Azden 990 mic on MX350

Bogdan Vaglarov · December 30th, 2003, 01:48 AM

Thanx for the info.

One more question if posible.
You said it cost you 60 bucks but how about shipping?

Yow Cheong Hoe · December 30th, 2003, 02:25 AM

Bogdan,

The mic costs about $55, and shipping is $5 in the US. I happen to have a large shipment of maternity clothes, baby boots and similar stuff coming in from US to Singapore (for my wife and daughter), so the mic rides for free. The large shipment was organised and managed by a friend in California, who dumped everything into a DHL box. Seeing that you are in Japan, the cost may be higher than just $5.

Frank Granovski · December 30th, 2003, 05:26 AM

Here's the MX350 setup that Yow Cheong Hoe is using:

http://www.8palm.com/frontsma.jpg

MX350
Cheap tripod for this photo
Step-up ring 43mm to 52mm
Step-up ring 52mm to 55mm
Ring 55mm (this is a UV filter with the glass removed, needed as the Wide angle lens has a slight protrusion at the back)
Fujifilm's 0.79x wide angle adaptor (not zoom through, good up to 5x zoom)
Azden ECZ-990 microphone

Photo was taken using my Fujifilm S602zoom, and prepared in Adobe Photoshop.

Frank Granovski · December 30th, 2003, 06:12 PM

As one can see from Yow's pic, the Azden ECZ-990 is a sexy addition to the poker-like MX350. I was curious how this mic actually performs. Yow, any further comments?

Aykut Ozen · December 30th, 2003, 06:23 PM

WoW!...it looks really nice on it...now i have to get one for my dv852 too..

Frank Granovski · December 30th, 2003, 07:43 PM

And as you probably already know, the PV-DV852 is shaped like the MX350, so this mic should not extend over the lens housing as shown in Yow's pic. :-))

Bogdan Vaglarov · January 1st, 2004, 02:53 AM

Yow, thanks for the clarification. Yeah, that's a good way to work around the usually expencive shipping. I guess this way they try to keep customers buying from their own country.

For example the shipping for this mic to JP is 27$. A tripod which cost about 130 has nearly 80$ shippment cost ot Japan. You can understand what I mean.

Oh, and I really think the mic is mono.

Frank Granovski · January 1st, 2004, 05:47 PM

Most directional mics are mono, unless it is a stereo zoom mic; which isn't really the same thing.

Yow Cheong Hoe · January 7th, 2004, 09:52 PM

Just to end what I started, here are my final findings on the Azden 990:

1. Looks cool.
2. Mono mic.
3. Stereo jack outs the same mono signal to both channels.
4. The wind-shield is not too great, but better than none.
5. Ambient hum/buzz/low pick-up is there, but not distracting.
6. The directional settings are effective (long and wide). Great for panning shots to let the sound/speech "come into the picture".
7. The plastic holder can be minimally used as a top handle.

Wish list (but I'll probably pay much more for these):
1. A dial for low levels cut-off.
2. Another dial for manual volume control.
3. Better wind-shield.

Application/usage:
1. For one-man-operated interviews, use the long/zoom setting.
2. For directional sound effect, use the long/zoom setting, especially with the camera zoomed to 5x or more.
3. For general shooting with more ambient sound, use the wide setting.
4. For capturing shound all round, ambient sound, or camera man's naration, unplug the 990 and use the built-in mic (for the MX350, it's on the roof).
5. For interviews with an assistant holding the mic, unhook the mic from the holder, use an extender cable for the stereo minijack and set the mic to long/zoom. Certainly good enough for street/wedding interviews. Tell assistant not to rub/roll/swing/jingle the mic, as it'll pick up sound from its own body, even skin rubbing against the barrel.

