Ambient Sound Recording
 

How about suggesting a good mono mic that is compatible with the mic jack of the DVC-30 for recording ambient sounds (birds, streams, ocean etc.) I do not have XLR adapter. Hand held mic is ok.

Thanks,

Mark

The Sony MS908/907 sounds pretty good. You could check it out at a Sony store... if they don't let you try it in-store, they have a refund policy (be sure to read it carefully, keep your receipt and packaging). I would only buy it only after you have listened to it on headphones (or really good monitors).

Thanks Glenn,

Was looking for a mono mic a little more substantial, up to $200.

How about the Rode VideoMic?

You shouldn't necessarily judge microphones by their price, as some microphones do give really good sound at a low price. For example, every music recording studio has a Shure SM57 or equivalent, which is $100 or so. you wouldn't use that microphone for video though, unless you want a podium microphone.

I haven't directly compared to MS908/907 to other microphones, but it should definitely beat out the Rode VideoMic (a cheap shotgun). A shotgun microphone is more appropriate for other uses. The main use of a shotgun is grabbing sound where background noise is very high. Shotguns add (extreme) coloration to off-axis sounds, and pickup more wind and handling noise than other microphones. In your case a stronger windscreen may be needed to avoid wind rumble.

2- If you're recording ambiences, I think stereo would be nice?

3- I suppose your other options would be to:
A- Find a condenser microphone that runs off battery power and uses an XLR connector. Get the appropriate XLR adapter cable with DC power blocking ($15-50).
Omni, cardioid, or stereo would work fine.

B- Find a microphone with mini-plug connector and isn't a shotgun. There aren't too many around... and I don't know too much about them. Sony has one or two others in its catalogue, which you could try out at a Sony Store or similar store.

C- This may sound crazy, but the on-board microphone on your camcorder may not be that bad at all. As long as they sound decent and do not pickup camera noise, they may be good enough for your needs. They may also be better than a microphone you can buy (i.e. the Sony MS-930C is a total lemon... worse than some on-board mics).

While they do call it a "shotgun", the VideoMic performs like a supercardioid with not only very good sound performance but specs that are far superior to the MS908. It's not even close. As with most Rode mics, they perform dramatically better than their price indicates. While I agree that stereo for ambience is usually a better plan, he asked for mono, so that's what I recommended.

Maybe they should call it a hypercardioid or supercardioid microphone instead? It doesn't look like other shotguns microphones (off-axis coloration, high rejection). I took a look at the specs and they were detailed and informative (i.e. the polar pattern, and the frequency response response graph) which is a good sign.

I've never heard the Rode Videomic so I would have no idea how it stacks up.

Since I don't plan to mount the mic on the cam to avoid motor noise and FS-4 fan noise what do you think of the Sony ECM-MS957 - Stereo Condenser Microphone.

See: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=productlist&A=details&Q=&sku=150435&is=REG

Regards,

Mark

The easiest thing to do would be to go to a Sony Store (or similar) and compare the two. The cheaper microphone may be better.

The MS907/908 (one in camcorder version, the other isn't and may have a pretty long cord) is better than the pricier ECM-S930C for example (or maybe I got a lemon).

Again, no idea how those mic stack up to other microphones.