Topic: economical external mic options for camcorder? $150-ish

[ozarkbilly]

SSIA pretty much - for a Canon HV20 live music purposes

[rastasean]

Do you record music? What kind of mics do you use for that?

Most camera mics are not stereo and don't seem to like the SPL to be too high. I've heard really good things about the Rode video mic, stereo mic and ntg1. But the VM and the NTG1 are mono.

You may consider running your audio separate from the video. I have an interview I would like to do and I'm going to do this.

Good luck

[ozarkbilly]

I sold my audio rig (Edirol R-09, Church preamp & mics) to purchase the cam.  I saw the Audio Technica ATR25 & ATR55 mics, they're SERIOUSLY cheap.  Wonder if they would be an improvement over the onboard mics?

[Wiesel]

I saw the Audio Technica ATR25 & ATR55 mics, they're SERIOUSLY cheap.  Wonder if they would be an improvement over the onboard mics?

I wonder that as well, haven't found any decent reviews on the net though :/ Maybe they're too cheap so nobody cares about them... anyway, I'd prefer the ATR25 for live shows since it is stereo and if I have some money left I don't know what to do with I'll give it a try some day.

[Church-Audio]

I sold my audio rig (Edirol R-09, Church preamp & mics) to purchase the cam.  I saw the Audio Technica ATR25 & ATR55 mics, they're SERIOUSLY cheap.  Wonder if they would be an improvement over the onboard mics?

You should have kept my 9000 preamp its perfect for going into a camcorder to avoid distortion.

[stantheman1976]

The ATR25 I don't believe would be great for loud music.  I just got the Nady CM-2S which is basically identical in specs to the AT822 stereo mic.  I Googled and found a few samples beforehand.  It was about $130 at Sound Professionals and you can find it at Amazon for $109.  Only problem is it's kind of big and does not come with a camcorder mount.  You'll have to buy that separately.  It's a good quality mic for a reasonable price though.

[ozarkbilly]

I sold my audio rig (Edirol R-09, Church preamp & mics) to purchase the cam.  I saw the Audio Technica ATR25 & ATR55 mics, they're SERIOUSLY cheap.  Wonder if they would be an improvement over the onboard mics?

You should have kept my 9000 preamp its perfect for going into a camcorder to avoid distortion.

Sure, Captain Obvious, kick me while I'm down... 

[ozarkbilly]

The ATR25 I don't believe would be great for loud music.  I just got the Nady CM-2S which is basically identical in specs to the AT822 stereo mic.  I Googled and found a few samples beforehand.  It was about $130 at Sound Professionals and you can find it at Amazon for $109.  Only problem is it's kind of big and does not come with a camcorder mount.  You'll have to buy that separately.  It's a good quality mic for a reasonable price though.

have you had a chance to try it out yet?  Got any samples if so?

[firmdragon]

if you want really cheap, there's always the realistic 33-1065.  legendary external mics for stealth filmers in the 1990s.  not a lot of bass response, you'll also need to find a way to mount them,  and they've been discontinued for a while now.  but they won't distort on you.  they pop up on ebay from time to time, usually somewhere between $10-$40.

[guitard]

The problem I've had with using a mic connected to the videocam is that sometimes there's a problem with the connection - but you don't know it until you review the tape.  Typically it's  a problem with audio dropouts in either one or both channels.  If it's only one channel, you're OK, because you can copy the audio from the good channel over to the bad channel once you get it into an NLE.  But I've had a few occasions where there wasn't any audio.  And no one else recorded audio at that show - so I was basically screwed.

So I'm always a bit leary about using a mic connected to the videocam.  I prefer to have a separate recorder for the audio.  And this way, I've got two audio sources.  And even though the cam audio usually sounds like crap, it beats the crap out out of not having any audio at all.

[beefstew]

The problem I've had with using a mic connected to the videocam is that sometimes there's a problem with the connection - but you don't know it until you review the tape.  Typically it's  a problem with audio dropouts in either one or both channels.  If it's only one channel, you're OK, because you can copy the audio from the good channel over to the bad channel once you get it into an NLE.  But I've had a few occasions where there wasn't any audio.  And no one else recorded audio at that show - so I was basically screwed.

So I'm always a bit leary about using a mic connected to the videocam.  I prefer to have a separate recorder for the audio.  And this way, I've got two audio sources.  And even though the cam audio usually sounds like crap, it beats the crap out out of not having any audio at all.

or get a pair of headphones to monitor the audio

[stantheman1976]

The problem I've had with using a mic connected to the videocam is that sometimes there's a problem with the connection - but you don't know it until you review the tape.  Typically it's  a problem with audio dropouts in either one or both channels.  If it's only one channel, you're OK, because you can copy the audio from the good channel over to the bad channel once you get it into an NLE.  But I've had a few occasions where there wasn't any audio.  And no one else recorded audio at that show - so I was basically screwed.

So I'm always a bit leary about using a mic connected to the videocam.  I prefer to have a separate recorder for the audio.  And this way, I've got two audio sources.  And even though the cam audio usually sounds like crap, it beats the crap out out of not having any audio at all.

or get a pair of headphones to monitor the audio

Some cams don't have headphone jacks.  I don't know if he was talking about SD cams or HD cams.  With my Panasonic PV-GS300 and GS400 I've never had a problem.  As long as the cable is good and you make sure the plug is in correctly.  I think he was referring to the actual physical connection of the mic but I think on the Canon HV20/30 in HD mode the audio can drop out occasionally.  I don't have one yet but I've seen it mentioned.

[stantheman1976]

The ATR25 I don't believe would be great for loud music.  I just got the Nady CM-2S which is basically identical in specs to the AT822 stereo mic.  I Googled and found a few samples beforehand.  It was about $130 at Sound Professionals and you can find it at Amazon for $109.  Only problem is it's kind of big and does not come with a camcorder mount.  You'll have to buy that separately.  It's a good quality mic for a reasonable price though.

have you had a chance to try it out yet?  Got any samples if so?

No.  I haven't had really done anything since I've had it so I have not had a chance to test it.  I Googled "Nady CM-2S samples" and found a couple message boards with talk about it and a couple samples posted. 

[guitard]

The problem I've had with using a mic connected to the videocam is that sometimes there's a problem with the connection - but you don't know it until you review the tape.  Typically it's  a problem with audio dropouts in either one or both channels.  If it's only one channel, you're OK, because you can copy the audio from the good channel over to the bad channel once you get it into an NLE.  But I've had a few occasions where there wasn't any audio.  And no one else recorded audio at that show - so I was basically screwed.

So I'm always a bit leary about using a mic connected to the videocam.  I prefer to have a separate recorder for the audio.  And this way, I've got two audio sources.  And even though the cam audio usually sounds like crap, it beats the crap out out of not having any audio at all.

or get a pair of headphones to monitor the audio

I think he was referring to the actual physical connection of the mic.

Exactly.

And it's especially true when stealthing, because you usually can't use a tripod.  So you end up handling the cam a lot more than you otherwise would have to, and that occasional jostling around of the cam can fairly easily result in a mic connection problem.

[stantheman1976]

With something like the Nady mic you wouldn't easily do stealth.  I think it's almost exactly the same size as the AT822.  The Nady has a rounded front instead. 

Everything I do is tripod shot or low action hand held so it's never been an issue for me.