Sony WCS999 Wireless Camcorder Microphone for DCR-DVD101/201/301 & DCR-HC20/30/40/65/85

Sony WCS999 Wireless Camcorder Microphone for DCR-DVD101/201/301 & DCR-HC20/30/40/65/85
The WCS-999 Wireless Microphone system from Sony lets you record voices up to 45 meters away depending on environment and transmission conditions. The WCS-999 is ideal for video camcorders - it captures the voices of family members on vacation, in sporting events, at recitals, birthdays and weddings. It is also ideal for Pressman portable audio recorders as it captures lectures and speeches, good for music and nature study.Supplied lavalier microphone is tiny and unobtrusive, clips onto shirt or tie. Built-in windscreen helps reduce the microphone's pickup of wind noise. Omni-directional microphone pattern picks up sound from all directions. Pocket-sized wireless transmitter is easy to hide, clips onto clothing for unobtrusive use. Wireless receiver plugs into camcorder or audio recorder mic input; easily clips onto clothing, camcorder hand strap or shoulder strap. Three transmission channels enable you to choose another channel if you encounter interference. Monitoring earphone lets you hear what's being recorded; plugs into wireless receiver. Mic mixing lets the camera operator and the subject both be recorded. 900 MHz wide FM transmission allows for outstanding sound quality, excellent frequency response (100 - 15, 000 Hz) and extended dynamic range (more than 78 dB). Switchable transmission channel lets you choose the channel with clear, noise-free sound.
Customer Review: Makes videos sound less amateur
I give this 5 stars because it does a good job for what it is. Don't compare it to a $1000 system with a $500 microphone. That's NOT what this is. I don't do much video anymore and one of the few things I do with my camcorder is to sit down with older relatives to give us some storytelling of their memories. I used to do this with my camcorder on a tripod and I always got poor audio because the microphone is far away from the source of sound, and worse, you pick up the sound of the camcorders motors wirring and whining while it works. I knew I needed an external microphone. I checked this because it was a cheap wireless option. I knew the microphone that comes with it is cheap, but decided to see how it performed and I could always upgrade that later. For me: I have never had a problem with this unit. And I haven't been easy on it. It has been abused by an active subject who has ripped it out of his pants and ripped the microphone out of the jack by the cord. I don't get interference, noise, nor drop outs, and I have used it, say up to 10 meters. I have imagined how I could put the camera on one rock and the subject on another rock 100 feet away and do a nice slow zoom out reveal, but frankly, I just don't shoot that kind of stuff anymore and if I did, I'd be using a $2000 wireless system, not a $100 system. The sound I record with this is WAY better than the internal microphone on the camcorder, and that is all you should judge this against. Clean, clear, solid audio goes a long way to elevating you footage away from "home movies." There is nothing like it anywhere close in the market. You have to spend 5-10x the price to go to the next step up. I've never had noise problems with it, either. If I ever did, I just switch channels and it is fine. Perhaps some of the other reviewers work in more noisy areas than me. The only thing is that you need to always monitor it, because there is no indication that one of the batteries is about to run out, and then you've recorded your subject without audio for a while.
Customer Review: Good Value
It does the job for less than 100 bucks. Although not quite studio quality, it's perfect for my wedding videos. I did 17 on-camera interviews and only one of them came out crappy, apparently due to obstruction between transmiter and receiver at a distance of approx. 10 feet. If you're on a small budget, and/or, just starting your business as I am, this is a very good option.