Sony ECMHW1 Bluetooth Wireless Microphone for DVR-DVD405, 505, HDR-SR1, UX1 & DCR-SR60, SR80, SR100 Camcorders by Sony
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Digital camera reviews of Sony ECMHW1 Bluetooth Wireless Microphone for DVR-DVD405, 505, HDR-SR1, UX1 & DCR-SR60, SR80, SR100 Camcorders
Digital camera Review: Great Mic
Summary: 4 Stars
THis microphone is perfect. Great range and does not eat batteries. 4 stars instead of 5 because the clip broke right after I got it, was not built real strong.Digital camera Review: Great Microphone for Sony Camcorders
Summary: 5 Stars
I got this wireless microphone free as it was a part of the deal when I purchased my DCR-SR100. I have to admit that using this really clarifies the sound, especially when there is a situation with a lot of people and you want to hear your subject more than the background noise.
First, the receiver. Its very light (2oz.) and requires no additional batteries. It is powered by the camcorder and ONLY fits Sony's "Active Interface Shoe." **Only newer Sony Models are compatible, need to check if your model works** The receiver has two "on" selections. The first "on" is compatible with 5.1 dolby digital surround sound; it takes the voice information from the wireless trasmitter and plays it as your center sound from your 5.1 system. There is another "on" selection that will not differentiate which speaker the voice comes from but works just as well. The receiver also has a headphone jack so you can monitor what is being said from the transmitter; this can be extremely useful and since Sony has excluded ths feature from most of their camcorder consumer line, its a nice little option to have back.
Now the wireless transmitter can be connected to the person/ object in three different ways; a clip, a lanyard and a arm band. The transmitter also has a windscreen that I keep attached all the time; I find that this reduces that irritating rustling noise and cuts down on heavy breathing. I use the clip as much as possible since it keeps the transmitter steady and in one location. The arm band is second most since it minimizes movement but sometimes becomes obvious depending on the clothing. The lanyard is my least used because it constantly swings from side to side and increases unwanted noise. The transmitter uses 2 (AAA) batteries and is said to last about 3 hours. The transmitter is extremely light and easy to conceal using the clip.
As with all bluetooth items, line of sight is "key". The maximum range between the receiver and transmitter is said to be 100ft with direct line of sight. I tested this product by placing the transmitter in a room full of people and taking my camcorder outside (I had both a dining room and kitchen between myself and my transmitter and had the double paned glass sliding door closed) and was approximately 50 ft. away; I could hear everything without any problems.
One very, very minor thing that I have an easy fix for is that constant blue light that emits from both the receiver and transmitter. The transmitter is easily covered by the windscreen, but the receiver is completely exposed as it sits on top of the camcorder. I simply cover the receiver's light by using a piece of electrical tape, it seems to have no effect on performance and does not leave any sticky residue. I don't want to be that inconsiderate videographer parent that irritates the other parents during a play or recital.
I'm lucky that this is compatible with my model camcorder, but I still wish that Sony would minimize it proprietary grip on most of its products and technology.
Still a very nice product and I highly recommend it.
Hope this helps
Digital camera Review: Great microphone and good reception
Summary: 5 Stars
I'm very happy with this microphone. The audio is balanced very well. We have a Sony HD-SR1 camcorder which records in Dolby Digital 5.1. There is a setting on this mic to set it as the center channel. You can also set it as the primary mic as well.
Recently we used this to record our daughters Holiday recital. She is only five and this was a group singing event. The microphone picked up her voice as the main center channel and the rest of the singers surrounded her. This was very effective. It was so cute to hear her voice from the crowd. This would not have been possible without this wireless mic. It even picked up her whispers. We were sitting about 50-60 feet away and the sound was excellent and we the bluetooth connection was never disrupted or disconnected. We even used it for her meeting with Santa and it was incredible to hear her whispering what she wanted to Santa. Our past videos simply have lips moving with inaudible sound. What a great experience to capture with the simple addition of this microphone.
Pairing was very simple as you simply turn on both the camcorder portion and the microphone. The bluetooth receiver uses power from the hotshoe so it doesn't need additional batteries. You will need some AAA's for the actual microphone though.
I only have two minor complaints...
- The neck strap is itchy. This is hard to explain. It is a nylon strap and the back portion is melted on to connect the strap. The melted portion is hard and scrapes your neck. I'll look for another strap but it is hard to find one that will work since the mic opening is tiny. This is a very minor annoyance though.
- My second minor annoyance is that when wearing the neck strap, any slight movement causes quite a bit of rustling sound. This results in large hissing type noise. We tried it with both the wind guard (small felt like cover) on and off and still get the rustling. Problem is especially worse with winter jackets that are loud anyways. The solution would be to use the clip or armband but the clip kept falling off our daughter and she kept playing with the armband and it looked unusual to have the armband on. Again, not a big deal. We are learning how to use this better and will practice with better placement of clip/armband when the situation arises.
Those two issues are so minor, I don't really fault the product itself which is great. I wanted to rate this 4.5 stars but it only let me choose 4 or 5 so I'm going with 5.
Digital camera Review: Great microphone for those special times
Summary: 5 Stars
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.
Digital camera Review: Great results for a little effort
Summary: 5 Stars
We'd all like our amateur videos to look and sound more professional. In most cases, this involves more expensive equipment and more tedious "staging". This little gadget improves the "sound imaging" without a lot of work. When the microphone is placed close to the source, it makes for a more professional-sounding video (I guess that's why they use boom mikes and remote mikes for the "professional stuff"). My high-tech son is impressed with the audio quality, considering that it's Bluetooth.