Lightwave Audio MMC-USC Minimount
10/28/2003
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| Front |
Left Side |
Lightwave Audio's (www.lightwavesystems.com) MMC-USC Minimount was the solution I was looking for, to eliminate the vibration noise transferring from the camcorder to the mic. Does it totally eliminate it? Yes! There is still some noise generated from the audio circuitry in the MKE-300. That, or it's the AGC (automatic gain control) from the camcorder. I believe it's the latter because the hissing noise I hear happens only during quiet moments. Using this setup on a Canon ZR50MC and a Sony DCRTRV25 produced the same results. However, on a TRV900, the sound recorded was absolutely clean.
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| Back |
Right Side |
The MMC-USC Minimount is a very high quality, sturdy microphone
isolation mount. It weights 2.8 oz (80g). It positions the mic 2"
(51mm) above the camcorder accessory shoe. It has a 3" (76mm)
plastic arm at the base, that allows you to swing the microphone
cradle assembly to the left or right, rearward, or as I have it,
forward. The reason why I have it forward, is to get away from the
motor noise. At full wide angle, on my DCR-PC101, the mic is still
1" (25mm) away from being visible in the viewfinder. The cradle
assembly is comprised of 2 piece, die-formed aluminum plates (appears
to be anodized), 4 soft rubber posts (that holds the plates together
and supports the mic) and a plastic microphone clamp that screws
up/down on a metal post. Surprisingly, no steel is used in the construction.
All the screws appear to be stainless steel, because nothing is
magnetic.
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| Close up |
Although the MKE-300 was meant to be mounted to an accessory
shoe, it will work with the MMC-USC Minimount. Thanks to a
friend of mine, I was able to borrow his Minimount, just to
see if the MKE-300 will fit, and to test it. That was a big mistake.
I had no intentions of buying one, and I did. As you can see
from the images above, it does look awkward, especially on a
DCR-PC101, and I know it. But I'm truly happy with it.
I would also like to point out that my friends' double ring,
rubber band thingie, was also effective in eliminating the hum.
These type of isolation mounts are relatively cheap, and you
can probably make one at home. But, because the mic is supported
by the "rubber
bands", the mic flops all over the place when moving the
camcorder around.
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