help with sound in video

Hi

I have a sony digital 8 camcorder at my disposal, and I'd like to record some locomotive sounds.

Now the sound is detailed and sharp, but there seems to be a lot of distortion of some kind, wierd phasing noise from the environment, the sound changes as I change the angle of the cam etc.

So, what should I do to get the best of such a microphone system?

Should I aim for proximity or should I record from a distance, should I turn the camera towards the locomotive or away from it? Should I use it in a bag or free?
All that any any other advice with this kind of microphone would be appreciated

thanks

Here is what I'm getting so far, this is the best I could do with my current level of knowledge

http://www4.upload2.net/download/H2mlBb ... 45idle.mp3

What can be done to improve this (not on the computer, but during recording)?

You need to keep the microphone directly pointed at what you're recording. What the pros do is use a separate microphone that's always pointed at the source, allowing the camera to pan and zoom at will. HTH.

How much money would I have to spend for a mic, so that it sounds like a decent recording (captures decent high frequencies, and bass and has little noise)?

I think a good vocal mike would work and give you the frequency range you need. Go to some music stores and test them out and see the prices. Caveat, as usual, is you get what you pay for, but for train sounds you won't need the same quality mike that Tony Bennett needs.

As for external noise, they make windscreens which are basically putting a sock over the microphone so wind noise is shielded.

This site will help you more than I can: http://www.videouniversity.com/audio2.htm

Fred G wrote:I think a good vocal mike would work and give you the frequency range you need. Go to some music stores and test them out and see the prices. Caveat, as usual, is you get what you pay for, but for train sounds you won't need the same quality mike that Tony Bennett needs.

As for external noise, they make windscreens which are basically putting a sock over the microphone so wind noise is shielded.

This site will help you more than I can: http://www.videouniversity.com/audio2.htm

Those were not wind noises, there was no wind, and the camera was inside a thin bag

dieselsmoke wrote:

Fred G wrote:I think a good vocal mike would work and give you the frequency range you need. Go to some music stores and test them out and see the prices. Caveat, as usual, is you get what you pay for, but for train sounds you won't need the same quality mike that Tony Bennett needs.

As for external noise, they make windscreens which are basically putting a sock over the microphone so wind noise is shielded.

This site will help you more than I can: http://www.videouniversity.com/audio2.htm

Those were not wind noises, there was no wind, and the camera was inside a thin bag

I offered that advice generically, not based on your clip.