Splitter for MF hotshoe for Z90? at DVinfo.net

Evan Platt · October 16th, 2021, 04:36 PM

I'm a new Z90 shooter. I just noticed there's a sony shotgun MF mic that looks pretty awesome. My question though, is there a MF shoe 'splitter'? I want to be able to mount a light and the mic to the shoe. I have a generic V shaped shoe splitter but obviously it won't pass power / audio / etc. Do they make such a beast? Here's what I have now.
https://amzn.to/3aHNYpF

SONY ECM-GZ1M is the microphone I'm looking into. Will this work with the Z90?
Will this splitter work?
https://amzn.to/2Xk7WUt
Thanks 🙂

Christopher Young · October 16th, 2021, 08:56 PM

As a Z90 user, I've not seen such a thing as a dual hot-shoe adapter that uses Sony's proprietary electronic contacts.

On the Z90 those contacts are buried right at the front of the Multi-Interface (MI) Shoe that is exposed when you take the combination XLR/handle off the camera. That twin hot-shoe Canon compatible flashgun shoe that you linked to is totally incompatible with anything Sony.

If you want to run an MI shoe microphone like the Sony ECM-GZ1M on the Z90 you would have to do this with the XLR/handle unit removed. This would then leave you with two 1/4" 20 screw holes behind the MI hot-shoe where you could mount an accessory cold-shoe like this one where you could mount a light, or anything else for that matter.

https://ebay.to/3FQ6fzL

I must admit though to being a little puzzled as to why you would want to do this? Especially considering the Z90 comes with an excellent pro audio XLR/handle unit that can take a very high-quality pro microphone that would be a much better performing mic than the Sony ECM-GZ1M.

On top of this consideration, the XLR/handle unit carries two cold-shoes either of which could be used to run a battery-operated light without any drama. I run a Sony Sony ECM-VG1 on the Z90 with very good results. But a colleague of mine bought a couple of these following mics to run on his Sony X70 cameras and I must admit I was very surprised at how good they sound. So if the price is a serious consideration check these out.

https://bit.ly/3pbVUbk

If you did go with a camera mounted shotgun mic like the one on the link above then you would also need a microphone buffer rubber as shown in the link below. The Z90 and a lot of other Sonys use these to help isolate the mic from bumps and bangs.

https://bit.ly/3FVHXEs

BTW if you start running any other MI accessories on the Z90 they quite dramatically shorten the camera battery run-time quite considerably. The NP-FV70A battery is not renowned for its massive capacity.

Chris Young

Evan Platt · October 21st, 2021, 02:43 PM

Thanks, appreciate the reply and input. I was under the impression it was a good microphone. The thought of wireless was nice, but it seems I'm better off with a different microphone :)

October 16th, 2021, 04:36 PM	#1
Evan Platt Regular Crew Join Date: Feb 2013 Location: Fremont, CA Posts: 28	Splitter for MF hotshoe for Z90? I'm a new Z90 shooter. I just noticed there's a sony shotgun MF mic that looks pretty awesome. My question though, is there a MF shoe 'splitter'? I want to be able to mount a light and the mic to the shoe. I have a generic V shaped shoe splitter but obviously it won't pass power / audio / etc. Do they make such a beast? Here's what I have now. https://amzn.to/3aHNYpF SONY ECM-GZ1M is the microphone I'm looking into. Will this work with the Z90? Will this splitter work? https://amzn.to/2Xk7WUt Thanks 🙂

October 16th, 2021, 08:56 PM	#2
Christopher Young Trustee Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Sydney Australia Posts: 1,568	Re: Splitter for MF hotshoe for Z90? As a Z90 user, I've not seen such a thing as a dual hot-shoe adapter that uses Sony's proprietary electronic contacts. On the Z90 those contacts are buried right at the front of the Multi-Interface (MI) Shoe that is exposed when you take the combination XLR/handle off the camera. That twin hot-shoe Canon compatible flashgun shoe that you linked to is totally incompatible with anything Sony. If you want to run an MI shoe microphone like the Sony ECM-GZ1M on the Z90 you would have to do this with the XLR/handle unit removed. This would then leave you with two 1/4" 20 screw holes behind the MI hot-shoe where you could mount an accessory cold-shoe like this one where you could mount a light, or anything else for that matter. https://ebay.to/3FQ6fzL I must admit though to being a little puzzled as to why you would want to do this? Especially considering the Z90 comes with an excellent pro audio XLR/handle unit that can take a very high-quality pro microphone that would be a much better performing mic than the Sony ECM-GZ1M. On top of this consideration, the XLR/handle unit carries two cold-shoes either of which could be used to run a battery-operated light without any drama. I run a Sony Sony ECM-VG1 on the Z90 with very good results. But a colleague of mine bought a couple of these following mics to run on his Sony X70 cameras and I must admit I was very surprised at how good they sound. So if the price is a serious consideration check these out. https://bit.ly/3pbVUbk If you did go with a camera mounted shotgun mic like the one on the link above then you would also need a microphone buffer rubber as shown in the link below. The Z90 and a lot of other Sonys use these to help isolate the mic from bumps and bangs. https://bit.ly/3FVHXEs BTW if you start running any other MI accessories on the Z90 they quite dramatically shorten the camera battery run-time quite considerably. The NP-FV70A battery is not renowned for its massive capacity. Chris Young

October 21st, 2021, 02:43 PM	#3
Evan Platt Regular Crew Join Date: Feb 2013 Location: Fremont, CA Posts: 28	Re: Splitter for MF hotshoe for Z90? Thanks, appreciate the reply and input. I was under the impression it was a good microphone. The thought of wireless was nice, but it seems I'm better off with a different microphone :)