There are currently two good ways to create digital video from conversational interactions. You can either use a mini-DV Camcorder or a High-Definition (AVCHD) Camcorder. The AVCHD recorders are much newer and are not yet compatible with all software, but they produce far better quality than standard mini-DV. Here we will briefly describe the two systems.

Mini-DV Camcorder (various brands)

You can get a good 3CCD mini-DV camcorder for about $2700 and record interactions to 60 or 90 minute mini-DV tapes that cost about $5 each. Two current models we can recommend as the Sony DF-PD170 and the Canon XHA1. The Canon has several higher quality features, but both are great and both have dual XLR powered audio inputs. The good thing about this system is that the mini-DV tape constitutes a nice archive for your project that is independent of any particular compression scheme. Typically, video quality is very high on these cameras and the controls are easy with large buttons.

AVCHD Camcorder (Panasonic)

We recommend using this Panasonic model AG-HSC1U. In this system, you record directly to digital video on your camcorder's SD memory card. You can then transfer the files on your camcorder to your computer via USB. The camera's drive will appear on your desktop as an external drive (both Mac and PC). You open the drive and open the Private folder. Inside that, open the AVCHD folder, and then you will see the BDMV folder. You need to copy this folder to your computer and rename it with some session identifying number. Then you can send us this folder either through FTP or by mailing us a DVD-R disk. We will then compress the video and create a QuickTime movie which we will put on the web and you can download it back to your computer.

Microphones

You should plan on spending up to $500 for a microphone setup. There are two basic configurations that we recommend.

1. The recommended configuration uses one Audio-Technica U841A unipoint boundary condenser table top microphone ($230).

• If you use these with a camcorder with XLR input, you connect the microphone to the camera with an XLR extension cable, such as the Radio Shack 33-4013.
• If you use these with a camcorder with mini stereo input, you need to add a BeachTek DXA-6A dual phantom power adapter ($300). You connect the Audio-Technica microphone to an XLR extension cable and then to the BeachTek. Then you plug the mini stereo output of the BeachTek into the mini stereo input on the camcorder. In this case, you switch the BeachTek to Mono.

2. An alternative configuration uses two Shure SM93 lavalier mics ($150 each) for stereo recording. One mic is for the subject and the other for the interviewer.

• If you use these with a camcorder with two XLR inputs, you connect the microphones to the camera with two XLR extension cables, such as the Radio Shack 33-4013.
• If you use a camcorder with mini stereo input, you need to add a BeachTek DXA-6A dual phantom power adapter ($300). You connect the two microphones to XLR extension cables and then to the BeachTek. Then you plug the mini stereo output of the BeachTek into the mini stereo input on the camcorder. In this case, you switch the BeachTek to Stereo.

An even better method uses a boom mount mic with switchable directionality pattern such as the Studio Projects C3 with a tripod, such as the Bogen tripod. However, you may find that a mounted boom mic is a bit of overkill. If your subject will be moving about, you will need a wireless microphone system, such as the Shure WL93 combined with a Shure receiver.

For an excellent detailed review of the above information on microphone selection please consult this Guide from Michael Chial.