SonyECMXYST1M Stereo Microphone (Black)

This microphone works on a wide range of Sony camera/Handycam models supporting the Multi-Interface shoe. This will not work on Active Shoe Interface devices, and there are no adapters for converting the Multi-Interface devices to fit Active Shoe devices, as Sony is streamlining and standardizing their devices to use the Multi Interface from here on out.This is a very nice pro quality microphone that captures extremely life like audio. It's honestly better than my Rode Stereo Mic. This mic is very compact, it's got a bit of weight to it and it is very tall and a bit wide. But for an on-camera mic, this is as good as it gets for these kinds of mics in this price range and size.The mic eliminates sounds captured by your hands rubbing against the camera body, and thanks to it being tall it isolates the audio better on what you're capturing. The mic is split between two channels and can be manually adjusted from 0* to 120* for either capturing audio on a single subject, to a wide acoustic setting like a concert or party. And having it manually adjustable makes it great for acclimating to different audio situations on the fly.It comes with a windscreen, an audio cable for connecting to the mic port on the camera, and a rubber spacer ring if you have a camera model with a sliding compartment to keep the piece from hitting the mic and causing unwanted pick up by the compartment door hitting the mic.It also has a dedicated switch for switching between normal audio recording and low-cut audio to reduce vibrations and background noises and wind. It's a very smart and well engineered microphone, and certainly better than the older model Sony stereo microphone, and for such a compact unit, it has amazing audio capture that certainly gave my Rode stereo mic a run for its money.It is a pricy microphone. Not gonna lie, this is the price you are going to pay pretty much anywhere you go, I have not seen it cheaper anywhere. But if you ask me, it's almost worth picking up if you're planning on buying a new Sony camcorder or camera in the high price range. If you have a high quality camera, then you will want high quality audio out of it. I definitely recommend it if you don't want to spend $300 on a microphone, this is just the right microphone for almost every need you'll have.

I was planning for an Air Force Thunderbirds airshow and wanted nothing but the best sound I could get for my Sony FDR-AX700 Handycam, at a decent price and not too high-end. My camcorder records excellent sound, but I knew it would not be the quality I wanted for the Air Show. I connected this mic, did a few tests and WOW, what a difference! Superb sound quality. Having the noise filter (Norm, Low Cut) switch on the mic is a nice feature. The wind screen is great and will not come off even in heavy winds. I love it! This is an excellent choice for a replacement to the standard Handycam internal mic.

So far so good. This is my first external microphone purchase for my consumer needs. Primarily take videos of our family around the house and on vacations. I upgraded to a Sony RX10M3 as my all in one device for stills and video. Noticed my breathing was being easily picked up with the built in mic and I could hear the internal motor on the zoom. Figured I would try another warehouse deal and bought this. Just put it on and after taking some test recordings I didn't notice a huge difference in sound of my family member talking but did notice a huge reduction in breathing and zoom noise. That is the main reason I wanted a mic was to isolate the sound better from me and the camera. Time will tell how much better sound is compared to internal. It was also nice to see it worked perfectly on my Panasonic HC-VX870 4k camcorder with supplied cord into mic input. Keep in mind without using the cable on compatible Sony devices the MIC will run in a auto sort of mode. Nice because no cable needed but if you want more control of audio settings you need to use the cable which gives you more control. It's nice to have both options as I know my wife might use it more if no extra hook up of cable is needed. One final thought, I shopped for a camera with good quality internal mic as I figured I didn't want external devices, this unit is small enough and especially without the cable will be very convenient to use. I will update this review if it turns out I have issue with the sound vs internal.