Camcorders With External Mics
Is there a camcorder available for under $500 that can plug into a standard sound board for the external mic?
My husband has a small setup with a sound board, some table-top and instrument mics and mixing/editing software on his laptop. He’s dabbled with it to create audio podcasts. Now, he wants a camcorder for Christmas. In his hints, he has indicated that he wants the camera to have an audio-in jack so that he can use it with his mics/sound board. The “external mic” jack I see on most camcorders at the typical outlets looks small — not RCA type cables. I’m thinking the capability he wants is only going to be found on the higher-end, pro models. Any advice?
That shows you how little I know. I just figured “RCA” were the right cables. But I just sneaked a peek at the sound board (pretending to look for a CD). It is Alesis Multimix 8 USB and it has XLR inputs, plus larger jacks (1/4″?) plus what appear to me to be RCA in/out jacks (the red and white ones)
The Canon ZR900, ZR930, FS10, FS11, FS100 and HF10, HF11 and HF100 all have a 1/8″ (3.5mm) mic jack. None have manual audio control. Since we don’t know which sound board he’s using, it is a bit of a challenge to know how they would connect, but there are RCA – 1/8″ converters. The sound boards I have worked with connect out using XLR connectors (not RCA). As such, an XLR “tail” or XLR adapter from juicedLink or BeachTek would be in order.
The Canon HV30 and Sony HDR-HC9 are the least expensive camcorders – of which I am aware – with a mic jack (1/8″) and manual audio control – I believe they are outside your stated price range.
“Prosumer” camcorders start at about $1,500…
Pro camcorders start at about $3,000.
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BEFORE you buy, download the camcorder’s manual from the manufaturer’s web site and verify that it has a mic jack.
Video Production Basics : How to Buy an External Microphone for a Camcorder
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