Hello, I make videos with a Canon 100d. I bought it as it can record both video and audio at the same time. I am planning to buy a shotgun mic (Rode VideoMic Rycote) to go with it so that I can record outdoors. (Now I record sound into my laptop in Audacity - not a good outdoor setup.)
However I have read that when I plug in an external microphone into a Canon 100d (or others from that product line), there is a hiss “a result of bad in-camera preamps”. What do you think of the following plan? Buy the mic, convert mp4 recordings into mp3, run noise removal in Audacity, continue in my video editing software. Any thoughts on this? Thanks!
I make videos with a Canon 100d
What kind of microphone connection does that have? “Computer mics” are not interchangeable with professional stage/studio mics and studio condensers require phantom power.
I don’t know, but I wouldn’t expect the preamp in the camera to be worse than the preamp in your laptop…
It’s hard to say if the noise reduction will help… Noise reduction is not always perfect and if the noise is bad “the cure can be worse than the disease”.
In an outdoor environment there will likely be other acoustic noise and wind noise. And if possible, it’s better to get the microphone close to the sound source rather than using a shotgun mic. (Of course a shotgun is better than an omnidirectional or cardioid.) The real issue is the signal-to-noise ratio… With a strong enough signal the hiss might not be a problem and with a weak signal it will be worse.
convert mp4 recordings into mp3,
No! You should NOT convert from one lossy format to another. If you install the optional FFmpeg input/output library Audacity can open and “extract” the audio from your audio/video file. Then you can export to WAV (or AAC/MP4/M4A) before importing it into your video editor.
(Now I record sound into my laptop in Audacity - not a good outdoor setup.)
With a good microphone and an [u]audio interface[/u] the quality would depend on the microphone, interface, and the the quality of the sound (and noise) reaching the microphone. But it’s more equipment to lug around and set-up, and anytime there is a computer involved there is more chance of something going wrong. 
Hi, @DVDdoug, thank you for your reply! I am glad to hear your advice not to convert from mp4 to mp3. I wondered about the lossy aspect of those too but did not know I had an alternative, thank you! I am writing your advice down.
What kind of microphone connection does that have? “Computer mics” are not interchangeable with professional stage/studio mics and studio condensers require phantom power.
The Canon 100D has a 3,5mm audio socket and the shotgun microphone I want to buy will have that jack. I want to buy a shotgun mic that is battery-powered. In the meantime I contacted Rode and asked a similar question. They said that as far as they know, it is a general DSLR problem and they suggested a Rode Videomic Pro or Pro + where I could raise the volume of the incoming signal by +20 dB to counteract the problem, as opposed to the mic I posted about originally, where I could only set it to be lower.
I don’t know, but I wouldn’t expect the preamp in the camera to be worse than the preamp in your laptop…
When recording into my laptop with Superlux E205umkii, I have very little noise to begin with. When I bought a Rode SmartLav and plugged it into my Canon 100d camera, there was a distinct hiss (in a quiet room). That is why I asked for advice before buying another microphone to plug into the Canon. At this point I have read in a few forums that there is a hiss with those DSLRs.
It’s hard to say if the noise reduction will help… Noise reduction is not always perfect and if the noise is bad “the cure can be worse than the disease”.
Thank you!
The real issue is the signal-to-noise ratio… With a strong enough signal the hiss might not be a problem and with a weak signal it will be worse.
I would try to have the camera and microphone about 1.2 metres away from me. If I buy that microphone where I can raise the incoming volume by +20 dB, do you think that will help with the signal-to-noise ratio?
I would try to have the camera and microphone about 1.2 metres away from me. If I buy that microphone where I can raise the incoming volume by +20 dB, do you think that will help with the signal-to-noise ratio?
It WILL help overcome any preamp noise in the camera. (That’s assuming the preamp built-into the mic is less noisy. 
) But of course, it won’t help with acoustic noise since the acoustic noise will be amplified along with the sound you’re trying to record. But, the more-directional shotgun mic should help with that.
Hi, DVDdoug, thank you very much for all your advice, I appreciate you taking the time to answer me! All the best to you!