Thanks guy's for the advice. I'll take a look at some of the mentioned mic's and go from there. Whats the best to go for, the normal mic input or the XLR.

Thanks again,

Mark.

Update,

I went out today to the local music shop. I tried out a standard mic with a XLR plug. It works fine, so I now have to make my mind up and decide which mic to go for.

Go the XLR.

All the mics mentioned are good. I picked up an AKG Blue Line mic. Great mics to add to your list of options for non-stereo mics.

What are they if their non-stereo. Is it better to have stereo. Sorry if its a daft question, but I've never used an external mic before.

Mark

Only you can answer if it is better to have stereo - depends on what you are shooting, what type of sound you want to capture, and what the client wants delivered.

Stereo is good for ambient sound capture, and for events like musical performances. Not especially good for dialog unless the speakers are carefully positioned relative to the mic, and with single person dialog, stereo may have little point. Stereo mics tend to be wide field (often a dual cardoid patterns at 90 degrees) so you do not get much isolation except for sounds directly behind the mic.

Suggest that you spend some time reading about mics and their use. (The Shure web site had some interesting white papers) to help you better frame you requirement and possible solutions.

Well after having a good read, it looks like a shotgun mic would suite my needs. I mainly shoot at air shows, so I think I may go for the Rode NT-G1.

What setting should I use on the A1 if I get the NT-G1. I've switched to XLR in the Audio setup and I'll plug it into the Ch1 XLR plug. Should I turn the +48v switch to on. What should I set the channel input to.

Thanks again for all the response,

Mark

Mark,

I am assuming here you have decided to shoot only with a camera-mounted microphone. This is an important question, as more elaborate techniques (boom, lavalier/wireless, ...) are bound to give better results when properly used.

If you seek versatility on-camera, look into Mid-Side equipment. The advantage is that a single microphone can be both used to "focus" on the front of the camera (depending on the "mid" setup of the microphone), or to render a wider stereo scene. The beauty is that you can decide in post, including adjusting the width of the scene. Of course, the equipment is a bit more expensive than mono. I have the Audiotechnica AT835ST, which is generally well regarded.

In post, you will need to use some specialized software. If your video editing program supports VST, look at the Voxengo MSED plugin: it is free, simple, and does the job.
---
Fred

NB: I strongly suggest you visit the audio forum on this site.

Air shows ... I would think the stereo effect would be desired for action shots as aircraft fly by and to hear the crowd reaction, with shotgun mainly for interview sorts of things.

Don,

Trouble is at air shows, is that you get a lot of commentary from the loud speakers around the field which can drown out a lot of the aircraft. I think a shotgun would help in cutting this out.

Mark

The shotgun can help cut down on the PA sound, but effectiveness will depend on the direction of that sound source (both direct and reflected sound) relative to the pick-up pattern of the mic as oriented while rolling the camcorder. You have to consider both the primary pick-up direction and any side and back lobes in the mic pattern, and the points of null (minimal pickup) and frequency effects on the pattern. Just more things to think about.

Mark

The NTG1 is good but according to the IOV test, the NTG2 is better. Word of advice. Go for the extras - particulary the shock mount and the dead cat.

Reccommend Prestons for all this stuff.

YES... I have the NT-G1 and it is phantom power so you will need the voltage from the camera. DO NOT use the -12 or loud/high setting.

Hi everybody

I bumped my built in mic as well, it didn’t break off, but now its way too lose and droops down, it still works fine, it just looks bad. Has anybody figured how to access the innards of the mic in order to tighten it up? I suspect that that little screw underneath the mic may be the way to access the inside.

A1 with external mic Rode - NTG2
 

the NTG2 is a good mic. I bought it last monday and it works very good with my A1. the sound iso high and natural.

The Rode NTG2 is the one you want, you can use this on other equipment as it is both Phantom power and AA battery.