I am looking for a good XLR adapter for my GL2 and had a few questions.

1. Do I really need an adapter with independent volume controls for each input, like the Beachtek DXA-4P, if my GL2 already has adjustable volume levels built in? Also, should I get an adapter with phantom power??

2. Is there a mount that alows you to mount a good shotgun mic to the camera without using the hotshoe as the mount? I would liek to have the ability to mount an onboard light just in case.

3. What would be a great shotgun mic that can be mounted to the camera for use with short films, weddings, graduations, ect. and still be able to mount it to a boom for better audio for the short films?

4. Do you need 2 shotgun mics to get stereo sound with an XLR adapter?

I am really getting into the filming and love it. But now I need to upgrade my audio to get to the next level of quality.

Thanks,

LeEarl

1. Yes. You will often need to ride the levels to keep the peaks from clipping. Some mics will overload the preamp in your camera. You can't always just compensate by turning down the gain. You have to attenuate the signal. Phantom power is a must. You can get better, and many times cheaper mics than the Sennheiser ME series, but most of them require phantom power. Make sure the mics you choose will have a hot enough signal for your camera so you don't have to use too much gain in the camera. (Personally, I'd hold out for a full-on mixer with limiter).

2. Mini Rover. http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=productlist&A=details&Q=&sku=194070&is=REG

3. Way too many to mention. Also depends on whether you have phantom. Shotguns aren't suited for most indoor shooting. You want a hypercardiod (on a boom) for your interiors if you're going to do short films, and a shotgun (with wind protection) for outdoors. You can't skimp on this.

4. They make stereo mics, but I've never used one.