On Fri, 17 Jan 2003 04:02:58 GMT, Michael O'Connor <moc-news1@lunch.org> wrote:

>In article <3e273c68.9307141@newsstand.cit.cornell.edu>,

> d_ruether@hotmail.com (Neuman - Ruether) wrote:

>> The mic position on the camera is not the problem.

>> Camcorders have near-omni mics on them to provide good

>> "ambient-sound" recordings (and top-mounted mics often

>> work better than lower-front-mounted mics). Omni-mics

>> are also far more compact (and generally better-sounding,

>> and less distance-sensitive for sound quality) than more

>> directional mics ("short-shotguns" are the general

>> alternatives, short placing mics directly on subjects of

>> interests). Suggestion: put a wide-angle on the camera,

>> and move even closer to subjects you want to hear on tape

>> (though if the ambient noise level is high, this will not

>> help a lot...). Remember that mics indiscriminately record

>> what is out there - and no practical mic can pick an

>> individual voice out of a crowd of voices at any great

>> distance...

>> David Ruether

>Thanks to everyone who responded.

>

>Just to follow up, the situation that really prompted this question was

>sitting around a small table in a "quiet" pub recording friends talking.

>The subjects were about two to three feet away from the camera. Just

>one person at the table was talking at a time (the subject) but his

>voice was no louder than the people at the table behind us or across the

>room, etc.

>

>I had assumed that a mic pointed in the subject's general direction

>would help at that close a range. For instance, I ran across this:

>

>"Sony's sleek ECM-DM5P Electret Condenser Microphone is a

>Uni-directional microphone that captures clear sound while reducing

>surrounding noise and extraneous background noise. Therefore, it only

>records the sound you need. Its Adjustable angles allow you to target

>the source of sound, making it ideal for use in all types of office

>meetings. Also featuring Plug-in power operation, relative size to match

>your IC recorder, and a Gold-plated plug for maximum conductivity, this

>microphone is the perfect choice."

>

>I don't know if this is camcorder-compatible, but it's the general idea

>I was looking for. Are these mics effective or are there others that

>might be useful in my situation?

No mic can do what the ad copy describes without

being considerably closer to the desired source than

it is to the "noise"... If you have a single, distant

sound source (distant bird, speaker on a stage), with

little surrounding noise, simple amplification will

help; if that single source is surrounded by some

relatively low-level noise, a "shotgun" mic *may*

(depending on conditions) improve the S/N ratio;

if the single desired sound source is buried in

equal-level similar-nature noise, NOTHING but a

location shift of the mic will do much. Shotgun

mics are not truly unidirectional, especially at

lower frequencies - though if you want to put up

with the sound-quality and size/expense of a good

parabolic-reflector mic system, it is conceivable

that this, pointed directly at the subject, while

avoiding any other in-line sources, may do the

job...;-) In your particular case, short micing

each speaker, or using a boom-mounted shotgun mic

that is aimed by a second person down from above

(to minimize extraneous in-line sources), there

is little you can do but get the camera close to

the speaker (a wide-angle adapter helps with this),

though adding something like a Sennheiser MKE300

short-shotgun (decent-sounding, light, and under

$200) can help, if you are mindful of what else

is in its "view" as you point it, and do not expect

much greater isolation of the speaker from the

background...