Panasonic DMW-MS1 external mic
- Thread starter Rider
- Start date
Although this isn't a direct answer, be wary of the Audio-Techica Pro 24-CM.
This is a budget mic from a reputable manufacturer that you might well come across in your hunt, but be aware of the following;
The mic has a reputation for low gain (particularly on Canon products)
I know that we're talking 'Panasonic', and not Canon, but it's still worth bearing in mind.
I read the reviews - and *still* went ahead and bought it because [1] it was an Audio- Technica mic, [2] it was very cheap, [3] I had an idea that it couldn't be as bad as people said, and that it would be fine for *me* :cheesy:
But, on my Canon HG10 it was awful - with no way to adjust the gain it was *very* quiet (around half the gain of my Sennheiser MKE300) and, consequently, introduced a lot of hiss.
Shame - because it was a decently made little mic - but no good at all for Canon camcorders.
It might be better with a GH1 (and, of course, the GH2 has gain control) and I'm not saying reject it out of hand - just make sure that you can return it, if you need to.
Hunter Hampton
Carbonite Member
I bought one, sounds pretty good for a tiny on board mic, worth the money for sure.
Sam Mallery
Well-known member
Sony ECMMS908:
http://cgi.ebay.com/SONY-ECMMS908C-...886?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4aa58a2c6e
I used to have one and lost it. For $80, it sounded pretty nice. It definitely sounds better than the Audio Technica Pro24CM (I agree with the other person, the Pro24CM is crappy). It's not as rich sounding as the Rode Stereo VideoMic, but that one costs $250.
If you want it, snap this up. The 908 has been discontinued for a couple years.
Ron Rodenmeyer
Well-known member
I have the Panasonic mic and have been happy with it. My guess is the Rode VideoMic is better, but one thing I do like about the Panasonic is that is has the native tiny plug for the GH1. Everytime I've used another mic, such as my Sennheiser, with an adapter, I've had at least one section of bad audio. It's like the adapter came out of the input a little and at some point went back in. I've never had this problem with the DMW-MS1.
Go with the Rode Video Mic for $50 extra. You will thank yourself in the end. I can't find where it is located on here but someone compared the on board mic to the Panasonic DMW-MS1 and they were not much different at all. The Rode Mic will give you better directionality, a richer tone and is overall a better microphone that you might be able to use for other things in the future (b-cam mic).
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Another caution against the Audio-Technica Pro24CM - verrrry low output level makes it basically unusable. I've heard some half-decent video tests via YouTube but can't get anything like the same performance via any of my cameras (for the record, I've tried it with Nikon D7000, Kodak Zi8, Sony PC6E and Sony PD100). The Pro24CM is a dinky little thing and the price is great, but it's basically useless.
Drat.
Drat.