Which Timecode Cable Do I Need?

One question which comes up quite often is which timecode cable do I need for this shoot I have coming up? Ambient has put together a little site which helps make it a little easier to answer that question. Of course it assumes you’ll be using one of their timecode boxes with a 5-pin lemo connector, but it does identify the types of connectors you’ll find on all of the major cinema cameras. So just substitute the type of connector you need for your timecode generator whether Ambient, Tentacle Sync, Denecke, Timecode Systems, Moze Gear, or others.

Another thing to keep in mind is that timecode cables are sometimes uni-directional. So you will need to take care to choose the correct directionality for your purposes. I.e., you might need one cable to jam sync the timecode box to your mixer’s timecode generator, assuming that’s what you’re using as the master clock. Then you might need a different cable to feed the timecode from the generator to the camera.

Ambient Timecode Cable Guide

Once you’ve sorted out which connectors you need on your cable, there’s a good selection of them available at B&H.

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