There's the Sound Devices MIX-PRE too. That only has 2 channels but it's considerably cheaper than the 302

Might be worth adding to your list

I use a Behringer MXB1002 which is both mono and stereo and both AC and DC. It works very well and is inexpensive.

The current version of the model is:

UBB1002. It appears to be the same unit.

Behringer UBB1002 Eurorack 10-Channel Mixer from zZounds.com!

John

My favorite has been the Shure FP33 for many years. They're very common around here and the rental houses usually have them. You might consider renting until you can afford a good quality one. In terms of cheaper mixers, that Sign people have mentioned looks pretty good for the money. I haven't seen one in person but the specs are reasonable and several people are using them now, and it's close to 1/3 the price of the Shure.

Thank you all for all your feedback, all very good advice. I will be reading up on all these mixers and try to make a final decision.

Mike

Thanks to this thread, I have just ordered a sign 44. I've heard too many good things about it now. Lets hope it's what I'm after :)

We just started carrying the Sign ENG-44. It's a great mixer for the money.
SignVideo ENG-44 Portable Mixer at DVcreators.net

I was also just introduced to the boom remote on the PSC DV ProMix 1. That's another model to consider if you don't need 4 channels.

DV Promix 1

Although it's strange that PSC put the boom remote on the ProMix 1 single channel mixer and not on the ProMix 3. I wonder what's up with that.

One of the sound crew for Jeopardy was in here showing me his older PSC mixer with boom remote on a red K-Tek traveler. I thought it was the coolest thing until I learned the boom remote was only available on the bottom of the line model, and on the top of line AlphaMix.

Has anyone tried using a recorder like the Tascam DR-1 Portable Digital Recorder connected to your mixer for recording sound instead of directly to the camera? I'm wondering what is the quality like??????

Reggie,

Yes, I have on several occassions recorded to my Marantz PMD660 compact flash recorder. It sounds great and is easy to hook up through USB and upload the files right to the producer's laptop. There are a number of similar products out there these days, all of which have the specs to get good audio. So from there it's just a matter of price, features and reliability. The Tascam you mentioned gets good reviews as does the Zoom H2 (or H4 if you want 4 tracks). The Sony PCM-D50 is one I'd love to try. Or let's take it another step and dream about owning the Sound Devices 788 8-track! The PMD600 is a little bigger than some of the other units, but I like that it has XLR connectors if you want to use external mics. Usually I am going into a mixer, then on to the PMD600, so I typically only use the 1/8" stereo line-in anyway.

Have fun!

Rob

Thanks Rob...That was very helpful