Best audio compromise 4 my budget

ICortella said:
Cipo, sorry to get into this again, but the more I follow the thread the more I think you need something like the AKG micropen. You can use it as a lav and also as a handheld mic. I think that if your main interest is recording interviews it´ll cover most of the uses you look for at an affodable price.

http://www.guitarampkeyboard.com/photo.php?id=3891
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That is a mic with a wireless transmitter - good approach but it also needs a receiver and I don't see a battery powered mate to it preently offered by AKG. They used to have the PR40 receiver but according to the AKG site both the MP40 and the PR40 have been discontinued.
 
I haven't read the whole thread, so maybe this has been mentioned already. Or you may have already bought what you need. But here goes anyway.

Consider trying a Zoom H4 digital recorder. It has some fairly decent built-in mics (stereo), and records to SD cards. Later, when you can afford a good mic, you can plug two XLRs or 1/4"s into it and use it the same way as a minidisc recorder. I've been very pleased with what I've gotten from mine. Cost is $299 US.

Good luck!
 
ICortella said:
Cipo, sorry to get into this again, but the more I follow the thread the more I think you need something like the AKG micropen. You can use it as a lav and also as a handheld mic. I think that if your main interest is recording interviews it´ll cover most of the uses you look for at an affodable price.

http://www.guitarampkeyboard.com/photo.php?id=3891
Click to expand...
Hi

asctually i was very thrilled when I was first looking into that product but then I realized that i has been doscontinued (http://www.akg.com/site/products/powerslave,id,292,pid,292,nodeid,2,_language,EN.html), do you suggest to try to buy it in any case ?
thx
 
Steve house,
got your points. I agree on your last suggestions. The AKG micropen suggest by ICortella would be a good solution: wearable wless when needed and handheld at occasions. Need to check about its output and see how to get that signal inside my small jack audio mic in the cam. If via a field mixer or directly.
ths again, great help.
 
chapelgrovefilms said:
I haven't read the whole thread, so maybe this has been mentioned already. Or you may have already bought what you need. But here goes anyway.

Consider trying a Zoom H4 digital recorder. It has some fairly decent built-in mics (stereo), and records to SD cards. Later, when you can afford a good mic, you can plug two XLRs or 1/4"s into it and use it the same way as a minidisc recorder. I've been very pleased with what I've gotten from mine. Cost is $299 US.

Good luck!
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tHX .... i am still looking to upgrade my system and I need to do it. The AKG seems discontinued but it seems still possible to get in on the web. Need to check the receiver though.
Having a separate audio recording system has been said to give headaches during the editing phase due to "auto of synch" possibilities. Especially during long recording sessions.
How do you see this ?
thx again
 
CiPO said:
Steve house,
got your points. I agree on your last suggestions. The AKG micropen suggest by ICortella would be a good solution: wearable wless when needed and handheld at occasions. Need to check about its output and see how to get that signal inside my small jack audio mic in the cam. If via a field mixer or directly.
ths again, great help.
Click to expand...

It won't. From my read, it's the transmitter side of a wireless rig and you need to have the matching receiver or it's useless. As far as I can tell it has no direct connection capability.
 
chapelgrovefilms said:
I haven't read the whole thread, so maybe this has been mentioned already. Or you may have already bought what you need. But here goes anyway.

Consider trying a Zoom H4 digital recorder. It has some fairly decent built-in mics (stereo), and records to SD cards. Later, when you can afford a good mic, you can plug two XLRs or 1/4"s into it and use it the same way as a minidisc recorder. I've been very pleased with what I've gotten from mine. Cost is $299 US.

Good luck!
Click to expand...

I've heard a number of people complain about fairly rapid loss of sync when using the H4 as a double system recorder for dialog. What are your experiences?
 
I haven't experienced loss of synch issues. I used it to record audio of a concert performance for an Elvis impersonator. Continuous footage/audio. About 30 minutes or so. Didn't notice any problem at all.

