Ok so I have a Sony HDR-HC3 I got the horseshoe gun microphone that you can add on and yet the sound is still not at a good quality. I checked and there is no way to get audio to attach to the camera with the exception of anything that fits on the shoe.

I am still going to record audio from the camera but I want to also have a recording of audio seperatly. I was told by an audio guy to go down to a guitar store so I went to the local one today. They showed me the R-09: WAVE/MP3 Recorder Pristine 24-Bit Recording to Go shown here http://www.rolandus.com/products/productdetails.aspx?ObjectId=757&ParentId=114

They told me that the unit would be good at what I need because I can have the camera going. Click record on the audio and then record on the camera. Stand in front of the camera and clap my hands once quickly. That will help with syncing everything up. Then I can either place the recorder on the table or the pocket of my talent and should be able to record everything with no problems.

They said that it would be no problem hooking it up to the computer and being able to import onto my mac into Final Cut Pro HD. The price they quoted is $429 but if I find a lower price they will beat the lower price. I know nothing about audio is this something that I should go for? They also said to record in wav format and look online for converting or should I just record in MP3.

I want to have audio that is not seen and as professional sounding as possible with no tinning sounds. Is this the right thing or am I going in the wrong direction? Remember I know nothing about sound.