Using Exterior Microphones on a Mini DV Camcorder

"Hi! My name is Paige. You can see my website at www.porchproductions.net. Today we’re talking about how to get the best sound to your camcorder. Your interior mike is not that great probably. My suggestion is to get your camcorder as close to the speaker as possible or else buy a shotgun mike suggest this. This is an audio technical mike. It shoots at about 10 feet. It has an off, normal, and tele mode. It requires a battery…When it plugs into your camcorder, it’s called fan empowered, it runs off the power if your camcorder or else it just uses the double A that you unscrew and screw it back in. Most many DV camcorders have an 8 inch mini plug that they require to plug in your shotgun mike to your camcorder. It will be either be back here at the back of your camcorder, or here around this area in general is where they are located. Now, I don’t have a mini plug input. I have an XLR, yet I use the short gun mike. What I did I just went to Radio Shack, got an eighth inch to three quarter inch adapter, and then got an XLR male three quarter inch adapter. Then I simply plugged this in to my XLR input. This also comes with a mount; you can mount it on to your camcorder, and it is a shotgun mike. You just want to aim it wherever your focus is. You want to make sure that your shotgun mike isn’t out like this, or else it will be in your frame and you can see it. These generally come with windscreens, which are great for outdoor events such as sporting events. You can put over your mike so that it blocks out some wind and you don’t hear the whistling of the wind so much. So this is a great easy semi-inexpensive way to capture sound. This audio technical ran about 100 bucks. You can get them for cheaper and you can go up for thousands of dollars. It’s basically what your needs are, but I strongly suggest to get a shotgun mike for your mini DV camcorder. It’s a better way to capture sound and get what you need."