Hi--

>> Sorry to jump in on your post as the place to put this,
>> but...;-)
>> - with short cables, there is no inherent advantage to
>> balanced-line (XLR) systems...

>I hate to disagree with you but that's simply not true. I shoot in
>electrically noisy environments where unbalanced lines become major noise
>contributorsl. Even short ones.

Our experience is different, then... Even in Seattle, I often
recorded music with fairly long single-sided mic lines without
problems - lines could be over 50', far shorter than the mic
cables on camcorders... (I did use rf filtering at the preamp
inputs, though).

>> - phantom power offers no inherent audio advantage over
>> internal power for many camcorder applications...
>> - there is little disadvantage to using a mini-plug, if
>> it is clean, and the connection is good and secured...

>See unbalanced comments above.

Likewise...;-)

>> - XLR connectors do make a good connection more
>> reliably, but at a cost in size and complication
>> with most small camcorders...
>> - if your camcorder has mini-plug input, adding an XLR
>> adapter offers little advantage unless you already own
>> XLR-mics, and are adapting them (in the end, you still
>> have a single-sided system with a mini-plug as the
>> connector ;-)...

>See above. The longer the antenna, the worse the noise problem. That's
>basic electronics.

Depends on the frequencies involved, but generally, yes...

>> - while it is true that better mics of all types are
>> likely to have an XLR connector than a mini-plug,
>> mics with mini-plugs are often more compact, cheaper,
>> and quite useable for much video work (which requires
>> less in the way of ultimate mic audio quality than
>> mics used for music recording), especially if you are
>> willing to EQ the results in post...

>I have never seen a good video program that would be suitable for
>low-performance microphones. The audio in most video-for-video work is
>marginal. The marginality could be avoided if they used better equipment in
>a knowledgable fashion. I don't shoot 8mm because I need better quality
>starting out so it looks OK at the other end of the edit chain.

Yes, of course "overkill" is preferable - but we're talking about camcorders
with high inherent noise, short cable runs, a system that is always
single-sided "in the end", and relatively easy conditions. If one is under really tough conditions, what you say applies...

>The same
>goes for audio. And you can very clearly tell the difference if you A-B
>test pro and prosumer microphones.

Not always... Sure, a KM-83 Neumann, a Schoeps, etc. will sound better
than a Radio Shack - but in less demanding situations, practically-speaking,
most people may not hear the differences. I've made some remarkable music
location recordings using multiple $1.50 Panasonic mic elements - and
more-than-passable music-related videos using mics I would not use for
audio-only recordings. Sure, $4000 mics would have been better, but maybe
not enough to pay $200 more for them in terms of the end result...;-)

>> - mics that are excellent for music recording may not
>> be ideal for speech-recording for video...
>> Choose the mic for its suitability for the job, not
>> just its connector-type, price, response, "name", etc...

>I didn't make the price/type distinction. It just falls out that way as a
>fact of life. But it is true that if you want good performance,
>time-after-time, the cheap stuff with the little connectors are going to
>give you trouble right when you don't need it. A connector will pull out,
>the cable will part, etc. Professionals don't like paying higher prices for
>connectors that last and lock engaged, they just know that's what it takes
>to take much of the worry out of the technical side of the shoot and
>concentrate on the contents. When I get paid for a job, the client has the
>right to expect good results. That includes the audio which may very well
>be the most important part of the entire affair.
"Mike Rehmus"

I agree - but balance is necessary. I don't choose to finance $500,000
worth of gear to do $500 jobs, especially when cheap gear can serve
about as well most of the time... When I have large client budgets, I will
pay (much) more for gear than is now necessary. The point of my post was,
though, that one should not take conventional wisdom as a given - especially
if one's input is a mini-jack...;-) One problem in posting to these NG's is
the variety in level of the participants - they range from the first-time
owner of a used mid-line Hi-8 camcorder to pros with access to top-end
gear. Adequate and appropriate solutions for each may be quite different,
which is why I added the last line to my post.