To Phantom or not?

Definitely use phantom power if it's available. If phantom power isn't available, the battery will work fine, but make sure the battery is fresh. As batteries run down, the mic noise floor can come up. It isn't a big issue, but you might as well use phantom if you have it.
 
I don't see a reason to keep a battery in the mic if you're using phantom power exclusively . If you need to run off battery power, pop a fresh cell in the mic.
 
When you're not using your mic, always take the battery out. With a battery in, the mic is pretty much ON all the time, and is more prone to getting damaged, because it's still "listening". Also, I'm sure you've had an encounter with a leaky battery before, and I deffinetly wouldnt want some crappy alkaline battery to leak all over my 500 dollar mic (I don't own a 500 dollar mic btw....but if I did I deffinetly wouldnt want a bettery to take a crap in it....) Also keep in mind that phantom power will drain your camera battery faster, so that's something to keep in mind. As a general rule though I usually always use phantom, especially when I have my huge DVXuser battery on....
 
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