Mics for small classrooms

[graziemile]

Hi,
Could you please recommend two models of microphones for small (10-15 student) classrooms primarily for recording the lecturer/presenter with the wireless and student questions with the camera mount?
1) *Camera mount
2) *Wireless lav

Thank you.
-GrazieMile

[oleg]

i didnt get how many mikes do you wont to record , 2 or 3
the only camera which has 4 mike inputs on consumer level(we are talking consumer not 10000$ and more ) is xl-1s , all the others as far i know have 2 inputs only
so if you wont more then 2 mikes you need some sort of mixer , if you workong alone some kind of automatic mixer (or gate befor each input)
. other question what is your budget ?
some sistems cost 400 and some more then 2000

the camera mike mounted on the camera isnt a good idia , better to place it in the midle of the room from abouth -then it have to be cardiod or omny to pick up all the room
, its can be done with pzm (boundary) placed on some plexi glass or other hard surface that hang from the silling in the midle of the room
good boundary mike that i use is sanken cub-1 CARDIOID which need phantom 48 v power
for less expencive -there are some nice products from AT ( there are omny and cardiod versions)

[graziemile]

Thank you, Oleg.

I will be using a DVX100a, with 2 inputs and I will need 2 mics only. *The mics that I am looking for should be under $500 each.

Also, the classrooms are pretty small, about 10 x 10 feet.

[oleg]

[quote author=GrazieMile Also, the classrooms are pretty small, about 10 x 10 feet.[/quote]
jail :-)

there is no problem with the wierless range for that set up so its only qwestion qoality of the sound
under 500 , the less hissy is the at 100 , (there is new version of Sen g2 ), but i didnt work with it yet so cant say anything about
avoid the sony upm
for the last 500-550
i will sugest you go for russian Octava cardioid that can be hang from the silling in the middle of the room
and rest of the money (about 300-350) invest in shot gun for time you will really need it
lets say that if you find used at by 350$ , used octava 70-120
you still have some sum to buy at 4073 a with at shock mount
for cheap and good lav, if you looking to replace the at one , i will sugest countryman emw (shelved version for under cloth plaacing), about 180 new with 5 pin mini xlr
my 2 sheckels (40cents)

[ullanta]

Or perhaps get the Oktava (MC12) with both Cardioid and Omni capsules; try the omni if the ambience allows it.

[oleg]

thats another 60 $ ,we are talking wery tight budget :-)

[graziemile]

Thanks for all the info, but unfortunately there is no way to hang a mic in these classrooms.

It seems like the most optimal setup is going to be a lav on the lecturer (90% talking) and the cam-mount shotgun.

I think for the shotgun I'll be going with AT897.

Can you recommend a lavaliere?

Thank you.
-GrazieMile

[oleg]

1-there is no such athing cant be hang from the silling -small pulcat and you on
2 -not such agood idia -but thats life
3-where is the 500$ :-)- if most of the people here say that me 66 better than 897 (sorry never actually heard it) maybe its treu, i only know that the 4073 sounds better :-)
4-read my last sentenc

[graziemile]

Thank you.

a) Wireless lav: Is there a particular model of Audio-Technica 100 that you would recommend from BnH?

b) Is there a particular model of Audio-Technica boundary mic that you would recommend?

[oleg]

dont know the AT lavs , never used them, the boundary existind in omny and cardioid patterns
the omny sounds better but since you need mike for panel, so i sopouse they sit from one side of the table , so the secend one is better , idont remember the number its 841 or851 the qudrat one (the round is the omny ) its come with phantom power supply
i used worked with omny (still have it in some place)
with nice resolts

[subsunk]

Hi there graziemile,
have you considered a boundry layer microphone.
Placed on the desk it should pick up all the talking in the room, as well as any aditional noise generated by the crew.
I use a Sennheiser mke212-3 and it will pick up all the noise in a quite large room.
I tend to use it for atmospheric sounds and an additional track for safety coverage, but it is excellent for your use.
The senn 212 is a bit pricey but realistic and azden as well as other manufacturers do them as well, although be careful as some of them dont offer a hemisphere reception angle but a quater sphere type patters.
The main problem with them is the roll off in bass frequency when not mounted on a flat hard surface.
in the middle of a table will fix this.
The sensitivity is also much higher than a normal omni mic placed at the same location due to the boundry effect.
If you want a well defined sterio effect then the Senns require a 1m distance between them regardless of the distance to the main sound source. Others may require a different distance although if the instructions dont say 1m would be a good starting point.

hope you found this useful.

steve
down under
city of the americas cup
a very useful type of mic.