External Mic

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I've heard lots of good and bad things about external microphones.

I'm basically looking for that will remove the noise of me using the camera, or at-least help limit it and but also remove the sound of VR and AF. If its on a cable that could be moved around that would be ever better.

Must be compatible with the D3s.

The reason that I ask, as I would normally just decide myself, I have heard that the rodeo mic, doesn't work with the D3s and it produces a hissing sound. That was my first choose so I'm now stuck on what to get.

Cheers
 
The problem is not the mic as much as it's the preamp in cameras. They all suck. Even in top end cameras, the sound floor is high, hence hiss. If you want decent sound, you have to go with an external recorder with decent preamps and a good external mic that you want off the camera. Also, the kind of mic you choose depends on how you want to shoot. A "shotgun" mic is okay if what you're recording is stationary. But if the subject turns his or her head or moves away, the sound levels go down. Just as if you were shooting with a flash and the subject moves away, your exposure changes. So really to get good sound, you need a boom pole with a mic or a wireless lapel mic. The latter setup can work with a solo shooter and allow you to monitor the sound. A shotgun mic in an isolation mount will at least minimize camera sound. But, really, you have to get the mic away from the camera and extraneous user noise and as close to what you want to record as possible to get clean sound.

What I think is interesting is that a lot of guys on YouTube will shoot with a Canon 5D mkII, L lenses, carbon fiber tripods but skimp on the sound and use something like that Rode video mic plugged into the camera. Using a cheap mic with onboard sound is like using a kit lens. It's okay but don't expect great quality.
 
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Cheers Offhand, you seem to know a lot more than I do!
 
Cheers Offhand, you seem to know a lot more than I do!

Check out something like the Zoom H4n. It's a great external recording device with a ton of features. I believe there is a way to mount it in a microphone mount and then in the hotshoe of your DSLR. Since it's not wired into the camera, you can have it off camera recording a subject while the camera moves from location to location and the sound will remain the same and won't be affected by distance or direction.

The "bad" part is that your sound files will not be part of the video file like if you were using an onboard mic and you'll have to sync them up in post. Once you get the hang of it, it should be easy enough and you can use the onboard sound as a reference for syncing the external audio.
 

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