External mic for D5100?

IronWing

No Lifer
Jul 20, 2001
72,332
32,876
136
I'd like to add an external mic to my D5100. The camera has a 3.5mm stereo mic jack.

My primary intended use is to record environmental sounds like bird calls so ability to cut wind noise is essential. A secondary, more limited use would be recording small acoustic concerts in small rooms with one or two performers.

I'm looking at the Nikon ME-1 microphone and maybe adding a Micover windscreen. The combined price is a bit higher than I'd like to pay but both get decent reviews.

I'm just starting to look at mics so any advice would be appreciated. Also, I'm not adverse to forgetting the camera mic idea and going with a stand alone digital audio recorder if there is a good one available in the same price range that offers better results. A good audio steam is what is important to me.
 
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IronWing

No Lifer
Jul 20, 2001
72,332
32,876
136
I settled on the Sony PCM 10M audio recorder. It can be used as a mic for a DSLR as well as a stand alone recorder. It has a pretty low hiss level (mic pre-amp noise) and decent dynamic range for it's price so will hopefully work well for nature recording.