[MacDV] External mic as an alternative

[Bobbo]

>
>I'm looking for an alternative that will hopefully pick up less of the
>sound of the
>mechanics of the camcorder and therefore more of what I want to capture.
>Maybe one of
>those 'zoom' mics that sit in the shoe on the Sony can fit the bill.

Sean --

Two things to remember with microphones are proximity and pickup pattern.

If you use any camera-mounted mic, unless some sort of baffling or
vibration insulation is built in, you can expect camera noise to be
conducted to the microphone. The mic will pick up best that which is
closest to it, in your example, the camera.

Pickup patterns indicate directional sensitivity and the degree of it. A
cardioid mic picks up mostly that which is in front, or just to the sides,
of the "sweet spot." As the sound source drifts further "off-axis" it
becomes degraded. An omnidirectional mic picks up sound from all
directions.

I don't know what your applications are, audio-wise. Are you shooting
dialog? Or on-site narration? Ambient sound? If your question gets more
specific, so will the answers. In any case, pay attention to what kind of
mic you're using (i.e., the pickup pattern), and how close you can get it
to the source.

Bobbo

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