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

I bought this for use with my Sony camcorder. I chose it because it was a 900 MHz system rather than the 100 MHz systems from Hysonic, etc. The included lapel mike is not very good. Lots of distortion and very cheaply made. I tried a better quality Radio Shack lapel mike, #33-3013 and got much better results. Compared to putting the mike right into the camcorder, the wireless transmitter shows considerably more noise and lower sound level. No noticeable difference in frequency response, at least for voice recording. Dropouts started occuring when I was about 50 feet away. Bottom line is this isn't broadcast quality but certainly adequate for amateur use.

I've used other products in the $200-$300 range and have never gotten the results I was looking for. This does just fine. The 900mhz signal is very good and does not distort. Your camera person can listen in using a headphone. Plus, there is an additional "mix" port on the receiver. You can actually plug two of these together for an interview setup, with no additional hardware needed. Make sure your camcorder has a mic input. Also, if your camcorder requires a powered mic, this works fine. I hope to upload a video review soon to show the quality.

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It certainly isn't Hollywood quality, and I wouldn't use it for music.

But for interviews, the sound works just fine, especially considering the price.

My only real complaint is the clip for the lavalier. Unless you can slip it into a lapel hole, it will generally fall off if your subject moves more than a tiny bit.

Bottom line: I'd buy it again for the kind of shooting I do.

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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.

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I bought this after using an Azden VHF for a while. It's better than what I had, and it actually works. Unlke the others reviewers I had no constant noise to deal with.

Usually the signal was strong and clear, but it would suffer from occasional, very short, loss of signal and occasional audible interference. AGAIN .. this was better performance than my AZDEN VHF system. (plus this uses AA betteries while the Azden used 9v batteries)

Unfortunatly, in the world of wireless microphones, this is still at the "toy" level. I finally "bit the bullet" and bought a wireless system that costs about SIX TIMES this unit ... and that is the "low end" for a decent wireless mic system!

PLEASE NOTE: that you need an external mic jack on your camcorder to use this .. many (most?) new camcorders don't have that anymore .. at least those sold to non-professionals. BE SURE your camcorder has a jack for an external microphone before you buy this.

Again, it works .. it's ok .. FOR WHAT IT IS. It's not a professional piece of equipment, but for home movies, and the occasional hobbyist video it should work OK for you.

NOTE: I bought mine at a Sony Factory Store .. it was 'refurbushed' .. it is possible that those who reported 'noise' and poor performance had defective units. If you get one like that, return it and get a replacement right away.

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