I just purchased a PD170 and am trying to get familiar with it in preparation for a celebration in May that I want to video. I'm assuming that there will be some sort of mixing board on site to handle the microphones and music. I'm looking at purchasing a Seinnheiser ME66 microphone for on camera and probably using a XLR cable to connect to the output of the mixing board.
I have a few questions with regards to this setup. Do most mixing boards have an XLR output that I can connect my camera to? Also, once connected, what do I need to do to make sure the levels are correct for the audio? Do I need the board operator to do anything or is it all on my end? Would the ME66 be a good "all around" mic for my purposes vs. the stock Sony mic?
I'm new to this but want the best quality possible but I need some help figuring out how to setup the audio for the shoot. Anyone with suggestions or links to sites with this kind of info? Or if you suggest a different setup I'm open to anything since I haven't purchased anything as of yet? Oh and how long of a XLR cable should I get? I've seen 100' of cable for about $60 at a local music store. How long is TOO long? TIA
This link will help answer some of your questions concerning the Mic www.alanbarker.com
regards
Mick
K6+ME66 should be fine. Just make sure you get a Rycote Softie for it and a decent camera shockmount (eg: Rycote Multimount).
If you are mixing several microphones together then it is the responsibility of the mixing engineer to provide the cameraman with the correct mix. The cameraman should only have to make sure the input record level on the camera is set correctly and leave everything else to the mixing engineer.
Most decent mixers have XLR outputs, though some are on jacks.
For microphone cable I always use star-quad cable as that has a far better rejection of RF interference than standard balanced cable. You will get some high frequency attenuation on long cables, though I have run 70m with no problems.
You may find it better to use a radio link from the mixer to the camera to avoid long trailing cables. A stereo link can be done with an evolution ew300-IEM system, but probably only worth investing in if you are doing this a lot. If it's a one-off you may be able to hire a system.
I hope this helps.
John 
Warubozu808,
I'm a bit confused. Do you want the mixer to feed your camera or the other way around?
If you want sound from the mixer so you can capture say the mcee or an entire stage production, you can do it wired with a 50' to 100' foot XLR. Depending on the size of the function. This is OK if stationary on a tripod or you have someone pulling cord for you.
As said above, I usually attach my hand held microphone transmitter to the mixer with a 12' foot cable and hang it high for a good signal. This will leave you free to move about for the best shots. The very first thing you want to check is if there are any other wireless devices in the area being used. To ensure that no one is sharing the same frequency as you. This would be bad.
You also might want to ensure that you are in competent hands at the mixer, so that the operator will not overload your camera and possibly break your cameras audio circuit. I always place an in-line filter and adjust at the camera manually.
Mick...thank you for the link to the Alan Barker site. Good reading!
Tony J.
[This message has been edited by TonyJ (edited 08 January 2004).]
Tony,
You talk about an in-line filter, will this filter stop an overload from harming my camera's audio circuit? Where can I find one of these? I really don't do a lot of event stuff at this time so I'm not sure if buying a wireless setup is feasible for me right now, maybe later in the future as it would allow me to be more mobile. I was looking at something like a 50' or 100' XLR cable so my camera could be fed the audio mix from the mixing board. For the most part my camera would probably be stationary on a tripod. Thanks for these tips as I find them very helpful.
Use starquad cable and set up the levels carefully before you start recording.
Then use a good mixing engineer to take care of the levels - if he does it right it should be OK in the camera.
John
John,
Thanks for the tip about the StarQuad cables. Any good place online I can order them? I don't know of any good and reputable audio stores online. Any you can recommend with good service and prices? Thanks!
I get all my starquad from Canford Audio.
The best for you is probably SQ-R, but you couls also look at SQ or SQB, or possibly SQH.
I hope this helps.
John