Topic: Please tapers read this.. Dont need long answer!

[Sindre]

Okey, So I have bought a camcorder... Sony DCR-HC16E - With "Mic in".

Is this a good Microphone? And is that site "safe" to buy from?

http://www.giant-squid-audio-lab.com/gs/gs...redbattery1.htm

[Rich.]

The link dosen't work.

But yes, that site is safe to buy from.

[Sindre]

http://www.giant-squid-audio-lab.com/gs/gs-poweredbattery1.htm

[Sindre]

Will that work for my camcorder`?

[Nick Graham]

Will that work for my camcorder`?

Yes

(hope that answer's not too fucking long...)

[dklein]

Those mics aren't likely to sound much different than the ones built into the camera.  Depending on what you want, they may be worse and pick up more of the sound you don't want (omnis vs. cardiod in the camera).
The bigger problem is the automatic level control built into your camera.  It will make every mic sound bad!

But yes...they will work  i.e. produce a sound

[Sindre]

so what do you suggest I shall get?

[dklein]

What are you trying to accomplish?  Is this for recording concerts?

[Sindre]

What are you trying to accomplish?  Is this for recording concerts?

Yep, metallica, motorhead, coldplay etc:) heavy shit...

[SparkE!]

I'm going to disagree with dklein here.  Those mics will actually make a huge difference in sound.  The ones inside the camcorder are run from too low of a bias voltage and they overload easily.  The giant squids have a 9V battery box and don't overload until the SPL is over 130 dB.  Most cameras bug out at about 105 to 110 dB.

****HOWEVER**** The signal will bee too hot at the mic input to your camera.  You will need to attenuate the signal about 30 dB. The way I've done it on a Sony DCR-TRV38 is to add a series 180k resistor to both the right and left signal paths.  The input impedance of the camera's mic input is about 5.6k so the attenuation you get from the series 180 ohm resistor is 20 log (185.6/5.6) which is about 30.4 dB.

What I normally do with that exact model of mic is run it into the line input on a NJB3 and also run it through the attenuator cable to my video camera.  That way, I have an uncompressed audio source to substitute for the one on the camera if I choose to make a DVD from the video.  (Mini-DV's audio is a compressed, MPEG2 format with AGC on the front end.)

Anyway, if you use about 30 dB of attenuation with those mics, you'll get WAY better audio than relying on the camera's internal mics.

[SparkE!]

And sorry... That's as short an answer as I ever give.

[Sindre]

I'm going to disagree with dklein here.  Those mics will actually make a huge difference in sound.  The ones inside the camcorder are run from too low of a bias voltage and they overload easily.  The giant squids have a 9V battery box and don't overload until the SPL is over 130 dB.  Most cameras bug out at about 105 to 110 dB.

****HOWEVER**** The signal will bee too hot at the mic input to your camera.  You will need to attenuate the signal about 30 dB. The way I've done it on a Sony DCR-TRV38 is to add a series 180k resistor to both the right and left signal paths.  The input impedance of the camera's mic input is about 5.6k so the attenuation you get from the series 180 ohm resistor is 20 log (185.6/5.6) which is about 30.4 dB.

What I normally do with that exact model of mic is run it into the line input on a NJB3 and also run it through the attenuator cable to my video camera.  That way, I have an uncompressed audio source to substitute for the one on the camera if I choose to make a DVD from the video.  (Mini-DV's audio is a compressed, MPEG2 format with AGC on the front end.)

Anyway, if you use about 30 dB of attenuation with those mics, you'll get WAY better audio than relying on the camera's internal mics.

English please:P I don't undestand a word here, or I do understand everything!:D But what do you suggest I shall do? Can I buy that mic i showed you? and do I have to buy some extra cables?

[greenone]

English:

If you're taping those bands with those mics (you need two to make a stereo recording), it will overload your camera's input unless you attenuate (lower) the signal somehow. This can be accomplished with an attenuator, which you will need to buy. You will also need a battery box, which will give your mics enough juice to prevent THEM from overloading.

[Lil Kim Jong-Il]

Are you interested in those mics because you have a limited budget or because they are small?

I think that you would do much better to have an independent person running audio using a regular taping rig and then use the camera's audio to sync video to the better stereo recording later.  The reason I suggest this is because shooting video very often involves dodging security and as you do that the audio captured by the camera will suffer.  Everytime you lower the camera or have to move to a new location, you are going to get bad audio. 

Instead, have one low profile audio taper stand still and get a decent audio recording using those little mics into a JB3 nomad or other small recorder (or much better mics like the tiny DPAs if your budget allows).  Then when you mix the audio and video tracks, you'll have a very decent audio track and the parts of the video that are hosed due to movement or the crowd can be fixed by using stills and video effects to replace the missing video.

[Sindre]

Ahaa... I dont have a big budget, so i dont have "friends" with the right gear to tape... So im giving up on that mic thingy:) but thanks to everyone!!:)