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I have a Sony HDR-CX100 video camera that I would like to connect an external mic to (3.5mm plug), but the camera has no dedicated mic input.

However, it as an "A/V R" plug:

port

Before you say "it's not possible", I also have a Sony Sports pack SPK-CXA that plugs into that port which includes it's own microphones (in addition to remote controls). So technically it should be possible to input audio through that port.

housing

So my question is has anyone seen a cable / dongle / adapter that would allow me to go from that A/V R plug on the camera to a simple 3.5mm mic port? Or would anyone have an idea on the pinouts to build one?

plug

I could buy a new camera, but this one does everything I need otherwise, and seems a shame when a "simple" adapter should suffice.

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  • Do you have the A/V cable for the camera? A quick google search shows a fairly standard breakout cable with RCA & S-Video plugs? So an RCA to 3.5mm converter should work with the existing AV cable? i.e. ebay.com.au/itm/142242765540
    – Peter Barton
    Nov 4, 2020 at 3:02
  • Thanks for the suggestion; I have the original output cable, and figured maybe in recording mode it would provide input, however I tried that and it still used the internal microphone.
    – Ben in CA
    Nov 5, 2020 at 14:57
  • In that case, my guess would be that the AV cable is "all" or "nothing" (which isn't uncommon). It will likely activate if there's a video signal there, like with your sports pack, but you can't use it as an "audio only" signal without a video signal as well. A quick search shows there were some proprietary Sony mics that could be used on this type of port, and some people even hacked these to make a standardised connector - camerahacker.com/Forums/DisplayComments.php?file=Video%20Camera/…. That might be the only way.
    – Peter Barton
    Nov 5, 2020 at 20:48
  • Note that I'm assuming based on this post that the camera has an AIS port cnet.com/forums/discussions/… - it doesn't seem there would be any way to get audio only in via the AV port, based on your tests.
    – Peter Barton
    Nov 5, 2020 at 20:54
  • Thanks for the suggestions. No, my camera does not even have an AIS port. It appears Sony must have specifically made this difficult in order to sell higher end cameras. I guess I'll have to upgrade my camera in order to use a separate wireless lapel mic as an audio feed.
    – Ben in CA
    Nov 6, 2020 at 23:15

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