new Panasonic, new Sony... do any allow for ext. mic attachment?
 

Hi,
I'm want to get one of these little guys to work as a second handheld unit... so I want something small and compact. But I think I need something that I can attach an external mic to, in case sometimes I'm shooting with this thing alone.
Do any of these little guys allow for this?
Thanks,
Malcolm

It drives me CRAZY that external mic capability gets left off so many of these cameras.

However...it does seem the Canon Vixia's have it - see towards the end of this link:

http://gizmodo.com/341768/canons-hd-...0-need-no-tape

Pretty sure that I saw something about a mic jack on the new Canons - check Chris's pictures http://www.dvinfo.net/gallery/browseimages.php?c=52

The Sony SR11/12 have a mic input as well, plus several proprietary mics available for the AIS.

Even the CX7 can take a mic on the AIS via an adapter.

It looks like the HS9 and SD9 do not have an external mic input - just AV out (and component out and HDMI out, why so many outs?) The guy at CES confidently told me that this included a mic input, but he could be wrong. The printed materials say no mic input.

I've asked a friend at Panasonic to confirm things, but I haven't yet heard his response. Probably a matter of finding the right guy inside the company.

If I buy the camera, I'll probably void the warranty and tap into the internal mic to get a connection. It's a must-have feature for me.

I have confirmed that the HS9 and SD9 cams do not have an external mic input. The GS500 is their only remaining consumer camera with the feature, and it will soon be discontinued.

I put in a request for this feature to return to future models...

Jon - - this sounds like a great idea. Have you done it before? Is it incredibly complicated? What would you have to do - - actually cut apart the exterior shell of the camera... I wouldn't even know where to start. Would appreciate any advice.
Malcolm

No, I've not modified such a camcorder before.

I would assume that I'd need to get access to the mic compartment, disconnect the wires from the mic, figure out the sensitivity, possibly add a small preamp circuit and a connector.

If lucky, it would fit in the cam and be wired to the AV Out minijack. But I doubt that I'd be that lucky. I would probably wire it so it would maintain the audio out for headphone use.

But for now, I will wait for NAB to see what Scarlet is...

Thanks for the reply. I will try this myself, if another camera doesn't materialize in the next little while. Is this what you're referring to in the quotation above? What (or should I say 'Who') is this 'Scarlet', and please don't tell me that “frankly, (you) don't give a damn”.
Malcolm

You're a brave man Jon! -- I've been in electronics manufacture all my working life, and I would think twice before diving into what is likely to be a surface mounted miniature nightmare!
Plus the fact that the mics are going to be electrets, so the mic terminals will present a small D.C. voltage of ? volts---at ? impedance --too many unknowns!

Surely simpler to record your remote mic directly to a remote audio recorder, and use the onboard camera recorded audio as a sync track in post?
That's what I do with my SD5 -works very well, and is not difficult to do.
'Syncing' remotely recorded audio quite simple, if you approach it logically.

Roger, I'm not saying I *would* do it, but I'd consider it. If I broke the center channel to the cam, I'd hardly care - we never use the built-in mic.

And, yes, there are a multitude of concerns. Being an electrical engineer, the electronics don't scare me as much as the mechanical aspect. The solution is useless if it's unreliable. Or if I break the cam trying to open it up.

A separate audio recorder is a valid solution, but it ads time in post, ads another person, if we use a slate, ads cost for the external recorder, and ads risk if one recorder is on while the other is off. Recording into the camera really simplifies things, and the quality is typically adequate for our needs.

I agree, Jon... I often do record with a second camera that has a poor mic., and have to sync when I edit, and I find it a bit of a pain.
It's just unfortunate that the small cameras these companies are making no longer have the ext. mic jack; understandable, I guess, given their market... but unfortunate.
Let me know if you do decide to open up a camera...
By the way, were you referring to a new camera to be announced at NAB?
Malcolm

Yeah, RED will unveil the Scarlet Pocket Camera at NAB.

All we know for sure is that
* It is a video camera, (not just stills.)
* It is a Pocket camera, so it's MUCH smaller than RED ONE.
* It isn't intended to compete with RED ONE.
* RED filed a trademark for Scarlet 2K, so we have a hint about the resolution (though RED owner Jim Jannard says "things can change.")
* It's a Professional camera, so it will include pro features. For which market (ENG, 16mm cinema, weddings...) we don't know.

Most everything else is speculation. There's been so much good speculation that somebody probably has it right! (And everybody else has some of it wrong...)