How can I attach an external microphone to Sony Handycam HDRSR10E?

Question

We've recently purchased a Sony Handycam HDRSR10E which is very impressive but it doesn't seem to have a socket for an external microphone and there's no mention if it in the instructions. It seems crazy that it trades on its high quality but the sound is bad because of the rubbish internal mic. Any ideas?

Answer 1

It does not appear to have audio input.

http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs/stor...

Answer 2

The Sony SR10 does not have a microphone input, so you cannot connect a mic directly to it. However, if you really want to take the extra time to get true productrion quality sound, you could purchase a digital audio recorder and record the sound separately. Most audio recorders have mic inputs that are either the consumer quality 1/8" mini-stereo or even professional quality XLR terminals. This would allow you to connect an external mic, be it a shotgun, lav, or handheld mic.

The only problem with recording audio and video independantly is that you'll need to sync them up in post producton. That's what most movie productions do; they usually do not record the sound in the camera. They record it on a field audio recorder and use slates (clapboards) to sync video and audio in post.

However, the digital audio recorder route may not be practical in all situations. For example, it may not be convenient having to do a audio-video sync up for every home video you make, but it is a good option when shooting short films, documentaries, and lots of other video productions.

       It also may not be a good idea if you have a bad editing program. It's easy when the program has multiple audio tracks, but some, like Windows Movie Maker only give you 2 audio tracks, so if you use 1 for the in-camera sound and 1 for the sync sound, you don't have any room for music, or sound effects.

Hope that helps and good luck!!!