azden 990 or A.T. ATR55 for dv953? at DVinfo.net

Adam VanScoyoc · January 18th, 2004, 10:22 AM

If you guys were to pick an inexpensive mic with 1/8" plug for the dv 953, would you go with the Azden 990 that some of you have written about, or the Audio-Technica ATR55? (I read on another forum that the Audio-Technica ATR55 is the best choice for the money)

They are about the same price and would give me at least more direction over the stock cam mic which I assume is omni-directional.

Thanks,
Adam

Guy Bruner · January 18th, 2004, 11:08 AM

<<<-- Originally posted by Adam VanScoyoc :would give me at least more direction over the stock cam mic which I assume is omni-directional. -->>>

I would say the stock cam mic is more cardioid toward the front than omni. It doesn't pick up much from the rear. And, it has a zoom function which narrows the side lobes. BTW, the cam mic is stereo and either of the external mics will only be mono. If you want to record mono to both channels, pick up a stereo to mono adapter at Radio Shack.

Adam VanScoyoc · January 18th, 2004, 11:13 AM

Thanks for the quick response Guy,

Sounds like I'm almost better off just using the stock mic on the 953?

btw, I don't actually have the dv953 yet. Planning on buying it in the next couple months.

Adam

Guy Bruner · January 18th, 2004, 11:33 AM

<<<-- Originally posted by Adam VanScoyoc :
Sounds like I'm almost better off just using the stock mic on the 953?-->>>

Adam,
It depends on what you intend to shoot. Having an external mic is useful if you are trying to control the sound, say for vocals in a noisy room, for music (where you might need several externals), or to get omni sound. I find the onboard mics to be quite sensitive and effective for ordinary home video. If I was trying to produce a rock video, it might be another story :-).

Actually Frank G. could give you a better perspective...

If you haven't got the 953 yet, you might want to wait and see if the onboards work for you.

Yow Cheong Hoe · January 18th, 2004, 07:23 PM

I have been shooting 'professionally' using only the built-in mic for about 2 years now, and for interviews, a wired cheap hand held.

As for stereo or not, the built-in mic is stereo but you really won't get any 'stereo effect' as the left and right pick-ups are so near each other and not exactly directional. For 'better 'stereo' you may want to set-up your own mic system of two external directional mics pointing away from each other, or use post-processing to achieve it.

I was thinking that you can even connect an omni mic to the left channel for ambient and a directional mic to the right channel for details. then use post-processing to mix the signals.

Frank Granovski · January 18th, 2004, 07:54 PM

Here's similar mic thread:

http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthrea...threadid=19559

Quote:

Azden 990 that some of you have written about, or the Audio-Technica ATR55? (I read on another forum that the Audio-Technica ATR55 is the best choice for the money)

Perhaps Bryan could answer this for you. I don't think the Azden 990 is all that great from what I've heard from Yow and Bryan.

Apex make some darn good inexpensive mics, I've found out. But the trouble is one has to get/find a mount for them. I'm still on the case and so is Bryan.

Bogdan Vaglarov · January 18th, 2004, 11:59 PM

Yow, I dare to say your coment about the stereo effect is not quite true.

Any stereo (one point stereo) mic is suficient for getting stereo field.
Personally I can distinguish voices coming from left. You can get even a bit dimensional feeling if the object is a bit behind - then it sounds a bit more distant.
All in all to hear the sound field from such a stereo mic use headphones or well positioned set of speakers (i.e. not the TV set speakers).

Use a mono mic and put a headphones - all the sounds will become in a center point above your head.

Bryan Beasleigh · January 19th, 2004, 12:18 AM

I'd trust AT before Azden. Any microphone requires a proper shock mount or the sound will suffer. No shock mountwill result in every thump , fingertap and camera noise to be recorded in detail.

All the discusion in the world won't convince anyone of the benifits of a quality mic. You have to hear the difference. Some people can't and some people don't really care about the difference. Others are astounded at the difference a quality mic will make.