I also used it to record audio for 'Tangled Web'. Long real-time scenes. Again, no issues.
 
CiPO said:
tHX .... i am still looking to upgrade my system and I need to do it. The AKG seems discontinued but it seems still possible to get in on the web. Need to check the receiver though.
Having a separate audio recording system has been said to give headaches during the editing phase due to "auto of synch" possibilities. Especially during long recording sessions.
How do you see this ?
thx again
Click to expand...

Bad news it´s discontinued, I bought it two months ago. I´d be careful of buying it on the web, because both the transmiter and the receiver operate at a fixed frequency and both have to match. Buying any two randomly wouldn´t work.

My experience with this system is completely satisfactory. Once I was in a rooftop and a helicopter passed by, if it wasn´t because the interviewee stopped speaking it wouldn´t have been a problem. I´ve checked and I couldn´t find any similar product (handheld and lav). Maybe your local dealer can find it on stock.
 
Look up Oleg in this Audio forum and grab one of his Chiniz mics. As a hyper its excellent, and the other caps are useable. Ive got two.

SHould run you around $260 or thereabouts for one.
 
Wireless is in a real state of flux right now as manufacturers reposition their product lines in the light of the US FCC recent announcment of a total ban on both operation of wireless mics anywhere in the 700mHz band (698mHz to 806mHz) and the sale of units operating there. Don't know that it would affect actual operations in Finland but it will certainly affect what products are on the market. I tend to initially over-buy with the idea of not having to replace equipment as my needs grow in the future - buying the good stuff right from the start works out to be the least expensive in the long run, I've found. If it were me, I'd probably stretch the budget to be able to look at a minimum entry-level kit of something like a Sennheiser G2 ENG kit with both the body pack transmitter and the SKP100 plugon transmitter. For a mic to use for on-the-run interviews in noisy places I'd use a rugged dynamic reporter's mic, such as an Electrovoice RE50 or 635 or a Sennheiser MD46, with the plugon transmitter attached. I'd upgrade the lav that comes with the G2 with something like a Tram, along with an XLR power adapter that would let me use the it with a hardwire to a mixer for sitdown interviews where it's practical to go wired. While Chapel's suggestion of a Zoom or similar is certainly worthy of consideration - it's a route I've been tempted to explore the last several months - I'd really want to put it through the ringer to make sure it will hold hard sync within 1 frame in a closeup over the duration of the longest interviews I might consider. Other than cases where the hand-held is used, I would also make sure that the interviewer is individually mic'ed as well as the subject, recording the interviewer on one channel and the subject on the other. No way would I leave it to chance that the on-camera mic or the subject's mic would pick up the questions or settle for the inevitable poor quality of the recording when it did. While a boom mic would certainly give better sound than a lav and even though I recommended it earlier, realistically a boom implies a boom operator to work it, so even though I still stand by my earlier suggestions, from a practical standpoint I'd probably go with the lav in a solo-operator situation.

That's how I would probably go about it - your mileage may vary.
 
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I'm assuming even with interviewing that the subject isn't going to be on-camera for long stretches in the final edit. Surely he'll cut away to the interviewer or some other image from time to time. Having one person sitting on-camera talking for several minutes at a stretch really gets boring.

That said, it's not hard at all to synch small pieces of the audio with corresponding video clips. I do it all the time. I let the on-camera mic capture an audio track that I can use as a guide when synching the good audio from the Zoom. Then I delete the synch track. Hasn't let me down yet.

The H4 can also be used as a microphone for the camera. Just run a stereo cable from the output jack to the input on your camera. Also has a USB connection. And comes with Cubase editing software.

Just food for thought.
 
In my experience for a sit down interview, the subject doesnt move very far at all, not enough to use a lav over a hyper.
 
