Best mic 500$ and under

so guys? Im confused now

i feel like im torn between three choices and i really dont know which one to go with for the hypercardioid mic

i have the AKG SE300b with the 93 capsul
the AT4053a
or the Oktava 012...


which one will rule them all?
 
FilmBoy77 said:
depends on what your intended use is for....indoors? outdoors? interviews? run and gun?? etc...
Click to expand...

those are all indoor mics, hypercardioids.
i just want to know which will deliver the best quality.

narrative film making.
 
sorry i thought you were talking about the AT4073 instead of the AT4053.

that's a hard call on which of those mics have the best quality. there all good and also depend on what is good quality to you may not be as good to me, etc. i'm not sure about the AKG but the oktava may not be the best for run and gun situations. i like it a lot though especially for narrative/dialogue film making when i'm just using a boom and good shockmount. sounds real professional.

did you check that sticky that has sound samples of the ocktava and three other microphones? that was the decision maker for me. i "think" the AT4053 was one of the mics that was also being compared.
 
PaPa said:
cool mate i noticed my 835b was very good at recording outdoors, but i found it picked up too much room tone when shooting indoors and i have a feeling this is because of the rear pickup, reverb from the ceiling and other shtick, where as the 815 says its more directional, great for long distance, which im guessing refers to a much narrower pick up pattern with better rear rejection.

ill take a look at that oktava

NEXT QUESTION if your still with me john froton :)

anything worth getting in terms of wireless mics? For that price range? Or forget it?
Click to expand...

Here's the deal. You don't want to use a shotgun mic indoors. To find out why, watch my video, Ty Ford Mic Tutorial Video.mp4 at the following link.

http://tinyurl.com/y4yrcn

Instead of a shotgun, you want a hypercardioid for interiors ... a mid-priced Audio Technica AT4053a or a top of the line and worth it Schoeps cmc641 supercardioid.

Regards,

Ty Ford

BTW; my little audio book maks a handly stocking stuffer.:)


 
hehe thanks man, but ive already learned that stuff up to now, now its a question of between the three mics

and lyes i checked the links, but few of the links in the sticky are still up, which was quite annoying..

still deciding between the three.

anyone?
 
sorry to be so pushy, but i need to have decided by tomorrow ( mother is killing me for a gift idea )

and i really dont want ot make this decision a rushed one but it must be,.


between the three, what would you guys take for narrative interior shooting?
 
thanks man :)

Thank you all as well for being very patient with me, i am still learning more about audio and this has been very informative!

happy holidays!
 
Alan H. Chang said:
Okay, here are the comparisons between the Audio Technica 4073a Shotgun microphone and the Oktava MK012 Hypercardiod microphone...
Click to expand...

Alan... I was really looking forward to hearing those, but the links don't seem to be working. Anyone else having problems getting the mp3s?

-Kevin

EDIT:

Scratch that... seems like the site was just down for a bit but it's all good now. Thanks Alan!
 
Last edited:
Well hey, thanks to those who were before me. I learned from them. Read the stickies and stay around to read comments and try surfing around for some comparisons.

From what Ty mentioned, go with his advice. He has done sound more than I have and knows what he is talking about, not saying I don't know. I never tried the AT4053a, so I can't say anything about it. He is right about using a hypercardiod for indoors. As you can see from the pictures of that shooting, it was all indoors. The Oktava MK012 was my first choice as being used on the boom. Then I decided to just place the AT4073a in there as well. There were 2x AT4073a. It didn't bother the rest of the crew so I decided to just use them for the heck of it. That room got so hot, the air pressure changed drastically and I can say that the microphones were performing quite well compared to being in the colder conditions. Frankly, there were cats in the house and I am allergic to them. But things turned out wonderful.

Should you want a microphone for indoors, go with a hypercardiod.
Outdoors, just keep what you have with AT835b
To be honest, the AT4073a is a HOT mic, meaning it's sensitivity is high. It's self noise is quite high as well.
 
hemophilia said:
Alan... I was really looking forward to hearing those, but the links don't seem to be working. Anyone else having problems getting the mp3s?

-Kevin

EDIT:

Scratch that... seems like the site was just down for a bit but it's all good now. Thanks Alan!
Click to expand...

Yeah, I personally dislike that site. The site was originally purchased to start up an audio/video/photography company with my friends, but we never got to it. The only person that seriously has a bigger passion is me. Not much progress is happening.

The hosting company is Canaca. STAY away from them. Be advised and be warned!
 
Ok - I'm feeling your pain. Was in this place myself a few months and several hundred threads ago. You'll find this forum to be the distilled essence of a graduate level course in audio... spend some time and rummage around.

My personal decision was tough - the octava is definitely the top "bang for the buck" mic, capable of delivering amazing sound, but. . .

I went with the AKG blue line series - se300b and ck93 hyper cap - a little more money but far more forgiving of inexperienced boom ops - a really big consideration for me since I'm often working with green crews. The lower handling noise was the decision tipper for me and I'm really pleased with the sound. Fittings include a Rycote BBG and the K-tek KSSM mount, and Mattin's cables. I also use the 98 shotgun cap and Rycote softie for my outdoor work, and the 397 wired lav as a plant mic. The modularity of the system has worked well for me and I'm very pleased with the sound I'm getting for the $$.

Hope that helps.
 
What's interesting is that your "bang for the buck" Oktvava is an "entry level" mic or sometimes a "throw away" in the movie making industry. The AT4053a is better and the Schoeps cmc641 (which Schoeps calls a supercardioid) is the "real deal."

Can you hear the difference? I can. Years ago I tried an Oktava, a few years later I compared the 4053a with the cmc641. The Schoeps was clearly superior.

If you've ever been on a movies set to see what they use for booming dialog, you'll see the cmc641. It really, really, really makes a difference.

Regards,

Ty Ford
 
Audio3d is right. I have done several side by side comparision of the Rode shotguns with ME66/K6, and they blow them out of the water for less than $275. I would also recommend the AKG Blueline for a hypercardioid. The shotgun capsule sounds great as well, but its physical size hampers use on the camera.
 
tyreeford said:
Here's the deal. You don't want to use a shotgun mic indoors. To find out why, watch my video, Ty Ford Mic Tutorial Video.mp4 at the following link.

http://tinyurl.com/y4yrcn

Instead of a shotgun, you want a hypercardioid for interiors ... a mid-priced Audio Technica AT4053a or a top of the line and worth it Schoeps cmc641 supercardioid.

Regards,

Ty Ford

BTW; my little audio book maks a handly stocking stuffer.:)
Click to expand...
I just wanted to acknowledge your generosity in sharing your knowledge and instructional clips with everyone Ty . It is also refreshing to hear your point of view regarding the Octava and that there are certainly other affordable choices for those who can't get into a Schoeps just yet.
 
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