So far as the value of the on board stereo mic, well that again is in the eye of the beholder.

Frank Granovski · January 19th, 2004, 12:25 AM

Quote:

So far as the value of the on board stereo mic, well that again is in the eye of the beholder.

I agree. What amazes me is the great quality I get from my MX300's built-in audio---it's stereo zoom too. :-))

It's just that I want better, especially for my DVL9500's.

Have you come across any good shock mounts for the Apex 191? Not that I what you to do my work for me. :-))

Yow Cheong Hoe · January 19th, 2004, 01:06 AM

Given unlimited budget, quality will certainly be the best. But we are talking about buying an DV/MX series camera at US$1000 and spending $300 on mic, another $300 on lights, $300 more on fluid head tripod and so on, and finally watch the footage on a $5000 16:9 wide screen plasma TV with $2000 full hi-fi surround sound system, certainly there must be an end to all these...

I'll say that if we are serious enough to do a decent job on audio, the video would be correspondingly good, too. That'll be the DVX department. I was under the impression that DV/MX users are budget constrained, maybe I'm wrong.

I was not saying that there is no stereo on the built-in mic, but nominal, not too noticeable. As for directional, the built-in has some of that. I use to be able to live with that, but not good enough for me now, so I bought a mic, to pick up more to the front and less to the sides and back. I was under the impression that we want to focus the sound to a certain direction.

This post was for the Azden or Audiotechnica mics on the DV953. I'll say, not needed unless directional shooting is required. BTW, the AT mic doesn't come with shock mount, just a mount. And the AT mic is mono with a mono jack. The Azden 990 comes with a stereo jack, which inputs to both L and R channels, albeit the same mono sound.

I have been operating the MX8 for 1 year and the MX350 for 1.5 years, I have not picked up any clicks, thums and motor noises from the zoom, or even tripod panning (on my US$40 Slik U9000), this could be due to inferior mics or inferior ears, though.

The 'zoom' on the built-in mic is an amplification, not increase in sensitivity or focus to the front.

Frank Granovski · January 19th, 2004, 03:02 AM

Quote:

I was under the impression that DV/MX users are budget constrained, maybe I'm wrong.

You are correct, I believe. At least this is where Pokey and I are coming from. I further believe that cam makers cheat us with some of their built-in inferior mics. At least JVC did with their DVL9500---though the worst was Canon's original ZR (in my opinion).

January 18th, 2004, 10:22 AM	#1
Adam VanScoyoc Regular Crew Join Date: May 2003 Location: New Oxford, PA Posts: 44	azden 990 or A.T. ATR55 for dv953? If you guys were to pick an inexpensive mic with 1/8" plug for the dv 953, would you go with the Azden 990 that some of you have written about, or the Audio-Technica ATR55? (I read on another forum that the Audio-Technica ATR55 is the best choice for the money) They are about the same price and would give me at least more direction over the stock cam mic which I assume is omni-directional. Thanks, Adam

January 18th, 2004, 11:08 AM	#2
Guy Bruner Major Player Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Ashford, AL Posts: 937	Re: azden 990 or A.T. ATR55 for dv953? <<<-- Originally posted by Adam VanScoyoc :would give me at least more direction over the stock cam mic which I assume is omni-directional. -->>> I would say the stock cam mic is more cardioid toward the front than omni. It doesn't pick up much from the rear. And, it has a zoom function which narrows the side lobes. BTW, the cam mic is stereo and either of the external mics will only be mono. If you want to record mono to both channels, pick up a stereo to mono adapter at Radio Shack.

