CompuServe Messages

Stan: Sorry it's taken me so long to get back to you–I got buried under another deadline (or rather, rewrites for a deadline <feh>). In response to your needs: >[0] not hear the &*%$%^& camera mechanisms when I'm shooting quiet stuff< Just about any external microphone will do the job for you, especially if it's away from the camcorder. I recommend a cardioid since you can mount that on the accessory shoe and not have to worry about the camcorder mechanics being w/in its pickup range. >[1] work reasonably well outdoors when shooting nature< That's a bit tougher. When you say "reasonably well", do you want just the general sounds around you, or do you want to be able to zero in on specific sounds? If the latter, then you'll need a "shotgun" mike–but the tradeoff is that if the sound's outside the pickup range (which is pretty narrow), you've lost it. >[2] work reasonably well indoors in groups of people (classrooms)< Again, that depends on how you define "reasonable". Classrooms, like any large gatherings, are tough to mike if you want clear audio w/out a lot of "hiss" because the further you get away from the mike, the more room tone you pick up. OTOH, unless you want people passing around a mike when they ask questions (like on those afternoon talk shows <g>), it's pretty unavoidable. >[3] work reasonably well indoors when recording music (usually loud, blues or rock n roll)< And, of course, that's the toughest of all to record! Have you considered asking permission to "jack in" to the mixer the band's using? No single camcorder mike's going to give you very good sound quality. Looking forward to hearing from you again soon, Tim