So Nikon just put out its new D5100, a consumer-oriented movie and photo machine that competes with Canon’s T3i for consumers looking for both great stills and cinematic video. But a problem DSLRs face with video is the poor sound quality — they generally have weak little pinhole mics that suck wind and sound worse than cell phones. You can get a third-party mic, but it looks like Nikon wants to keep it all in the family, so they’re putting out a DSLR microphone of their own: the ME-1.”
It’s designed to filter out autofocus noise and wind, and it’s totally powered by the camera. It attaches to the hot shoe, so you won’t be able to put an external monitor or LED rig there, but eh, not that big of a deal. Camera-mounted lighting is a pain anyway.
It’ll cost you $180, which if you ask me is a bit much. You can get some pretty decent gear for under that if you spend a little time trolling the forums and specialty review sites. I’d wait until the ME-1 gets thoroughly tested before trusting it with the audio of your magnum opus.