Sony FX3 Wireless Audio Setup – 1 Mic to 2 Cameras!
In this video I talk about the Sony FX3 wireless audio kit I use and describe how it’s possible to send audio from one shotgun mic to two cameras as well as many other configurations. I also talk about how I’ve modified my Sony FX3 Rig to work with this setup and use my Sony A7iv as B camera.
Sony UWP-D Wireless – My Sony FX3 and A7iv Mic Setup
Audio Kit
Sennheiser MKH416 mic – https://geni.us/WeoR8
Sony UWP-D Kit with XLR – https://geni.us/hXon2a
Sony SMAD-P5 Adapter – https://geni.us/zAQc
Rode Videomic NTG – https://geni.us/mGnF7
FX3 Rig – A Camera
Sony FX3 – https://geni.us/Mc4njM
Sony 50mm GM – https://geni.us/NRL7d
SmallRig half cage – https://geni.us/No7EPwh
SmallRig handle extension – https://geni.us/uenOVz
SmallRig 4″ carbon rod – https://geni.us/tnQgRS2
SmallRig XLR Top Plate – https://geni.us/0QidONE
Tilta Mirage Matte Box – https://geni.us/6FfRaOt
Nitze monitor mount – https://geni.us/VIGVG9
Vaxis ATOM A5 Single – https://geni.us/MjIx
A7iv Rig – B Camera
Sony A7iv – https://geni.us/aQbmV4
Sony 24-70 II GM – https://geni.us/EZBXveS
SmallRig A7iv baseplate – https://geni.us/pMxLSeB
Niceyrig cold shoe 15mm Adapter – https://geni.us/K8mpS
SmallRig 6″ carbon rod – https://geni.us/EheyP
Nitze monitor mount – https://geni.us/VIGVG9
Vaxis ATOM A5 Single – https://geni.us/MjIx
Lights used making the video
Aputure 300x – https://geni.us/wyZgjP
Aputure 60x – https://geni.us/b2QnCci
Amaran T4c – https://geni.us/zaXtQEl
Table of Contents
00:00 – Intro
00:16 – Sony UWP-D Kit
02:13 – One Mic to Two Cameras
03:35 – Sony FX3 A Camera Rig
05:50 – Sony A7iv B Camera Rig
06:27 – Vaxis ATOM A5
06:43 – Final Thoughts
Sony FX3 Wireless Audio Setup
I use the Sony UWP-D series wireless kit and one of the best things about using this kit with Sony cameras is that you can power the receiver from the cameras MI shoe as well as record audio direct to the camera without neieding to use additional cables.
This is achieved by using the Sony SMAD-P5 adapter. Using this adapter lets the receiver send a digital audio signal direct to the recorded video file without it having to be converted back to analogue and the levels adjusted using the cameras built in pre-amps.
In my audio kit I have two types of transmitters, firstly theres the UTX-B40 which is a typical wireless body pack with a lav mic. This one comes with a Sony ECM-V1 lav mic however I upgraded my mic to the Sony ECM77 which is a well known industry standard mic.
I also have the UTX-P40 which is an XLR plug on transmitter that can be used with XLR shotgun mics or connected to an XLR output on something like a mixing desk. I use this with either my Sennheiser mkh-416 or rode NTG-3 shotgun mics. Both of these require +48v Phantom Power and the UTX-P40 has the ability to output the required voltage.
In terms of receivers I use l two of the URX-P40 single channel receivers. Sony does make a dual channel receiver that can be used to receive a signal from two transmitters at the same time but having two single channel receivers allows me to do that plus a lot more. Let me show you some of those…
Occasionally I like to use the XLR and Lav mic together for an interview to give me two options for audio. I can still do four channel recording on my FX3 with this setup, I just need to use both receivers connected via XLR to the audio handle with each one receiving the signal from each mic.
Where this setup is really shines though is when I’m using two cameras.
Most of the time I’m just using one boomed shotgun mic for talking heads. The great thing about the UWP-D system is that it allows me to send the audio from that one mic to both of my cameras wirelessly at the same time.
To do this all I need to do is dial in the same channel and frequency on all three devices. As well is setting the frequency manually the UWP-D system has this really cool feature where you can search for the clearest channel on the receiver and then sync the devices just by touching them together. If using two receivers with one transmitter you can sync the first pair using the this method and then on the second receiver you can choose to sync it with the transmitter and again just touch them together to have all three devices working together.
Prior to this way of working I used to fit an on camera shotgun to my B-camera in order to capture scratch audio that I could use to sync the clips in post. Having both cameras recording the higher quality audio straight from the main mic makes this process easier by having the exact same audio recording on both cameras. It also gives me a backup of the high quality audio should anything happen with the recording on one of the two cameras.
You might notice that I’ve made a couple of changes to my FX3 rig in order to better support this way of working. I like to use the Smallrig FX3 half cage which uses these 15mm rods which I’m a huge fan of however it also has this big adjuster on top that gets in the way of anything you try and fit to the cameras MI shoe. I replaced that with a pan head bolt. This works well as it has a slotted top that can be tightened or loosened using the flat head screwdriver tool thats attached to the bottom of the cage. If you want to do the same then you need to look for a 16mm M5 bolt, I did have widen the slot a little on mine with a file to make the Smallrig tool fit.
With the bolt replaced it’s possible to fit the URX-P40 to the MI shoe without any clearance problems and then still use the 15mm rod to mount a monitor. I’ve also removed the standard mic holder from my FX3’s audio handle. I did this because I found I was rarely using a full shotgun mic fitted to my FX3. For general on camera audio I’ll normally opt for my Rode VideoMic NTG. This works great either on top of the audio handle or attached to the SmallRig half cage with a more compact setup. I also fitted this Smallrig adapter to the audio handle that allows me to fit a cold shoe device on top of the audio module so I can mount both receivers if required with the audio handle.
One other benefit of removing the Sony mic holder is that it’s much easier to pack the audio handle. I found packing the FX3’s audio handle to be a total pain, it takes up a lot of room and seems like something that could easily be broken if not well packed. With the mic holder removed it’s a lot easier to pack on my camera bag.
I’ve been shooting with the Sony A7iv as my B camera and the UWP-D system also works great with that. Because I also use that camera for photography I don’t like having a cage on that however I do have a Smallrig baseplate on it which has a cold shoe on the bottom. When using a Sony receiver on that camera I fit a 15mm rod to the base to allow me to also attach a monitor. I’ve been using the Vaxis ATOM a5 wireless monitors for a couple of months now and like to fit one on there so that I can monitor both cameras from the same position.
