The Phantom Power - Sennheiser MKH416 compatability
 

I plan on getting the MKH416-P48U3 for my DVX100A. I noticed that there is also a MKH416-TU3, for about the same price. When I asked a sound recordist friend what the difference was, he seemed to think, apart from the fact that the P48U3 was phantom power only, that the one model was compatabile with PAL, the other with NTSC, but he wasn't sure which.

Any thoughts?

mics will work on any format..

if a mic fitted with XLR's ISNT phantom powered, it still needs power (depending on quality) so u should expect to find a battery compartment on the mic itself...

go with phantom power as its a standard across the board and will be physically lighter.

Thanks very much Peter.

Another question:

Is it possible to control audio levels satisfactorily in camera? I am not able to get a field mixer at this time, though I do have the MKH416 mic, plus other audio accessories (boom pole, windsock, etc.) Obviously it is always preferable to work with a sound person/mixer, but as I can't for this shoot, I am curious if it is technically possible to go without and get decent sound.

I've yet to receive my DVX100A, so I haven't had a chance to explore this myself.