Microphone for Camcorder

swampler wrote on 7/5/2003, 4:48 PM
Can anyone recommend a decent low cost general use microphone for a camcorder. Main use would be for recording stuff on stage, amplified through a mixer with the location's microphone, i.e. church plays, school awards programs, etc. Don't want to spend over $200.

One I was looking at is the Azden SGM-X, shotgun mic.

Thanks,
Steve

Comments

richard-courtney wrote on 7/7/2003, 11:51 AM
I have used the SGM-1X with a Beachtek DXA-6 XLR adapter along with
a Procosound DB-1 box to a church's sound system with good results.

In this application the shutgun is powered from it's internal battery and is
connected to one of the inputs of the DXA-6. The other side connects through
the DB box to the mixer to pick up CD music and other mics through
the mixer. This allows a backup of audio sources if you get a bad mix from
the church's sound engineer.

The DB box seems to be a very important piece to kill ground hum.

If I understand the SGM-X was designed for direct connection to the 1/8th inch
microphone jack on most consumer camcorders.

So the connection of this model to the mixer/preamp at the church is confusing me.
Keep in mind that many mixer boards supply phantom power to microphones
and can damage microphones not designed to accept phantom power.
This includes the AZDEN SGM-1X I use.
swampler wrote on 7/7/2003, 6:15 PM
Thanks for the reply.

Are you happy with the SGM-1X? Have you used it directly with the camcorder from a distance? I do this as a hobby and don't know that much about the audio side of things (however I am running the sound board at church now).

I'll check out the other 2 devices you mention and see what I can learn about them.

Thanks again,
Steve
richard-courtney wrote on 7/7/2003, 9:41 PM
It has been a good purchase. Note that the XLR adapter will take your price out of
your immediate budget range.

I think you should go with XLR connections so you don't limit yourself. You can
make an adapter cable using a Neutrik NC3FX connector, 1/8" stereo stub cable, and
a 1 microfarad non-polarized capacitor (16 volts for camcorder use should fit inside
the Neutrix connector). This wiring arrangement will kill some high end frequencies
but was better than the built-in camcorder microphone picking up motor noise.

Later you can add the DB-1 box and the DXA-6 adapter.