Camera Choices Narrowed Down

I have my camera choices narrowed down to 3 cameras. I would like some feedback about them, if you have used them or dont like them for s certain reason. Anyfeedback would be nice!

Cameras:

Canon-HV30

JVC GZ-HD6

Sony Handycam HDR-SR12


I will be editing on a mac, and most likely final cut, if that make a differece.

Also i will be needing an external mic, and i need suggestions. Any would be great!

Thanks!

Cam Wiese
 
All three are nearly identical. You'll be happy with any of them. My
personal choice was the JVC - that's the one I bought.

What you're looking for is a good shotgun mic. That in itself is a
generic term that means any long barreled mic. You want a good
condenser (externally powered) mic with a “lobar” pick up pattern
to put on your boom pole. Lobar pick up means the mic focuses
its audio pick up to a narrow area. This is why you want to use a
boom pole to get the mic as close the the actor as possible - you’ll
get clean dialogue tracks with less ambient noise.

http://www.sennheiserusa.com/newsite/
Sennheiser is the mic most used by professional sound recordists.
They are expensive and worth it. Check out the ME-66 and the
ME-67. The MKH60 is the best if you can afford it.

http://www.audio-technica.com/
Audio-Technica is cheaper. Check out the AT835B. It’s a workable
mic, a little muddy and not as directional as it should be. The
AT835ST is a good mic for the price, but it, too, sounds a bit muddy -
the vocals don’t sound crisp enough for me.

http://www.azdencorp.com/
I’ve never used Azden mic’s. They’re inexpensive and I don’t hear
too many good things about them, but if that's all you can afford it's
MUCH better than using the camera mic.

http://www.rodemic.com/?pagename=Home
Rode is an inexpensive mic - it’s okay for recording instruments but
their shotgun mic’s aren’t very versatile.

A good mic is an investment. It will last longer than your camera -
why skimp? A great place to check prices and purchase is B&H Photo
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/

The further away the mic is from the actors, the higher the volume
needs to be. The higher the volume, the more “noise” you get. Your
goal is to have a very high signal to noise ratio - more signal (the
dialogue) less noise (the background). Even a very good, expensive
Sennheiser mounted on the camera will pick up a lot of background
ambiance because it’s far away from the actors.

So you need a boom pole. This can be as simple as a painters pole
with a microphone shock mount on it - or a 3 or 4 section, expandable
Carbon Fiber, Graphite Fiber or Aluminum boom pole. The lighter the
pole the better. Expandable is also very convenient. A pole that’s a
fixed six or eight feet (painters pole) can pose problems if you’re shooting
in a small space like a bathroom or small apartment or if the boom
operator needs to be twelve to fifteen feet away to be out the the lights.
 
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