Camcorders Consumer Camcorders
Do built-in microphones on camcorders provide good enough sound quality to record music performance with?
I’m looking to buy a camcorder and I read in Consumer Reports that built-in mics don’t give very good results, but so many camcorders don’t have mic jacks. I want to use it to record solo performances at home. Are built-in mics adequate for this?
No, no, a thousand times no. It’s not a matter of the quality of the built-in mic as much as it is a matter of proximity. The mic is on the camera, a far distance away from the point of the sound. That’s the reason all those home videos sound so crappy with that hollow, hard-to-hear sound.
We started a project to tape my father in his last few years to capture as much family history as we could. I bought an inexpensive videocam with a microphone jack and a bought a very inexpensive lavalier mic and extension cord at Radio Shack and I can tell you that the sound is fine.
If you’re trying to make a reasonable quality recording of a musical performance you will not be happy with an on-camera mic. Trust me on this one, or borrow one and see for yourself.
Depending on the circumstances you can attach your mic to the band’s mic stand or, even better, get a feed out of the mixing board into your videocam. Good luck.
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