On Fri, 27 Sep 2002 09:36:15 GMT, Mark Kovalcson wrote:
>Gary Eickmeier wrote:
>> Mark & Mary Ann Weiss wrote:

>> > Sound has an audible hiss. I believe digital audio should be very close to
>> > 90dB s/n--not the 48dB that I measure here.

>> I can't say I have noticed this, but I haven't owned mine long enough.
>> My question would be, with which mikes? Would it have this hiss with a
>> better mike attached? Are you in 16 bit mode? Probably silly question,
>> but it defaults to 12 bit mode for some reason.

>There is a known audio problem in the VX2000 that they fixed in the PD150 after
>the first production run. It will still be there with and even with an external
>mike no such fix has been introduced for the VX2000. Background hiss is a problem
>for the VX2000.

Here we go again......;-)
While the VX2000 audio s/n is nowhere near either optimum
or the medium limits, it is similar to that of other good
Mini-DV cameras (certainly the TRV900, about which we hear
nothing regarding excessive noise), and good enough for most
purposes (MW tends to listen VERY loudly on a big custom
audio system) - and playing back audio from the VX2000 on
good, wide-range, non-"peaky" audio gear from the line out
(NOT the headphone output) at normal levels results in
inaudible hiss unless there is a mismatch between mic
and input sensitivity. As I have pointed out before, adding
external mics to the VX2000 is not straight-forward (for
best results), but it *can* be done... If the price of this
camcorder were $4-5000, I would also be in the camp of the
complainers, but within its class, the sound of the VX2000
is good relative to others (and better than most).

>> I didn't select the PD150 because it can't shoot in LP mode, and I
>> don't like the clunky mike and don't need XLR mike connections.

>I would never use LP mode. It is unreliable between camcorders and suffers from a
>lot more problems than SP. I've read about more people getting burnt by LP mode in
>different forums. If it is worth taping it is worth being dependable. The PD150
>also runs in DVCAM mode which is even more reliable than SP and burns through tape
>even faster. 40 minutes per 60 minute tape.

Some of us get stuck with 1:10+ recording sessions that
MUST be recorded continuously...;-) As for reliability, I found
that LP-mode was cross-compatible among about a dozen
Sony camcorders - though it may not be across brands, or
even within another brand... BTW, with 80-minute tapes, I
can now make two-hour continuous recordings - but of course
I get these off onto the computer (or at least onto another
tape copy) as soon as possible. For mastering I prefer to
avoid using LP-mode, but have done it (with multiple copies)
when necessary (some of us do "long-form" work, but on a
scale that does not justify the use of 3-hour DVCam gear...;-).

>> For interviews, I stick a $30 Radio Shack electret tieclip mike on them
>> and the other end goes right into my mike jack. Just beautiful.
>
>Having XLR inputs is really nice so that you can plug right into a mixing board
>when you have multiple wireless mikes and a podium mike and you can run balanced
>cables a lot further.
>
>I've never heard a good thing said about any of the stock mikes that come with any
>camcoder including a PD150. The common K6/E66 Senhieser upgrade involves adding
>an adapter on the VX2000 so that you can use an XLR connector. This is the
>frequent choice of upgrade for both the GL1 and VX2000. It is about a $375
>upgrade, then add an XLR adapter module for the GL1 and VX2000. It is a highly
>directional microphone that works really well for interviews as well. The
>sensitivity is high enough that it makes the VX2000's hiss less of a problem.

Some of us do things other than interviews, and both the
PD150's somewhat directional mono mic and the VX2000's
stereo mic have uses for which they are well-suited...
Evaluating gear cannot be done well from only one use
point of view...