<portugal@3web.net> wrote:

>Here are a few points for you.

>1) > - "Attached zoom/gun microphones are NOT much better than the in-camera

>mic"

>SIMPLY NOT TRUE!!!

>

>If you attach a seperate battery powered shotgun or condenser mic (such as a

>Sennheiser K6/ME66 with the proper adapters from XLR to 1/8") to the

>camera's hotshoe, via a hotshoe mounted shockmount isolation, it will sound

>much better than even the ECMHS1.

Yes, but it will be mono...

You can use two shotguns, placed at a slight angle for

"stereo", if needed...

>2) > "Is there way to control audio input levels in general on the TRV38"?

>

>If the camera's menu does not allow for this (I do not own a 38 so I don't

>know off-hand), you may need to acquire a device such as a Beachtek DXA4s

>(about $175 USD) which both converts mic or line signals from XLR to 1/8

>mini-jack and can attenuate the signal as not to overload the built in mic

>preamp of the camera. I have also seen people use this device with adapters

>in order to bypass the 1/8" jack mic input as well as the mic preamp and go

>into the camera's RCA audio line inputs.

This camera has neither line-level inputs nor control

over record level - and the AGC is not defeatable. The

best solution is the one you recommend (XLR converter

box, with level controls), though mic overload can also

be an issue in high sound-level environments (the 908c

definitely distorts when near large bells, even with

the mic output attenuated...

>3) > - "Since the music I'm recording will generally be loud do I not have

>to worry about the in-camera mic picking up sounds from the camera"

>NOT NECESSARILY TRUE. The motor noise of the camera may be heard at some mid

>or low frequencies which may still be somewhat audible even with loud music

>being recorded.

This is unlikely - it is rare to hear any camera motor noise

with Sony Mini-DV cameras (though the zooming and

focusing sounds can be heard in quiet environments).

>4) > - "The Sony 908c appears to get a good recommendation from most folks"

>For the price it is not bad at all, but for another $75 you can get much

>better battery operated condenser mics from many other companies such as

>Apex, Audio Technica, ADK, and many others.

Yes. I like the AT 822, but it is rather large for placing

it on the tiny TRV38...

>5) > - "Can I use the microphone input jack on the TRV38 for a line feed

>from a mixing board? What kind of cord would I need for this"

>NEVER DO THAT!!!. Adding line level signal into the camera's mic level

>preamp mini-jack input can lead to a real problem. Instead you can take a

>1/4 inch stereo line out signal from the mixing board and with adapters you

>should feed it into the audio line input RCA jacks on the camera. All you

>need is a long RCA stereo mnale to RCA stereo male cable with 2 adapters

>that go from RCA female to 1/4 male mono. Total cost should be under $10 for

>all cable and adapters.

With this camera, an attenuator of some sort would be

needed to drop line level to mic level...

>You can also use the above mentioned Beachtek DXA4s to take a balanced XLR

>stereo output from a mixing console and with the right connector/adapters

>you can send the signal to the RCA audio inputs of the camera with the

>ability to adjust the levels on the Beachtek itself, as well as on the

>camera.

>RON CHARLES

As another poster pointed out, using the board feed is not

always a good idea - but taking a separate recording of it

can be, to be mixed later with the hall-miced sound (or

a little mixer can be useful here...).

>"G Perry" <supernerd23@yahoo.com> wrote in message

>news:808f1b8.0305090930.49d916ea@posting.google.com...

>> Greeetings. I am a new (and excited) owner of a Sony TRV38 miniDV

>> camcorder. I purchased this camera for using primarily in my two main

>> hobbies: stop motion animation and recording live rock concerts.

I would use the Memory Stick to grab the frames for

animation instead of tape (or a digital still camera),

though hooked up to a computer, you can grab frames

"live"...

>> I'm hoping that someone can recommend what my best approach would be,

>> microphone-wise, for recording live music with the TRV38. I record

>> bands almost exclusively in small, dark clubs where the music is

>> played really LOUD. I used to tape bands with JVC vhs-c cameras (sort

>> of pointless I know with the mono sound but it's all I had) and often

>> the microphones would get overwhelmed by the sheer sonic assault of

>> the music. I want to try and avoid this when making recordings with

>> my TRV38.

You may need a mic designed to accept high sound levels

without distortion...

>> I've spent a good chunk of my time today looking at old postings from

>> various newsgroups on this subject. Here's what I've picked up on:

>> - Don't use the in-camera mic

Not necessarily - though with the AGC and likely overload of

the built-in mic of the TRV38, this is likely true...

>> - Attached zoom/gun microphones are NOT much better than the in-camera

>> mic (especially the ECM-HS1)

This is not necessarily true, but shotguns are generally

mono... BTW, unless you keep the pointing direction of the

camera with a shotgun fairly constant, you will likely get

weird "color" shifts in the sound (with turning), in

addition to level changes...

>> - The Sony 908c appears to get a good recommendation from most folks

For average "ambience" recordings, yes - and it is compact.

As RC pointed out, there are other options... The 908c will

likely be a bit better in general sound and stereo spread

than the built-in mic, but maybe not worth adding for this

use...

>> Some of the questions I'm left with are:

[...]

(See above...)