Camera doesn't have External Mic Input

[Mastrchf]

Hello!

I bought a Sony HC-52, which unfortunately doesn't have a jack for an external microphone input. I record enough that I'd like to use external mic audio to improve my videos, but as I stated the camera has no mic input. I was looking at digital voice recorders that I could use with the microphones I already have, and I was wondering if anyone would advise this route as a way to achieve better audio. I know that it would require synchronizing the video and audio, but I feel that the extra work would be infinitely more worthwhile if it achieved better audio.

[Skyman]

That is definitely the way to go. If you can afford it a portable DAT (Digital Audio Tape) recorder will give you the best quality, but a good mini disk recorder will also work well and is much cheaper.

[dumpy]

I think that buying a DAT would be more expensive (plus a major PITA) than returning/selling your current camera and upgrading to something with a mic input

[Mastrchf]

I've been researching an Olympus LS-10 lately. It's in the price range that I'm looking for, and I like the ability to be very portable. Skyman mentioned a mini-disc recorder, would this be such a device? If not, would anyone recommend this product?

[Skyman]

mini disk is one of those strange foot notes in the advancement of technology. at one stage it was set to replace the cd and then mp3 technology trumped it. basically they are like a square small cassette recorder that plays a high capacity magnetic disk. They offer much better recording quality than an mp3 recorder without the cost of a dat recorder. I had a look on the sony usa site and couldn't find one (although you can buy the media for them), but they are listed on the australian site http://www.sony.com.au/walkman/catalog/product.jsp?categoryId=34288
They are the portable recorder of choice for many radio stations and reporters, and with a good mic they are great for use with video as well.

[dumpy]

I am (ok was) a bit of a mini disc aficionado and last year i was able to purchase a small brand new portable unit for $30 on Amazon. Look around they are out there.

There is one particular portable model that has mic/line in that is quite popular, especially with the bootlegging crowd (I have no idea what the model name is). Check out http://www.minidisc.org there is quite a bit of information on that site.

Unfortunately the ones with external inputs are probably going to be more than I paid for mine, because of who is still buying MD.

MiniDisc is a great format for it's recording quality, size and durability(I've only seen one piece of MD media fail and it was being used in a commercial application, 5 days a week 4.5 hours a day, it took 5 years of that before it failed).

Unfortunately it never quite caught on when it had it's chance (pre-Mp3) and now is mostly irrelevant for the average consumer (I partially blame Sony), but amongst people who do portable recording and in broadcast applications it still gets quite a bit of use.

Also its actually magnetic and optical, I forget the exact details now, but it writes to the disc using some convoluted process involving both a magnet and a laser. Cool stuff for sure.

[SmartWombat]

Magneto-optical?
Laser to heat the media, magnetic to write to it.

I still have a Sony TD3 DAT machine, and two minidisk recorders.
Haven't used them in ages though, and suspect they will need new battery packs

[byjamesderuvoDHQ]

Hey, it works for the professionals. Why not you? You just need a "clapper" to be able to synch the audio later, is all. One option, believe it or not, is to use your iPod. Get the Griffin iTalk Pro, which records in stereo directly to your iPod and has a line-in. It's portable, and the quality is excellent. And fully digital.