Audio-Technica ATR55

Pros: good video mic, picks up sound from a good distance

Cons: No balanced lines, sound quality is not great, picks up line buzz

The Bottom Line: A good consumer mic for video enthusiasts, but home studio aficionados should look elsewhere.

Review: If you've ever heard of a Faioe microphone or even used one, you're a very geeky audiophile. I got one of those Chinese-made microphones super cheap and have been trying to use it for some hobby Voice-over work I like to do. It has worked ...

Pros: Good directionality in "tele" mode.

Cons: Doesn't work as an enhancement to sound recording while mounted on my camcorder.

Review: I used this on a Canon ZR-65 camcorder. I did not get better sound. On "normal" setting, speech was barely audible. On the "Tele" setting, the sensitivy was the same as the ZR-65's built-in condenser mic, but there was a lot of hiss, and the sound was ...

Pros: Looks good.

Cons: Picks up all the surrounding noise! loud hissing noise!

Review: At first the ATR 55 seemed to work fine. Then after about 6 weeks it went south! The hissing is horrible! On the 'tele' mode it is even worse. How do these things just go bad all of a sudden? Changed the batteries but that didn't work. I never dropped it ...