n0irw Loc: Perry, OK

First let me say I'm not trying to start a flame war of any kind, but the more I see and hear video pieces shot with DSLR's, the more I realize these folks are great photog's, but they lack an understanding of audio, or just choose not to pay attention. First of all, if you are shooting something where you want good audio....DO NOT use the camera mic! Especially if you are getting paid. Invest in a GOOD shotgun....meaning a Sennheiser or a Sony....some of the Audio-Technica are pretty fair as well. Microphones are like cameras, you get what you pay for. Make sure you have a good shock mount for it.

If you are videoing a wedding you need at least 2 wireless lavaliers, preferably 3....one for the minister, the groom and if she will allow it, the bride as well. You will also need a good natural sound mic and I suggest the Electro-Voice 635A....it's almost indestructible and sounds great. Now you say you only have 1 audio input...it's stereo, so get a splitter input cable and a small mixer...Shure has good ones as does Mackie....and monitor the audio with headphones, because it sucks to get back and ready to edit just to find out you have some 60Hz hum in the audio.

Just pay as much attention to your audio as you do you photography. It makes you look so much better in the long run.

Reinaldokool Loc: San Rafael, CA

Excellent advice. Watching a Youtube instructional video can be a great learning experience, but many use the camera mic and all the ambient and mechanical noise really interferes.

This is my one knock with the Sony a6000 I purchased. There is no place to plug my Rode mic in. The Multi-Interface-Shoe is designed to work with a couple of Sony mics, neither shock mounted and neither very good anyway. I bought one of their outrageously priced "shotgun" microphones and the sound is poor. Shame on Sony. Sony's first product was a rice cooker, but they also made the first Japanese tape recorder and early audio gear.

Much as I like my a6000, I do shoot videos and I think Sony has gone back to rice cookers.

n0irw Loc: Perry, OK

Sony does make really good self powered lavaliers (wired) ECM-77B or ECM-88B.

blackest Loc: Ireland

Something like the zoom h1 or h2 is a relatively cheap path to reasonable location sound.

I really don't see how you feel at a disadvantage with the a6000. Ok its going to record an audio track which is low quality picking up stuff you wish wasn't there but isn't it better to treat audio separately and away from the camera. It would be quite a nightmare having audio cables coming into the camera. You should be able to sync the video and audio with as little as a clap to line the audio and video track up, or am i being wildly optimistic.

Kanonmeister Loc: Los Angeles

So how is this unit for someone who doesn't want to spend a lot but want's much better than the camera microphone?

Listed in Amazon:

Beginner DSLR Microphone Kit for Canon EOS 5D Mark II III 6D 7D 60D 60Da T5i T4i T3i T3 M SL1
by Generic $49.95

Before posting, I should have gone to YouTube to investigate, but I will still hope for input here.

Bobspez Loc: Southern NJ, USA

I handle audio for video in two ways.
1. I use a separate recorder. I use the Zoom R16 8 track to record audio and then sync that track up to the camera audio track in the video editor and then mute the camera audio track. This is a $300 recorder that is about the size and weight of an older laptop. I've used mine for about 3 years now and have never had a problem getting good clear audio from it.
2. If all I have is the camera audio track then I make a copy of it and run it through Adobe Audition to correct the volume, EQ, add echo, remove extraneous noises and hum, then add that processed audio track to the video editor, syncing it to the camera audio track, then muting the camera audio track.

A relatively cheap mic (I use a pair of Radio Shack 600 ohm omnidirectional mics that cost about $30 each a couple of decades ago) can get a good sound on a separate recorder with good preamps like the Zoom R16 has. What the recorder doesn't do you can add in post processing in a program like Adobe Audition. The nice thing about CS6 Adobe Premiere is that right inside the video editor you can click on an audio track and it will open that track in Adobe Audition, and the edited audio track is then saved to the audio track in the video editor.

I agree with the original poster that audio is important. Some people say it's more important than the video, because you will mentally accomodate video errors, but you can't accomodate for poor audio.