Sony a6000 USB microphone ?

[KarrGalaxyStudios]

Hi all,

 

I have seriously been thinking of purchasing a Sony a6000 camera for video and stills (mostly video however). One thing that has really distressed me is the lack of Audio support in the alpha 6000 product. the higher end Sony's (a7, a7s, a7r a7rii ) all seem to have much better support for external audio. For the cost of wiring a 3.5mm jack in the a6000 and the fact that all of Sony's competitors have a mic input jack I don't understand why this was left out or that an appropriate hotflash adapter with a 3.5 mm stereo jack was not designed or made for this camera. This is the main area on this camera that has kept it back from being one of the best cameras for the price point around.

 

One idea circulating around is that there might be the possibility of using a 3.5mm jack to USB mini like what GoPro has for its cameras in order to get audio into the camera.

 

I am asking any a6000 owners or Camera Store people out there to do a test for me and use/buy a 3.5mm to USB adapter (GoPro brand or other) and plug in an external 3.5mm microphone (Rode, Apurture, etc) into the camera to see if the camera recognizes the microphone.

 

Since I don't have a Sony Alpha 6000 to test on before I buy I can't do the test myself and currently don't have many options to test this. 

 

If its found that it doesn't work, I would imagine that its a simple firmware/software issue that should be sent to Sony to include in their next firmware update (as well as audio level meters like in the A7s) as this is a feature that low budget, Youtube and independent film makers such as myself would use a lot !

 

Please let us know your test results.

[sp4rk]

GoPro has USB Mini-B connector

A6000 has USB Micro-B

 

So you cannot connect the GoPro audio cable!

 

Keep in mind, that any audio recorded by the A6000 will have auto gain control.

Wait for the A7000 (if it ever comes), it will hopefully solve our audio problems with external input, and manual gain.

Another solution would be to use an external HDMI recorder with audio input (Atomos), or use dual audio and sync in post.