as many high-end DSLRs do), you can view your audio levels on the Live View screen (Figure 9.10).

Figure 9.10. Audio levels appear in a live graph on the rear LCD screen.

---

Manually Setting Audio Levels

1. Set the camera to video mode using the Live View Shooting/Movie Shooting switch on the back of your camera.

2. Press the Menu button, and use the Multi-Controller to select the second Video menu tab.

3. Choose Sound Recording, and press the Set button.

4. Choose Manual, and press the Set button (A).

5. Select Rec. level, and press the Set button. Now move the Multi-Controller to the left or right to adjust the recording level. The blue pin indicates your original audio level, and the white pin indicates where you are moving the recording level to (B).

6. Once you are satisfied, hit the Set button to confirm your selection.

---

Setting the Time Code

The time code is a time reference that is recorded automatically to synchronize the audio and video during filming (Figure 9.11). It is recorded in hours, minutes, seconds, and frames. If you are using an external audio-recording device, having an accurate time code will be a life-saver when you sync your audio. You can find the setting in the second Video menu tab.

For an in-depth description of the Time Code settings, visit page 220 of your user’s manual.

Figure 9.11. The Time Code settings can be found in the second Video menu tab.

---