Steve House said:
It won't. From my read, it's the transmitter side of a wireless rig and you need to have the matching receiver or it's useless. As far as I can tell it has no direct connection capability.
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Sorry but what i meant is if the receiver can be plugged to my cam. Anyway, it seems that some places are still selling the kit as this one: http://www.stagelightingstore.com/s.nl/it.A/id.6353/.f?sc=14&category=402
This option seems very appealing to me, also because my budget really doesn't allow me to "stretch" so much as you suggested :)
 
CiPO said:
Sorry but what i meant is if the receiver can be plugged to my cam. Anyway, it seems that some places are still selling the kit as this one: http://www.stagelightingstore.com/s.nl/it.A/id.6353/.f?sc=14&category=402
This option seems very appealing to me, also because my budget really doesn't allow me to "stretch" so much as you suggested :)
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You need a portable receiver like the PR40. It took me like 1 hour to find the kit, but I´ve finally found it. I don´t know if this store is reliable, but you can try:

http://www.8thstreet.com/product.asp?ProductCode=20498&category=Microphones

I´m also waiting for my local dealer to call me back to see if he can get me one. :)

BTW it comes with XLR output, you´d need to buy the minijack cable appart.
 
ICortella said:
I´m also waiting for my local dealer to call me back to see if he can get me one. :)

BTW it comes with XLR output, you´d need to buy the minijack cable appart.
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Excellent ! Thank you ..... this sounds as a valid solution to solve my current audio problems.
The alternative could be an Oktava with suitable holder and wind screen :)

THX for the help. Let me know how it goes with your order.
CIPO
 
chapelgrovefilms said:
Consider trying a Zoom H4 digital recorder. It has some fairly decent built-in mics (stereo), and records to SD cards. Later, when you can afford a good mic, you can plug two XLRs or 1/4"s into it and use it the same way as a minidisc recorder. I've been very pleased with what I've gotten from mine. Cost is $299 US.Good luck!
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Hi chapel,

actually I was going through some links about the product that you suggest and it looks very appealing. I would get a decent portable mic and also a good quality solid state audio recorder. I could also add maybe an Oktava (I saw I can buy them cheaply directly in Russia) with a XLR connector and use it directly plugged to the ZOOM. Maybe I could add a cheap Squib mic to use for the interviewer and attach it to my camera. All together should be a reasonable package.
Although I am still hoping to get the wless micropen set if I will still find it.
Thx for the help.
 
CiPO, I feel like Im stuck in a vortex. I have no association with Oleg Kaizerman, one of the most respected contributors in the Audio forum, but, his Chiniz mics are similarly priced to the Octava and quite simply are better. They are far more versatile, are built better and the sound quality is well better. Ive got two.. I have an Octava Bella Nero here though, will sell for good price if you really want it.

You know when you are trying to look at the best options whilst trying to save a buck? I did that with the Octava - was great, top quality if you knew the limitations. Then I thought well lets see if this guy (Oleg) is just full of bs with these mics once and for all. Happy to report he isnt.

Unless u absolutely need lav, skip it.
 
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Noel Evans said:
CiPO, I feel like Im stuck in a vortex. I have no association with Oleg Kaizerman, one of the most respected contributors in the Audio forum, but, his Chiniz mics are similarly priced to the Octava and quite simply are better. They are far more versatile, are built better and the sound quality is well better. Ive got two..[/quote)

Ah, now I get what you meant by that word. I was searching in the forum but didn't get that clear picture about what you meant. Now I understand :)

I have an Octava Bella Nero here though, will sell for good price if you really want it. You know when you are trying to look at the best options whilst trying to save a buck? I did that with the Octava - was great, top quality if you knew the limitations. Then I thought well lets see if this guy (Oleg) is just full of bs with these mics once and for all. Happy to report he isnt. Unless u absolutely need lav, skip it.
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That could be a nice option .... I do get new Oktava with 3 caps in Russia for about 150euro which is a nice deal, I guess :)

THX for the help.
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guys

what do you think about a good headphone for monitoring ?

SONY MDR-7506 or MDR-V6 ? or something similar ?
thx
 
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