CompuServe Messages

Stan: >I know nothing about mikes, and have no idea of what to look for in a good wired or wireless mike.< Funny you should say that…<g> I've been writing about sound for (usually consumer) video, off and on, for the past four years. Azden mikes are usually reasonably good (and reasonably priced!), so it'd be hard to go too wrong with one. It all depends on your needs <clears throat, prepares to pontificate>–are you looking for a good general purpose mike, and aren't *too* picky about room tone past 6 or so feet? Then a cardioid mounted on your camcorder is the way to go. If you are picky about room tone, try a supercardioid or a shotgun mike–but be prepared to have people go 'way out of mike range as soon as you're not focused on them. The ideal, obviously, is a cardioid mounted on a mike boom less than a foot over your speakers' heads–but, well, that can limit your shots and also requires a boom operator. Lavalieres are also near-ideal, though you have other hassles: Do you want the mike to be visible on their persons (okay for interviews, but a pain to hide for dramatic videos)? What if you're doing "person in the street" interviews ("Er, Ma'am–just talk into my lapel, please…" <g>)? Can you afford to purchase a VHF wireless mike (usually, around $150 each), or do you risk using an FM wireless (cheaper, but vulnerable to interference from local taxi radios, pagers, etc.)–or do you go ultracheap and buy a "wired" lavaliere (not bad, unless you have a problem w/your talent being tethered to your camcorder <g>)? >yeah, the sony tr101 camera has two zoom speeds, depending on touch: too fast and way too fast.< Really? I always thought the TR-101's slower zoom speed was fine–although I dislike the faster speed (unless I'm in a chopsocky frame of mind <g>). I agree w/you, BTW, that too-fast zooms make your stuff look like bad home videos–but I guess it's a question as to what you consider "slow enough". Best, Tim