Hey there people!
I am getting ready to film my first piece and I have to find an inexpensive way to do sound. Has anyone ever tried a mini disc recorder with a boom mike?

Should work. I've used them with stand mounted mics. Will fit in the sound person's shirt pocket - no need for a large fanny pack recorder.

thanks a lot Don. will let u know how it works out.

If buying a minidisc recorder, check to see whether or not it gives the recording controls; e.g., level adjustment while recording and a VU meter of sorts, that you need. Check www.minidisc.org for more than you ever wanted to know about MiniDiscs.

Doesn't Mini Disc employ pretty serious compression as compared to DAT or using the XL1 onboard. I wonder if that compression would pose a concern as far as quality at some point during post?

I don't know, I will have to check it out. I think I might just do both- thru the xl1s and mini disc, just in case.

Very few people can hear the differnce between a MiniDISC copy (at 5:1 compression) and a CD original - it takes a very golden ear. MiniDISC is based of 44.1 k sample rate (vise 48 kHz for DAT) and 16-bit sampling followed by the 5:1 compresion.

It MiniDisc not as good as DAT, but it is more than adequate for most video purposes, short of very serious, professional music recording in a studio environment. And it costs a lot less!

There are professional MiniDISC recorders available as well, at corresponding price points.

Do you know of a mike that works good with a mini disc recorder? this is for dialogue.

Audio Technica has a model AT822 Stereo (One-point) mic that is terminated with an 1/8" mini plug. The mic is powered by a AA battery. I have used this mic with a small Sony minidisc recorder for capturing voice overs and other sound in the field. Note, that if you decide to extend the cable that comes with the mic by using a standard XLRM-XLRF mic cord, don't go beyond 20' as the output of the AT 822 is not balanced.

For my Marantz PD650 Professional Minidisc recorder (It has XLR mic inputs), I use an AT825 stereo mic. This one has a five pin XLR connector that fans out to 2 regular 3 pin XLR's. This mic can operate on phantom power or an internal AA battery.

Hope this helps.

In addition to the AT-822, check the Sony ECM-MS957 single point stereo for around $200 or the 907 for a lot less (and not as good a mic). The AT may be the better mic overall.

So, I am using a Sony MZ-G750 mini disc recorder is that the best mike (the AT-822 )and is that recorder good enough or do I need to upgrade?

I don't know which Sony model that is. The AT-822 will work with most any device that uses an 1/8" stereo mic input jack. (Including the XL1s)

A good mic will always improve audio quality.

Cheers

sort of a related question.
When using a DAT or a Minidisc, would one use a field mixer like a Wendt X2?

see:
http://www.wendtinc.net/x2specs.htm

Many of you have already heard about my Korg. It is a 12 track hard disk recorder, with a built in mixer, and accepts 1/4" or xlr mics. It has a 4 gig hd, which will hold like 18 hrs on one track at 44khz quality. I feed all of my audio into it, and use it in most situations. It does require power, so have some cords ready.

However, it will NOT fit in a pocket.
Keith

how big is the korg?

It is maybe 12x15x4. Much bigger than any of my pockets, and pricey too. But the audio that I get out of it blows away anything coming from my cams. It is most useful when the house is using a board, and I can run lines into the Korg from it.

I have also used my wireless mics with it, running the line out from the reciever into the line in on the Korg.

I believe that there are also similar products from Zoom, for a few hundred less.
Keith

Since we are talking about MD players/recorders...

I have a brand new Sony MZ-R909 MD unit for sale or trade.
Look in the classified section for details if you are interested.