I've had the mic for two weeks now and I'm using it w/a Canon HV30 and a NRG 59111 bracket. In quiet shooting situations, the mic will pick up a lot of motor noise if mounted directly to the camera; this is normal. The bracket suspends the mic about 5" above the camera and motor noise pickup is eliminated. The supplied windscreen does a pretty good job. I would prefer if there was a "power on" LED to serve as a reminder to shut the mic off but that would just draw power too. I understand the rationale behind not having one, but want one anyway. The mic cord is NOT detachable as shown in the picture. Maybe newer versions are, but the one I received does not detach. The shockmount is not that great. The upper/lower parts of the mount are connected by hard rubber squares. So, it's not really "shock mounted" but more of a "dampened mounted." Some handling noise/tapping the camera will be picked up by the mic. This is due to the "not really a shockmount" shockmount.
That said, I'm very happy with it. Note: This is not a shotgun mic, so don't expect to pickup conversation-level sound from 30 feet away. This mic is a true stereo mic and outputs two distinct L/R channel. This mic beats the pants off the stock in-camera mics in every way. There is much more clarity as compared to the stock mic. The best way to describe it is that with the stock mics, all the sounds are "mixed together and indistinct." Whereas with the SMX-10 each sound "stands out from all the others." Frequency response is also better with the SMX-10; I find there is a lot more high-end frequency information in recordings made with it vs. stock.
The mic is very light, not too long (doesn't hang over the front of the camera) and the cord is of the coiled variety so it doesn't hang all over the place. It's designed very well. Body is all-aluminum and very solid feeling. Switches are recessed into the body of the mic, so it would be very difficult to accidently slide them one way or the other. There really isn't anything else in it's price range that is better. Another option/very popular video mic is the Rode Stereo Videomic, but it is literally 2x the price and twice the size. I took a chance with the SMX-10 and am very happy with my purchase. Azden High-performance(SMX-10) Stereo Condenser Microphone
This has been a really nice addition to my Canon HV20 camcorder. I like it because it provides far superior sound than the built in mic on the HV20 and it is not too bulky. I can leave it attached to my camcorder and still fit the entire rig in a relatively small camera bag (Tamrac Velocity 7x). I did not rate it a 5 because of the shockmount that it comes with is not the greatest. I substituted the Rode SM3 shockmount, which works much better. I highly recommend this combination. It has added a new dimension to my videos and my rig still remains highly portable.
I bought this mic half-heartedly. It might possibly be complete junk, or might possibly be one of my greatest buys. And sure enough. It was a great buy. This mic is very very good for what I plan to use it for. I, sadly, have yet to test it out on a camcorder, but I have used it plugged into my computer and receive, nothing below, AMAZING sound quality from this mic. It has a very wide area pick up also, which I was very surprised with for its price. I am not sure about how it reacts to picking up DV Tape sound or that stuff, because I use it on a boom pole. This is a great item and well worth it if your on a budget for filming or voice over. The VO is pretty awsome with this thing. There is no noticeable white noise and the actually QUALITY of the recordings are just clear and normal. There is nothing that makes it sound like it couldn't be from a professional studio. Made my day. Great buy for the price!
This mic was purchased to be used in a classroom environment with teenage kids, so I didn't want to spend a lot of money. The mic seems well constructed and sturdy. The sound recorded with it is ok. It is better than the sound off the camera mic, and doesn't pick up near as much motor noise and handling noise as the camera mic did. The one negative to the mic is the lack of a power indicator. I think a simple LED would remind people to turn the mic off after use. Other than that, this is a decent mic, and good bang for the buck.
Seeking to produce something other than the usual crushingly boring home movies, I was looking for a good external stereo shotgun microphone for my small Digital Video Camera and my digital stereo sound recorder. Priced under $100, the SMX-10 was the most affordable serious stereo shotgun microphone I could find. It has the advantage if being intended for small video cameras, mounting on the camera and using the small external mike plug. Power is from a regular AA battery, nothing exotic. It is small enough to fit in my camera bag. In addition to using it on the camera I have used it with the recorder to collect sound environments, rain, thunder, a brook, wind chimes, night insects... To my untrained ears, the recordings are indistinguishable from the real thing.
With the included wind screen, this microphone is a vast improvement over the camera's internal microphone, however it inhibits, but my no means, eliminates that pesky wind noise. I can not tell any difference in the sound quality if the microphone battery power is on or off. Overall, highly recommended for the ambitious but impoverished amateur videographer. - Mics - Camcorder - Canon - Azden'
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