» Sony ECMHW1 Bluetooth Wireless Microphone for DVR-DVD405, 505, HDR-SR1, UX1 & DCR-SR60, SR80, SR100 Camcorders

Sony ECMHW1 Bluetooth Wireless Microphone for DVR-DVD405, 505, HDR-SR1, UX1 & DCR-SR60, SR80, SR100 Camcorders Reviews

Customer Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Comment: I want to say thatsince i bought this mic, I started to look more pro and futurist because this mic work perfectly for interviews and looks like no other. If you think to buy this item, don't think to much, just buy it!!!!

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Customer Rating:
Summary: OK product
Comment: I bought this product about one month ago, and have used it quite a few times since buying it. I used it for recording at a open mic, and it did all right. There was still a lot of background noise on this, and the scratching sound was very audible, even with the wind sock on it. The neck carrier that comes with this is not near as bad as others have described it. It would be nice to have a different lapel clip though. Over all the sound recorded is of very good quality and the range is very good as well.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Great microphone for those special times
Comment: I bought this mic with many other gadgets for a three week safari in Kenya, not knowing when or if I'd use it, but knowing that if I didn't have it, I'd need it for sure. After two weeks it was the only thing in my camera bag that I had not used in some way. Then on one of the last three nights in camp, our guides, who were Samburu, brought to our campfire, an old, blind Samburu musician to play music for the whole camp. He played traditional and original songs on a guitar and sang while beating a goatskin drum with something resembling a kick drum pedal. Everyone was dancing and TALKING and WHOOPING while he was playing, so the audio on my Sony HDR-HC7 was filled with background noise, even with my external mic. I put the ECMHW1 receiver on the camera and set the wireless mic in front of the musician. I was able to walk around and get great video of everyone around the campfire, the musician, my daughter and son dancing with Samburu warriors, everything, and the audio from the mic picked up only the musician. The audio from this mic sounds great as is, but with a little tweaking in Adobe Audition it turned out fantastic.

Long story, but I highly recommend having this mic in your bag for those once-in-a-lifetime moments. That one use, so far, was well worth the $140 price tag.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Simple, Great; Best for the Sony!
Comment: Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R2OLQ5E0VQ0WQ2 *Added info below after a month of use*

We just purchased this wireless bluetooth microphone. I give it five stars because there's nothing better - either in the Sony line, or from other companies - that keeps wireless audio gathering simple for this product line. We need simplicity for our news-gathering because we have to shoot both video and still images. If we were only video journalists, it would be a no-brainer to use gear that is more designed for commercial/spot news gathering. But the ECMHW1 offers a very simple set-up: mount the receiver, place the transmitter unit on or near the subject, and turn the camera and both wireless sets on. When the blue light glows steady on both units, the audio can be gathered. The camcorder already uses built-in auto audio levels.

For field tests, I tried a number of different placements, from using the lanyard, to clipping the transmitter on my belt, as well as using the strap that wraps around the upper arm. The lanyard works best, but you can also place the transmitter on a table or in an inconspicuous area near the subject (for sit-down talks). One test, with the camera recording 30 feet away, caught 3 people in the conversation quite well, and the third person didn't even know he was being recorded.

We started in our own work area, which consists of two rather narrow rooms. As for distance, I could record audio clearly within line-of-sight at 40 feet distance; taking the camera from view by walking to the hallway (a doorway was the only way to see him in the other room), the signal started breaking up about 15 feet after losing sight when I turned down the hall.

Outside, the subject walked away as I recorded video with sound. We took the setup outside our building, which sits 100 yards from an elevated highway; the white noise (that sound of traffic rolling) bounces right off our building. But when the subject placed the transmitter around his neck, the recording sounded quite good, considering how loud the ambient noise levels were. Audio began breaking up about 100 feet away, and started going in and out. However, he walked a good 140-150 feet and turned towards me, and I could clearly record sound. This product simply works, no matter how much I tend to hate proprietary gear, like Sony's AIS (Active Interface Shoe), which makes it hard to use things like mounted video lights. However, this unit is great, because the receiver also sports a headset miniplug. People with some of the non-HD camcorders that were built without mic and headphone jacks can now have a camera where you can monitor your sound now.

The receiver also has 3 kewl settings: Off, on, and 5.1 stereo. Turning it off, your camcorder only captures sound from its built-in mic. Turn the units on, and the wireless mic is captured, while no sound gets recorded from the camera's microphone. But turn it on 5.1, and both camera and wireless mics work. That can help if you're shooting 2 people. You keep your camera close to the subject you're shooting, and let a second person wear the transmitter, and you have sound from 2 people. Great for covering spouses or kids.

Things that Sony can IMPROVE on?? Of course. First, I'd like to see the transmitter colored in the same charcoal hue as the receiver is. That bright silver can shout at you when you're recording somebody with it on. My workaround is two-fold: First, frame the subject to crop that transmitter out. Or, set it near your subject. If it doesn't work, well... I see microphones shoved beneath people all the time, so that little wireless mic won't bother me too much. I will try using black tape to cover the silver, which may slightly limit the transmission range. The other thing Sony SHOULD do? Design the next-gen transmitter to have an optional miniplug jack to use a lavalier mic. That way, you can place the transmitter on the belt and run that small mic right to your subject's collar. I hope all that info helps. Hopefully I can add some images as well. If I can, I'll try adding a video clip of the sound levels and situation. Meanwhile, I've recommended that we equip all of our shooters with this wireless microphone set for the Sony Handycams.

**Update** There is a little grey sock that comes with the set, which fits over the small microphone. While shooting an outdoor press conference today, I heard even the smallest gust of wind, which bothered me. It turns out that the little sock is perhaps a windsock. It's a bit thin - but sticking the transmitter inside so the mic sits protected, helped cut that wind noise down. Because the Sony has no XLR jack, I couldn't use the "mote box" that the network cameras plug into for the NFL press conference. All I did was clip the microphone onto the thick mic wire and the sound was pristine. The camera also adjusts audio levels, so whenever a reporter asked a question, I could actually record it better than the podium mic they used. It can even pick up whispers much better than I anticipated.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: VERY CLEAR Sound - some minor improvement needed
Comment: This gives very clear sound. I am very happy with it. Check your audio to be sure that the switches are set properly, so you don't miss anything.

Be sure that you bring extra batteries for your shoot, since the Bluetooth transmitter does use a lot of juice. The receiver gets power from the Sony shoe on the camcorder.

A couple of things could be improved (Sony, do you read these?). Since it is rather large, and can pick up clothes rustle, it would be great to have a plug so we could use a lapel mic & hide the transmitter for some situations.

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