Sony WCS999 Wireless Camcorder Microphone for DCR-DVD101/201/301 & DCR-HC20/30/40/65/85

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Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 2.3 x 2.3 x 7 inches ; 3.9 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B00004UFRO
• Item model number: WCS999
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank

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  Camera & Photo > Accessories > Professional Video Accessories > Microphones

• Date first available at Amazon.com: June 15, 2003

Product Description

Product Description

The WCS-999 Wireless Microphone system from Sony lets you record voices up to 45 meters away depending on environment and transmission conditions. The WCS-999 is ideal for video camcorders - it captures the voices of family members on vacation, in sporting events, at recitals, birthdays and weddings. It is also ideal for Pressman portable audio recorders as it captures lectures and speeches, good for music and nature study.Supplied lavalier microphone is tiny and unobtrusive, clips onto shirt or tie. Built-in windscreen helps reduce the microphone's pickup of wind noise. Omni-directional microphone pattern picks up sound from all directions. Pocket-sized wireless transmitter is easy to hide, clips onto clothing for unobtrusive use. Wireless receiver plugs into camcorder or audio recorder mic input; easily clips onto clothing, camcorder hand strap or shoulder strap. Three transmission channels enable you to choose another channel if you encounter interference. Monitoring earphone lets you hear what's being recorded; plugs into wireless receiver. Mic mixing lets the camera operator and the subject both be recorded. 900 MHz wide FM transmission allows for outstanding sound quality, excellent frequency response (100 - 15, 000 Hz) and extended dynamic range (more than 78 dB). Switchable transmission channel lets you choose the channel with clear, noise-free sound.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

37 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Acceptable but not great, August 1, 2003

By	Stephen W. Hinch "hiker and author" (Santa Rosa, CA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I bought this for use with my Sony camcorder. I chose it because it was a 900 MHz system rather than the 100 MHz systems from Hysonic, etc. The included lapel mike is not very good. Lots of distortion and very cheaply made. I tried a better quality Radio Shack lapel mike, #33-3013 and got much better results. Compared to putting the mike right into the camcorder, the wireless transmitter shows considerably more noise and lower sound level. No noticeable difference in frequency response, at least for voice recording. Dropouts started occuring when I was about 50 feet away. Bottom line is this isn't broadcast quality but certainly adequate for amateur use.

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Very poor Signal to Noise ratio (useless), April 8, 2004

By A Customer

This product was a huge disappointment. The channel noise of the transmitter/receiver almost drowns out the speech signal. The Signal to Noise ratio is 10-15dB at best(useless), even with a higher quality replacement lapel microphone. When the same microphone was connected directly into the camcorder, the SNR was at least 40-50dB. I went back to the store to see if I had a defective unit, but the other unit I tried had the same characteristics.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not that bad, August 25, 2004

By	Newsbob (San Francisco area) - See all my reviews

It certainly isn't Hollywood quality, and I wouldn't use it for music.

But for interviews, the sound works just fine, especially considering the price.

My only real complaint is the clip for the lavalier. Unless you can slip it into a lapel hole, it will generally fall off if your subject moves more than a tiny bit.

Bottom line: I'd buy it again for the kind of shooting I do.