Canon XH A1 And Mackie 1604 VLZ
 

Im thinking about getting the Azden 2X, and ive heard a few things about "if you have a mixer" would it be better to run the Shotgun into the mixer than into the camera? or straight into the camera? Thanks in advance

The 1604 is not exactly an easily portable mixer for location work. If your is mostly in a studio with AC mains power then fine. A mixer will give you better control, it's true, but in real terms unless you have a sound-person to monitor it, it may not make a signfigant difference.

Azden doesn't have the highest reputation. In that price range you might want to look at the Rode NTG-1 or NTG-2 as alternatives. Since your camera provides phantom power the NTG-1 would be especially worth looking at.

I have the XH-A1 and believe in your situation, with a single shotgun and you alone, just running it into the camera will be the best bet. You can even keep the camera on auto and probably get pretty good results.

The mixer you list is pretty big and heavy and meant to be sitting on a table.

I have tried the lesser expensive (under $1000) field mixers and did not like the noise I heard with certain mics. Then I bought a Sound Devices 302 for $1300. The difference is quality of sound going through is abosuletly astounding compared to the cheaper mixers.

For a certain kind of setup where all the variables are known, the less expensive mixers can fill a need. For general use and unknown variables, the Sound Devices 302 is one of the most worthwhile investments I've ever seen to add to a compact production kit:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...3_Channel.html

Again, though, as pointed out above, a sound person may be needed to watch everything. However, in a static setup, the mixer can be added to improve the quality of the audio, even with a one person show. The SD302 also has an extra output than can be used to record audio on a separate recorder, even though you are sending the main outputs to the camera, if this is a consideration for what you are doing. If you are recording musicians or some such where you want uncompressed audio, this is a valuable option.

As suggested above, their are probably better low cost shotguns. The Audio Technica AT897 is another respectable one to consider.

If for some reason you need a studio mixer, the Onyx might be worth looking at. The preamps are better in some ways.

But the onyx doesn't have the limiters the 302 has, nor the preamps.

Reggards,

Ty Ford

I meant better the the Mackie VLZ... not comparing it to the 302.