First, let me say that I have read the stickies. From that I thought I'd picked what I should buy initially. To double check, I searched here for the various options in my price range for my intended purpose (more on those in a moment) and, of course, got additional options. So I searched for those options and got even more. And so on, and so on, and so on.
Although I understand (I think) the polar patterns, after reading so many posts over the past 36 hours (yes, I've devoted every spare minute to this forum for that long) I'm not even sure what would be best for what I'll be doing.
OK, what am I doing and how much can I spend? After buying the camera, batteries, tripod, and other essentials I'm down to a mere $450 for audio. Not very much, I know. I'm going to be covering a science fiction convention, with a lot of behind the scene "evesdropping" at events like the "Meet the Guests" party, the prep room for the costume competition, etc. For the panels I'll be getting a feed from the sound board so that isn't a problem.
What I will be needing is an on-camera solution (my only assistant is handling a 2nd camera, not a sound boom) that will let me come up to some people, record their conversation, then move on.
The thread that seems to come closest to describing the type of shooting I'll be doing is http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?t=21336&highlight=at3031 where MattinSTL suggests an AT3031. As he said: "Put that on-cam and use it when you follow people in the reality style." Of course that advice is 2 years old and I'm not sure if it is still the best suggestion. It certainly fits my budget though!
For all on-camera mics I'd, of course, use a shockmount and appropriate wind protection.
I've considered the Oktava MK012 with the hypercardioid cartridge and a BBG, the AT3031 cardioid (will a BBG fit this or would I use something else?) or a short shotgun of some sort (NTG1?).
The only thing I'm certain of is that the built-in omnis won't do the job for me, and that I won't be able to get anyone to stand still long enough to pin a lav on them. Not to mention what that would do to disrupting the very events I'm trying to capture! Of course, turning on camera lights and having a big lens and mic pointing at them from a few feet away isn't exactly unobtrusive.
So please, please could someone help me find a signal in all the noise? (lame audio joke)
Although I understand (I think) the polar patterns, after reading so many posts over the past 36 hours (yes, I've devoted every spare minute to this forum for that long) I'm not even sure what would be best for what I'll be doing.
OK, what am I doing and how much can I spend? After buying the camera, batteries, tripod, and other essentials I'm down to a mere $450 for audio. Not very much, I know. I'm going to be covering a science fiction convention, with a lot of behind the scene "evesdropping" at events like the "Meet the Guests" party, the prep room for the costume competition, etc. For the panels I'll be getting a feed from the sound board so that isn't a problem.
What I will be needing is an on-camera solution (my only assistant is handling a 2nd camera, not a sound boom) that will let me come up to some people, record their conversation, then move on.
The thread that seems to come closest to describing the type of shooting I'll be doing is http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?t=21336&highlight=at3031 where MattinSTL suggests an AT3031. As he said: "Put that on-cam and use it when you follow people in the reality style." Of course that advice is 2 years old and I'm not sure if it is still the best suggestion. It certainly fits my budget though!
For all on-camera mics I'd, of course, use a shockmount and appropriate wind protection.
I've considered the Oktava MK012 with the hypercardioid cartridge and a BBG, the AT3031 cardioid (will a BBG fit this or would I use something else?) or a short shotgun of some sort (NTG1?).
The only thing I'm certain of is that the built-in omnis won't do the job for me, and that I won't be able to get anyone to stand still long enough to pin a lav on them. Not to mention what that would do to disrupting the very events I'm trying to capture! Of course, turning on camera lights and having a big lens and mic pointing at them from a few feet away isn't exactly unobtrusive.
So please, please could someone help me find a signal in all the noise? (lame audio joke)