January 18th, 2004, 11:13 AM	#3
Adam VanScoyoc Regular Crew Join Date: May 2003 Location: New Oxford, PA Posts: 44	Thanks for the quick response Guy, Sounds like I'm almost better off just using the stock mic on the 953? btw, I don't actually have the dv953 yet. Planning on buying it in the next couple months. Adam

January 18th, 2004, 11:33 AM	#4
Guy Bruner Major Player Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Ashford, AL Posts: 937	<<<-- Originally posted by Adam VanScoyoc : Sounds like I'm almost better off just using the stock mic on the 953?-->>> Adam, It depends on what you intend to shoot. Having an external mic is useful if you are trying to control the sound, say for vocals in a noisy room, for music (where you might need several externals), or to get omni sound. I find the onboard mics to be quite sensitive and effective for ordinary home video. If I was trying to produce a rock video, it might be another story :-). Actually Frank G. could give you a better perspective... If you haven't got the 953 yet, you might want to wait and see if the onboards work for you.

January 18th, 2004, 07:23 PM	#5
Yow Cheong Hoe Major Player Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Singapore, Passport: Malaysia Posts: 407	I have been shooting 'professionally' using only the built-in mic for about 2 years now, and for interviews, a wired cheap hand held. As for stereo or not, the built-in mic is stereo but you really won't get any 'stereo effect' as the left and right pick-ups are so near each other and not exactly directional. For 'better 'stereo' you may want to set-up your own mic system of two external directional mics pointing away from each other, or use post-processing to achieve it. I was thinking that you can even connect an omni mic to the left channel for ambient and a directional mic to the right channel for details. then use post-processing to mix the signals.

January 18th, 2004, 11:59 PM	#7
Bogdan Vaglarov Major Player Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Yokohama, Japan Posts: 366	Yow, I dare to say your coment about the stereo effect is not quite true. Any stereo (one point stereo) mic is suficient for getting stereo field. Personally I can distinguish voices coming from left. You can get even a bit dimensional feeling if the object is a bit behind - then it sounds a bit more distant. All in all to hear the sound field from such a stereo mic use headphones or well positioned set of speakers (i.e. not the TV set speakers). Use a mono mic and put a headphones - all the sounds will become in a center point above your head.

January 19th, 2004, 12:18 AM	#8
Bryan Beasleigh Trustee Join Date: May 2002 Location: Barrie, Ontario, Canada Posts: 1,922	I'd trust AT before Azden. Any microphone requires a proper shock mount or the sound will suffer. No shock mountwill result in every thump , fingertap and camera noise to be recorded in detail. All the discusion in the world won't convince anyone of the benifits of a quality mic. You have to hear the difference. Some people can't and some people don't really care about the difference. Others are astounded at the difference a quality mic will make. So far as the value of the on board stereo mic, well that again is in the eye of the beholder.

January 19th, 2004, 01:06 AM	#10
Yow Cheong Hoe Major Player Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Singapore, Passport: Malaysia Posts: 407	Given unlimited budget, quality will certainly be the best. But we are talking about buying an DV/MX series camera at US$1000 and spending $300 on mic, another $300 on lights, $300 more on fluid head tripod and so on, and finally watch the footage on a $5000 16:9 wide screen plasma TV with $2000 full hi-fi surround sound system, certainly there must be an end to all these... I'll say that if we are serious enough to do a decent job on audio, the video would be correspondingly good, too. That'll be the DVX department. I was under the impression that DV/MX users are budget constrained, maybe I'm wrong. I was not saying that there is no stereo on the built-in mic, but nominal, not too noticeable. As for directional, the built-in has some of that. I use to be able to live with that, but not good enough for me now, so I bought a mic, to pick up more to the front and less to the sides and back. I was under the impression that we want to focus the sound to a certain direction. This post was for the Azden or Audiotechnica mics on the DV953. I'll say, not needed unless directional shooting is required. BTW, the AT mic doesn't come with shock mount, just a mount. And the AT mic is mono with a mono jack. The Azden 990 comes with a stereo jack, which inputs to both L and R channels, albeit the same mono sound. I have been operating the MX8 for 1 year and the MX350 for 1.5 years, I have not picked up any clicks, thums and motor noises from the zoom, or even tripod panning (on my US$40 Slik U9000), this could be due to inferior mics or inferior ears, though. The 'zoom' on the built-in mic is an amplification, not increase in sensitivity or focus to the front.