Microphone recommendation
 

I'm looking for an on-camera microphone that will improve the sound quality for my low end camcorder, (trv38). I've narrowed it down to two microphones, the Azden SGM-X shotgun microphone, or the Sony ECM-Z37C shotgun microphone. Which one do you guys recommend, or do you recommend something different?

Tyrone

I'd go to a Sony store and try that shotgun out compared to the Sony MS908/907 and the Azden if you can. Check how much sound the shotgun rejects and the sound quality of it on headphones. I'd definitely try a mic before buying it, since some Sony mics suck even more than the on-board camera mic.

Yeah, I wish I could test these mics, but there aren't any Sony stores around here. I'm wondering if anyone has any experience with these mics?

Tyrone

I would just get the Sony. I had a Sony mic and it worked well..., until it broke. :-((

Samson has a very nice C02 - Pencil Condenser which sounds very well.
They are very cheap, sold as stereopair; have a little less detail as much more expensive mics, but sound great.
I heard them in a shop. They will not disappoint you: great value for the money.

http://www.samsontech.com/products/p...1664&brandID=2

a first soundsample is on
http://www1.keyboards.de/magazine/m1203/312130wp.html

Frank, which Sony did you have?

I've used a 930C stereo mic from Sony before and that was a super lemon. Worse than the on-board mic. I've listened a little bit to the MS908 (or 907), and that mic sounds pretty decent. For ambient sound it's a great mic. It should be a good replacement for the on-board camcorder mic.

I wouldn't buy the Sony shotgun unless you get to listen to it first, or know from someone who has. There are a number of issues you can run into:
A- It could sound bad.
B- It might pick up a lot of handling and wind noise.
C- You may not like its off-axis response. Depending on what you do this can be ok (i.e. you're not is a reverberant room, your mic is pointed at what you want). Even really expensive shotguns don't have good off-axis response.

<<<-- Originally posted by Jan Roovers : Samson has a very nice C02 - Pencil Condenser which sounds very well.
They are very cheap, sold as stereopair; have a little less detail as much more expensive mics, but sound great.
I heard them in a shop. They will not disappoint you: great value for the money.
-->>>

Jan, could you tell us a little more about the Samson C02 mics? Can these mics pick up decent sound at a substantial distance from the camera?

I have started a page with some private experiences with microphones.
So nothing profesional but my first jump into this world.

There you will find another sample with the Samson C02.

I was surprised about its quality. It gives less depth as a Sennheiser or a Neumannn of course, but as you will hear, the sound is very very acceptable not to say very good.

Regarding its price and to my opinion it is worth to have it. You will not go wrong with it. It is worth the money

Another tip is to get the Sennheiser E664 as you will see on the page. It is cheaper as the ME64/K6 and exactly the same mic.
I have to go to Germany for that, because thay are not sold in the Netherlands.:-( They are sold for € 259,-here K6/ME64 is sold for € 414,-

Thanks for the input guys, but I'm settling on the Sennheiser MKE300.

Tyrone

Glenn, the Z37C is a totally different mic.

Glen
What camera and mic do you ownright now?

This is embarassing...
I have a Samsung SCD55 mini-DV camera that's mostly crappy. The only task it is good at is shooting stop motion (even then it's not that good). It has an incredibly bad on-board microphone and no shoe mount. At least the camera can read other people's mini-DV footage (but with some problems :/).

Well at least I'll be able to use some decent gear next year at Ryerson. First year is mostly audio. We can borrow $2000 Tascam portable DAT recorders and then capture recordings into a Soundblaster card via analog...

So glenn you would be 17 now right? Do you live in toronto, or nearby?

My Film TA said that York has a good film making class, have you looked into applying there?

I had always thought Ryerson to be the best tech school.

Off-topic
 

No, I'm 18 right now. Live in Toronto (50 minute commute).

I considered York film studies, but didn't get in and Ryerson was my first choice anyways. York seems to be a lot more theoretical- you actually learn about Eisenstein and film history there.

Some of the Ryerson facilities/equipment is a bit questionable but I figure you don't need to be a quality whore to learn as much as you can, as long as the stuff works pretty well. Sometimes the equipment leaves something to be desired. Recording foley without a foley studio and with dynamic mics (ok preamps on the Tascam) will have too much noise in some situations.

I'm pretty sure I'm learning more technical stuff reading Jay's books than in a classroom, but I get to do hands on things and receive feedback, work in groups, learn about creative aspects and other things which you may not get studying by yourself or by interning/volunteering.