Sony ECM-DS30P Electret Condenser Digital Microphone

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List Price: $49.99
Sale Price: $35.50
Today's Bonus: 29% Off

• Suitable stereo recording microphone with ICD/MD
• Compact and lightweight microphone for easy use
• Plug in power (no battery required)
• Includes carrying pouch and wind screen

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I purchased this Sony ECM-DS30P mic to use with my Kodak Zi8 Pocket Video Camera. I wanted a little better sound capture at not a huge price. I trust the Sony name brand in sound equipment and the price was right. The total length of the mic is 2.2 inches (56.5 mm) and its' diameter is 0.45 inches (11.42 mm). It does capture sound in digital stereo. I haven't used any soft or hardware to determine the sound quality compared to the built in mic of the video camera. It does sound better to me, but don't get it twisted, it doesn't come anywhere close to the mics I use with my hand held HD camcorder. This mic does have a pivot point which allows you to rotate the sound capture head up to about a 45 degree angle. Because the external mic port on my Kodak cam is on the side, plugging this mic directly in would have its' sound capture ports (remember it is a stereo mic) facing up or down or front to back. Not ideal! Therefore, I purchased a 90 degree stereo adapter (with a male and female connection) from my local Radio Shack. It allows me to rotate the mic in almost infinite positions including straight down by the pocket cam's side for easy storage. There are probably better mics out there, but let's keep it real, for the price and quality and its' intended use this Sony ECM-DS30P microphone is hard to beat. I will up load some photos shortly.

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I use this microphone with my Olympus DM-10 digital voice recorder. The entire package fits easily in a shirt or jacket pocket. As a radio/tv broadcast journalist, this compact microphone allows me to record spontaneous interviews in broadcast quality. This is a superb microphone and worth every penny.

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Very nice unit, but doesn't seem to work with iPhone 4. I suspect it requires more power than the iPhone delivers through the mini-jack. It would be nice if they specified that the mic isn't for iPhone. I'm still looking for an inexpensive directional mic for the iPhone.

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I use this with my digital recorder whenever I have a traffic stop start to go bad.Its clear as a bell and when the defendant takes me to court and starts to lie that I was a rude officer,I whip out my recorded conversation for the judge and catch the defendant in a lie.Great microphone.

I bought this, like so many other people did, for the Kodak zi8. Some folks on the Internet will try to tell you that the zi8 has a powered microphone plug. Don't believe it. Kodak sure doesn't make any such claim. Maybe there's a tiny bit of power going through that plug, but it's not nearly enough to power an electret microphone. With recent firmware updates, the Kodak zi8 actually has a pretty darn good internal microphone. In any case, the internal microphone is significantly louder, and picks up less buzzing than the Sony ECM-DS30P. To get the same volume from this mic, you have to crank up the gain, which gives you a terrible static sound. I can only assume that the people who like this microphone are deaf, or obsessed with stereo separation. And that really is the only benefit of this mic. But, how important is stereo separation if you're shooting on a Kodak zi8? Unless you already own an external power source, do not try using this mic with the zi8. I'm shipping mine back, and I'm gonna try a regular shotgun mic. Audio-Technica makes one that's cheaper than the Sony + power source.