Beachtek's various adapters seems to be the predominant method of interfacing XLR mics and mixers to DV cameras but they're not the only ones around. Studio One Productions offers their XLR-BP line of adapters. Has anyone used them and if so, how do you find they compare to Beach in terms of overall quality etc?

The two main differences are that the Beachtek mounts under the camera, the Studio One XLR-BP mounts on your belt, and that the attenuators on the Beachtek click into stepped positions whereas the Studio One attenuators are smooth and continuous. The stepped attenuators are good if you're worried about the level being bumped and offer a little protection from this. The continuous attenuators are better if you're really picky about exact levels and smooth adjustment between them. I picked the XLR-BP mainly because I preferred the belt-pack design. The quality is really good on both units though.

One time I asked a guy at Sound Devices why they
didn't put stepped potentiometers/dials on their
Mixpre/MP-2, same as what their MP-1 has, and he
replied that the non-stepped kind are usually
preferred by the pros.