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Osmo X5 and Sound

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Hello Forum

I am an Artist currently doing research into new ways of making cinema using improvisation as part of my Phd based in London. (That's obviously the short description!)

I have been using the X5 and Osmo using live sound recording and actors. This stemmed from other research with gimbals etc and X5 seemed to be an incredible solution.

I do think the X5 is *nearly* a revolutionary camera, but the key issue make it impossible to use is live sound situations. I'm sure this has been covered in depth when it first appeared.

You may say "why use a camera that isnt designed for that kind of work?".
Well for me it is due to the astonishing flexibility you get and the high quality images - and the freedom of movement all wiht high quality images. My research pivots around this ability to repond quicky within a fast moving situation.

So my question and any advice sought was to see if anyone has attempted to tackle this sound issue in post production? Noise reduction or other techniques.

have you attempted to do it? what happend? what did you use and did it work?

And/or if anyone has found any solutions in way of using mics that work around it in any way?

I have been using a boom testing two kinds of mic (highly directional and wider) and plus radio mics. All these set ups somehow pick up on that fan sound to grater or lesser degree.

The noise reduction tests I have done work, but at the expense of professional quality sound. Its passable at best.

I am at the point of abandoning the X5 - much to my regret - but this is a last ditch request so find a solution.

I know its the 'wrong camera' for the situation but Research and Art require you to think out of the box.

I hope that DJI are smart enough to realise what they •nearly• have, and how it might really be a game changer for other kinds of filmmaking – which I suspect they clearly hadnt anticipated (or maybe they dont actually care, which is looking increasingly likely)

I hope it's a design consideration for future versions as they would sell 10 times as many if they resolve it.

Thoughts and advice appreciated. Apologies for not being a drone pilot.

Thanks

Pete
 
Last edited:
Hello Forum

I am an Artist currently doing research into new ways of making cinema using improvisation as part of my Phd based in London. (That's obviously the short description!)

I have been using the X5 and Osmo using live sound recording and actors. This stemmed from other research with gimbals etc and X5 seemed to be an incredible solution.

I do think the X5 is *nearly* a revolutionary camera, but the key issue make it impossible to use is live sound situations. I'm sure this has been covered in depth when it first appeared.

You may say "why use a camera that isnt designed for that kind of work?".
Well for me it is due to the astonishing flexibility you get and the high quality images - and the freedom of movement all wiht high quality images. My research pivots around this ability to repond quicky within a fast moving situation.

So my question and any advice sought was to see if anyone has attempted to tackle this sound issue in post production? Noise reduction or other techniques.

have you attempted to do it? what happend? what did you use and did it work?

And/or if anyone has found any solutions in way of using mics that work around it in any way?

I have been using a boom testing two kinds of mic (highly directional and wider) and plus radio mics. All these set ups somehow pick up on that fan sound to grater or lesser degree.

The noise reduction tests I have done work, but at the expense of professional quality sound. Its passable at best.

I am at the point of abandoning the X5 - much to my regret - but this is a last ditch request so find a solution.

I know its the 'wrong camera' for the situation but Research and Art require you to think out of the box.

I hope that DJI are smart enough to realise what they •nearly• have, and how it might really be a game changer for other kinds of filmmaking – which I suspect they clearly hadnt anticipated (or maybe they dont actually care, which is looking increasingly likely)

I hope it's a design consideration for future versions as they would sell 10 times as many if they resolve it.

Thoughts and advice appreciated. Apologies for not being a drone pilot.

Thanks

Pete
Why not just use an external digital recorder and sync up with a clapper board/hand clap?
 
Why not just use an external digital recorder and sync up with a clapper board/hand clap?

Hi Thanks for the interest.

I am using an External 8 track digital recorder (ZoomF8) with Radio mics (Sennheiser EW100s) and Boom using two types of mics (416 and NKH 50) and using clapper board to synch.

The sound is un-usable. I have to use the footage for documentation purposes only.

I have now also tried post production solutions on the samples I recorded. Two specialists used both Adobe Audition and Izotope which removed alot, and made it considerably better but at the expense of a professional quality sound. That fan noise sound is somehow all pervading...

To complicate matters, all my film ensemble are usually moving alot: boom, actors, camera which make consistent noise profile even more problematic to identify in post. Masking the noise on camera doesnt work either - Ive tried. There is no 'fan off' solution.

I'm ready and wanted to shoot a Feature film on this camera -– its the ideal solution for me - it's light flexible and shoots amazing images as you know.
But, it looks like the sound issue will prevent me doing that.

I'm aware that I'm using it for purposes beyond its original core design (drone use) but being a Researcher always pushes the boundaries. That's the point to look towards the "new". My research has developed a new method for making films using this kind of camera – which allows actors to improvise alongside and with an improvsing camera - hence the specific interest.

I hope that someone out there at DJI is adding these issues to their own technical research team. I would love to know. Are they? Who knows?!

Thanks for your input!

Pete Gomes
(Doctoral Researcher, Middlesex University, London)
 
Hi Thanks for the interest.

I am using an External 8 track digital recorder (ZoomF8) with Radio mics (Sennheiser EW100s) and Boom using two types of mics (416 and NKH 50) and using clapper board to synch.

The sound is un-usable. I have to use the footage for documentation purposes only.

I have now also tried post production solutions on the samples I recorded. Two specialists used both Adobe Audition and Izotope which removed alot, and made it considerably better but at the expense of a professional quality sound. That fan noise sound is somehow all pervading...

To complicate matters, all my film ensemble are usually moving alot: boom, actors, camera which make consistent noise profile even more problematic to identify in post. Masking the noise on camera doesnt work either - Ive tried. There is no 'fan off' solution.

I'm ready and wanted to shoot a Feature film on this camera -– its the ideal solution for me - it's light flexible and shoots amazing images as you know.
But, it looks like the sound issue will prevent me doing that.

I'm aware that I'm using it for purposes beyond its original core design (drone use) but being a Researcher always pushes the boundaries. That's the point to look towards the "new". My research has developed a new method for making films using this kind of camera – which allows actors to improvise alongside and with an improvsing camera - hence the specific interest.

I hope that someone out there at DJI is adding these issues to their own technical research team. I would love to know. Are they? Who knows?!

Thanks for your input!

Pete Gomes
(Doctoral Researcher, Middlesex University, London)
OK, well first of all, DJI will certainly not be doing any more development on either the X5 or the Osmo which is very old tech now.

That being said, I am not absolutely sure what you are trying to achieve but to attain the quality of sound you require I would advocate using good quality boom mics. This would normally be aided by the use of a safe area mask if utilizing a professional camera which of course the X5 is a million miles from.
Professional quality diegetic content capture is of course a whole specialized area of its own.

I would suggest using the search function on the forum since this subject (like most) has been covered previously.
OSMO Noise Solution

Rhode Micro mod to minimize Noise
 
I am a location sound mixer with 25+ years experience doing nationally broadcasted television shows. I have successfully used the OSMO Pro on numerous occasions as a B or C camera. I simply put a Tentacle sync box on it and feed the Tentacle into the OSMO’s 1/8” mic input. This puts my audio timecode on the OSMO’s audio track which is then used to synchronize my audio with the OSMO footage. Works perfectly.
 
There is a way to cut the fans but a risk to burn the recorder unit
 

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