Posted by Richard Crowley on 01/02/06 04:39

"Rob J" wrote ...
> rcrowley wrote...
>> Why do you think it is "impractical"?
>> Why do you think it must hava a "mic from Panasonic"?
>> This seems pretty unlikely. Virtually all camcorders
>> with external mic jacks can be connected to an external
>> source (like a sound desk).
>
> Because (a) there is absolutely no documentation from
> Panasonic on how to connect anything other than the mic
> supplied with it,

What exactly are you looking for in the form of
"documentation"? Ya just plug it in.

> (b) connecting an external cable doesn't mute the
> internal mic, which just keeps on going.

A frequent problem with jacks that don't fit perfectly.
I'd bet that you have a perfectly ordinary mic input jack
and that includes how tempramental they are for using
a plug that is just the right dimensions.

When I looked up microphones for your model, I found
microphones that fit several dozen different camcorders
of different brands and types (mini-DV, mini-DVD, etc.)
This would appear to indicate that you have a perfectly
ordinary mic input jack. There is nothing special about
the "mic supplied with it".

> We don't want a mic pickup, any mic is inferior.

You can plug any appropriate sound source into the
"Mic input jack". It won't blow up if the source is
not a "microphone". Appropriate means padded to
~ -40dBv or "mic-level".

> If you can't chop out the sound from the firewire it is a
> waste of time using it.

Well, you can, but apparently you have already given up.
Good luck.

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