December 30th, 2003, 05:26 AM	#18
Frank Granovski Outer Circle Join Date: May 2002 Location: Hope, BC Posts: 7,524	Here's the MX350 setup that Yow Cheong Hoe is using: http://www.8palm.com/frontsma.jpg MX350 Cheap tripod for this photo Step-up ring 43mm to 52mm Step-up ring 52mm to 55mm Ring 55mm (this is a UV filter with the glass removed, needed as the Wide angle lens has a slight protrusion at the back) Fujifilm's 0.79x wide angle adaptor (not zoom through, good up to 5x zoom) Azden ECZ-990 microphone Photo was taken using my Fujifilm S602zoom, and prepared in Adobe Photoshop.

December 30th, 2003, 01:48 AM	#16
Bogdan Vaglarov Major Player Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Yokohama, Japan Posts: 366	Thanx for the info. One more question if posible. You said it cost you 60 bucks but how about shipping?

December 30th, 2003, 02:25 AM	#17
Yow Cheong Hoe Major Player Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Singapore, Passport: Malaysia Posts: 407	Bogdan, The mic costs about $55, and shipping is $5 in the US. I happen to have a large shipment of maternity clothes, baby boots and similar stuff coming in from US to Singapore (for my wife and daughter), so the mic rides for free. The large shipment was organised and managed by a friend in California, who dumped everything into a DHL box. Seeing that you are in Japan, the cost may be higher than just $5.

December 30th, 2003, 06:12 PM	#19
Frank Granovski Outer Circle Join Date: May 2002 Location: Hope, BC Posts: 7,524	As one can see from Yow's pic, the Azden ECZ-990 is a sexy addition to the poker-like MX350. I was curious how this mic actually performs. Yow, any further comments?

December 30th, 2003, 06:23 PM	#20
Aykut Ozen Regular Crew Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Seattle,wa Posts: 39	WoW!...it looks really nice on it...now i have to get one for my dv852 too..

December 30th, 2003, 07:43 PM	#21
Frank Granovski Outer Circle Join Date: May 2002 Location: Hope, BC Posts: 7,524	And as you probably already know, the PV-DV852 is shaped like the MX350, so this mic should not extend over the lens housing as shown in Yow's pic. :-))

January 1st, 2004, 02:53 AM	#22
Bogdan Vaglarov Major Player Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Yokohama, Japan Posts: 366	Yow, thanks for the clarification. Yeah, that's a good way to work around the usually expencive shipping. I guess this way they try to keep customers buying from their own country. For example the shipping for this mic to JP is 27$. A tripod which cost about 130 has nearly 80$ shippment cost ot Japan. You can understand what I mean. Oh, and I really think the mic is mono.

January 1st, 2004, 05:47 PM	#23
Frank Granovski Outer Circle Join Date: May 2002 Location: Hope, BC Posts: 7,524	Most directional mics are mono, unless it is a stereo zoom mic; which isn't really the same thing.

January 7th, 2004, 09:52 PM	#24
Yow Cheong Hoe Major Player Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Singapore, Passport: Malaysia Posts: 407	Just to end what I started, here are my final findings on the Azden 990: 1. Looks cool. 2. Mono mic. 3. Stereo jack outs the same mono signal to both channels. 4. The wind-shield is not too great, but better than none. 5. Ambient hum/buzz/low pick-up is there, but not distracting. 6. The directional settings are effective (long and wide). Great for panning shots to let the sound/speech "come into the picture". 7. The plastic holder can be minimally used as a top handle. Wish list (but I'll probably pay much more for these): 1. A dial for low levels cut-off. 2. Another dial for manual volume control. 3. Better wind-shield. Application/usage: 1. For one-man-operated interviews, use the long/zoom setting. 2. For directional sound effect, use the long/zoom setting, especially with the camera zoomed to 5x or more. 3. For general shooting with more ambient sound, use the wide setting. 4. For capturing shound all round, ambient sound, or camera man's naration, unplug the 990 and use the built-in mic (for the MX350, it's on the roof). 5. For interviews with an assistant holding the mic, unhook the mic from the holder, use an extender cable for the stereo minijack and set the mic to long/zoom. Certainly good enough for street/wedding interviews. Tell assistant not to rub/roll/swing/jingle the mic, as it'll pick up sound from its own body, even skin rubbing against the barrel.