Where is this then ?

Paul.

Hi Perrone - - I appreciate the help. I'm now pretty sure that my Rode NTG-1 needs the 48v (no battery in the mic). My RF Sennheisers have batteries, so probably don't need the phantom power (48v); I also suspect they're mic level (and not LINE level) all the way — but I'll email the place where I bought them to double-check.
I'm confused about the whereabouts of the audio pad level. I don't see it in my camera menu. In my Audio menu, I see TRIM choices. Is that what you mean?
Thanks again,
Malcolm

That was the advice I was given, and I read it somewhere else too. I think I was looking at high end mics in Mix magazine or Sound on Sound or something. Can't remember now. But providing power on a cable when the mic is not expecting there to be any, seems like it could be problematic even from a layman's point of view.

Menu > Audio > Audio input.

Yes, I meant the trim choices.

Hi again Perrone... now I'm wondering what you set your TRIM to, to get rid of background noise. Thanks, Malcolm

I don't have a set amount. Since the changes happen as you adjust trim, I just listen. I've found that I end up around 30-40db with the Sennheiser ME66/K6 combo. Slightly different with the SM58.

In my shot today, there was VERY evident background noise from the diesel generator one floor down. I set up the mic, had a friend read some test audio, and adjusted the trim levels in camera until the background noise went away or was greatly diminished. I ran the SM58 on camera today (for wild sound) and although there is a lot of ambient, that machine noise is buried. With the boom mic, I was going into a separate recorder today, and it's like nothing was even there in the room. I am stunned at what I was able to pull. 24 bit audio is amazing!