Scott Dorsey wrote:
> Give it a try. If you record directly to the computer, you then just
> have to transfer the video into the computer and you're ready to edit.

> If you don't have a slate, just clearly say the scene and take numbers
> while showing the numbers on your hands, then clap your hands together.
> When you edit, use the clap to synch everything up and it will stay
> locked because both the computer and the video recorder will be locked
>to pretty accurate standards these days.

> You limit yourself severely if you want battery power. But a battery-pow= ered
> phantom supply isn't all that expensive.

Point well taken. I=E2=80=99ll have to look into the battery-powered phant= om supply options and see how going this route fits into my overall budget.

Marc Heusser wrote:
> I have used Sennheiser K6/ME64 (or any other like ME66 =C5=A0) successful= ly
> as a self (battery) powered option with Canon Cameras.
> The improvement over the built-in mic is huge, people usually commenting
> on the much sharper image :-)
> Sennheiser also offers a budget option: the MKE300, specifically to be
> mounted on the accessory shoe of the camera, and with a 3.5mm plug. I'd
> assume this to be an improvement too.
> It seems Canon also offers as an option a module for XLR inputs,
> unfortunately not phantom powered.

> I have used adapters for XLR to 3.5 mm plugs from
> http://www.studio1productions.com/xlr-pro.htm successfully
> long cables (20m), and can recommend them.

> The GL2 seems to have good control (ie manual level), so the only weak
> point seems to be the 3.5mm plug.

Thanks for the mic suggestion; a pair of ME64/K6 exceeds my budget but a single ME64/K6 plus the studio1 xlr-pro doesn=E2=80=99t, and may provide = the simplest solution to improving the sound over the camera=E2=80=99s on-board mic.

Chel van Gennip wrote:
> For all the video's on my son's website I use a double system. It is
> better to asume the audio in camcorders is bad. Bad microphones, bad
> preamps, bad AGC, bad AD converters, etc. The chances you find anything
> decent are minimal. If you record music, the "sync clap" is not really
> needed. It is not to difficult to match two audio tracks. I normally first
> take the video, ad some titles, and save the result both as video and as a
> just audio track. After that I go to my DAW, import the audio track as a
> guide, and align the audio from the audio recorder to this track. The
> advantage of the DAW is that alignment can be more precise, video software
> often is frame based, so you only can shift audio whole frames. On the
> website http://www.serg.vangennip.com/www/video.html you
> results. Even in long pieces, like the 30 minute Mussorgsky Pictures sync
> is not a problem. You find a seperate short (5min) sample in high-res at
> http://www.vangennip.com/Serg_van_Gennip_Appassionata_3mvmt.html

Thanks for your input and for sharing the very nice performance by your son. (Beethoven sonatas are some of my favorite solo piano music.) There is a nice subtle stereo effect on the recording but I only see one mic. Did you record with multiple mics or achieve this in post?

Richard Crowley wrote:
> Camcorders (and other small consumer recorders like
> MD, et.al.) put ~5VDC on the mic input to provide power to
> typical small electret condenser mic capsules. This may
> not be detrimental to *some* microphones, but I wouldn't
> risk it. I would use a DC blocking capacitor when connecting
> a pro microphone to a "Plug-in power" mic input.

> You can think of "plug-in power" as the low-end consumer
> equivalent of phantom power except much lower voltage
> and single-ended/unbalanced.

Thanks for the heads-up and clarification. Although the specs on the GL2 do not mention the presence of plug-in-power at the mic input terminal I can check this with a meter to be safe.