Hi
I am looking into getting some kind of mic, because up until now we've had to hear the annoying hum of my canon zr-85, and I'm not sure what to look for.
I'd like something that will hook right up to the camera, but not sure if anything like a boom for mini dv's exists..
Just something not too expensive that I don't have to get a whole lot of other equip for; i'm only making short vids right now, nothing too serious

I know Azden has a mic with shoe mount for about $60. Ecz-90 or something like that. There are a couple of other cheapo mics out there but this one aint half bad. It has long and short range.

Thx, I just checked it out and it looks quite nice...
When I plug that into my cam, it'll cancel the cam's mic and use only this one right? I wonder if the cord can come any longer

yes the internal mic gets turned off when the external mic is plugges in. I went out and bought a 6 foot extension for my mic and it works fine. Also, make sure that your camera has an input for an external mic or else you're SOL.

Well it turns out my cam doesn't have a port for external mics, so I have to go with something else. Is there such thing a standalone mic that you can plug into a PC via USB? I know they make those little memo recorders with USB ports but I'd like to know if they made something bigger, like a boom. thx

The widely understood alternative to recording directly to the miniDV camera is a DAT recorder/Minidisc recorder. Froogle it and you'll get a minidisc recorder about the size of a deck of cards that can record high quality audio via a mic-in jack. The downside? You'll have to import that audio as a separate file into your computer and sync it up later with your video, a huge hassle. But if it's your only alternative...

And a USB microphone? Don't be silly. Haha. It made me laugh. All mics are "standalone", it's called a 1/8" headphone jack and a mic-in port.

I know this is probably a terrible option but my Canon Optura 20 (which has gone down in price) has so many manual features at such an inexpensive price. 300-500 dollars can get you a traditional focus ring (something I use a lot) and a mic-in port.

Otherwise go for what other people are suggesting- make sure you get a clapper or do something of the sort so you can accurately sync up the video.

I think what I'm going to do is get the Ecz-90 and my friend is getting a cam with the mic input, they aren't too pricey.