Just checked my ATR3350: the flat side of the battery (+ve) is under the spring, consistent with the marking on the microphone body.

Regards,

Andrew.

I saw in a review of the ATR3350 that the markings on the battery case are incorrect. The markings on the case indicate that the positive side of the battery (flat side) goes toward the spring. The review says this is backwards and the negative should go toward the spring. It goes on to say that the microphone will work either way but the sound quality will be degraded if the batter is inserted positive to the spring.

Which way do you use yours? It sounds great in your video.

Thanks,
Brad
http://www.bradhadley.com

The cylindrical part you’re referring to is what I was looking for, but at first unable to find at a reasonable price online. Found lots of £100 Sony and Sennheiser power modules though…

I finally asked the ebay microphone seller if he knew of any places to source a power module, and it turned out he had them in stock – just not listed on ebay. So now I have one on the way for £10.

We’re hoping to have our business videos online in the next few months, and for other readers of this blog I cannot stress how much impact good sound has on the overall quality of the production.

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By the way: from what I understand plug-in power and phantom power are two different things. Phantom power is found, as you said, in professional quality equipment and can be up to 48V. I have a Rode mic and a M-Audio home recorder that uses phantom power.

Plug-in power was introduced when consumer electronics such as minidisc recorders and computers needed low-power output for small microphones of not-so-professional quality. It typically operates at much lower voltages than phantom power.

(Yes, I’ve been reading up on the subject ;-) …)

Thanks for your comment.

The problem you could be having is that professional quality external microphones typically require what is called Phantom power.

As you have discovered, the Canon HF S10 camcorder does not supply phantom power. The mic connection on the camcorder is a 3.5mm socket that requires a self-powered mic.

At the 1:19 point in the video you will see the cylindrical part of the Audio-Technica ATR 3350 I am using. This contains a small button-type battery and the on-off switch. This is the only power the mic requires.

I bought the mic online from the Thomann music store here in Germany. Here is a link to the mic on the English version of their site. In the photo on that page you can also see the button battery I mentioned.

Hope this helps,

Best regards,

Andrew.

I have the same Canon camera as you, for which I recently bought a stereo lavalier microphone. The mic was supposed to work with a camcorder’s plug-in power, but as it turns out these Canon cameras do not have this power supply feature.

Could you possibly point me to a source of cheap, in-line mic power supplies like the one you are using here? I’ve been all over ebay and radioshack’s website and can’t seem to find them.

Or – alternatively tell me where you bought your mic and power supply combo so I can get a set too.

Thanks!