Vocal recording w/Zi8 for youtube

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pam

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I bought my son a Zi8 so he could create youtube videos. He's young and just getting started. He'll start out doing covers. I have to buy a mic. The Zi8 has an external 3.5mm mic jack (expecting to need a adapter). What kind of mic can I get for a reasonable price? What else might I need to know? I know nothing.
 
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pam said:
I bought my son a Zi8 so he could create youtube videos. He's young and just getting started. He'll start out doing covers. I have to buy a mic. The Zi8 has an external 3.5mm mic jack (expecting to need a adapter). What kind of mic can I get for a reasonable price? What else might I need to know? I know nothing.
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Let's start out about your 3.5mm mic jack. I can't say that there is no microphones suitable for 3.5mm jacks, sure there are alot out there, but it just isn't the "good quality" you're looking for in covers. If you're looking for a good microphone, then go and get an audio interface like the Steinberg CL1, which is relatively cheap,and read This and This . After reading it and if you have any questions, feel free to ask it below.

Cheers,
Darren.
 
pam said:
I bought my son a Zi8 so he could create youtube videos. He's young and just getting started. He'll start out doing covers. I have to buy a mic. The Zi8 has an external 3.5mm mic jack (expecting to need a adapter). What kind of mic can I get for a reasonable price? What else might I need to know? I know nothing.
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The low end but adequate solution is to purchase something like the Studio 1 Productions XLR-BP Belt Clip XLR Adapter with XLR-BP adapter which allows you to run up to two mics (I'd recommend the Shure SM58) into the 3.5mm jack on the camera. You're looking at about $250 for both which is probably about $200 more then you paid for the camera.

Here is the link to B&H where you can get an idea of what's available. The problem you're facing is that you need a preamp to kick the signal from the mic up to a point where the camera can deal with it.

Luck.

Incidentally if you or your son decide to go crazy you could do a lot worse then checking out Tweakheadz which largely introduced me to the rabbit hole.
 
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Thanks guys!! I bought before I saw Wheelema's post. I took the education Darren provided, compiled a list with options and headed to Guitar Center. I know I could have saved money online but, no time. Knowing something about what I was talking about helped me greatly with the guys at Guitar Center. I don't remember the names of the products and can't pull 'em out with my son still up but, here's the list: interface, mic and stand, pop filter, shock mount and cable. I will let you know how it goes. Thank you so much! I wish I had thought to use a forum sooner.
 
pam said:
Thanks guys!! I bought before I saw Wheelema's post. I took the education Darren provided, compiled a list with options and headed to Guitar Center. I know I could have saved money online but, no time. Knowing something about what I was talking about helped me greatly with the guys at Guitar Center. I don't remember the names of the products and can't pull 'em out with my son still up but, here's the list: interface, mic and stand, pop filter, shock mount and cable. I will let you know how it goes. Thank you so much! I wish I had thought to use a forum sooner.
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That's great! We hope to hear more from you, soon. From your list, that sounds just like the perfect equipment to record a microphone if you have a computer or laptop. I wish my dad would buy me such awesome stuff. Oh well, good luck!

Cheers,
Darren.
 
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