When I first heard that this adapter that allows one to plug in XLR audio cables to the Canon GL2 (pictured at the top of the blog, my favorite MiniDV camera at the moment) did not have any cables connecting the adapter to the camera, I did not believe that was how the unit worked. But, after trying it out in the Indie Film Blogger Road Trip project, yeah, it works; really well, and that's how it works - no cables from the unit to the camera. The shoe (place for the thingy that slides into a slot on top of the camera's microphone) sends the audio signal down to the camera/the MiniDV tapes, apparently (i am sure you can find a more accurate description of the technology involved elsewhere :). One thing: the camera mic goes offline/does not work, as soon as you attach the adapter, so, if you want to capture two tracks of audio, you'll have to hook up two mics to the adapter (i think on the PD 150 i was able to have a boom mic attached to the XLR jack and also have the camera mic recording, not so on the GL2). Here's B & H's page for the adapter.Or, I guess you can get a DVX100B, which comes with built-in XLR jacks, but that camera is a little bit more expensive and looks bigger (the smaller size of GL2 is an asset for road trips/subway rides, etc.). I do plan on trying out a DVX100B in the future, to see how it feels.
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And yes, I am still shooting on MiniDV/standard definition, have not switched over to HDV yet, probably won't for a while 'cause SD works well for me at the moment; cheaper equipment, I got the editing work flow all figured out/got experience with that/don't need to buy any new gear, and SD MiniDV has been in use for over a decade now; lots of people have figured out how to solve problems related to the media & the answers are on the web (in most cases, this might also be true for HDV, have not researched it).
- Sujewa
