500-750 what would you get

scotman

scotman

Well-known member
hey guys. I was just released some funds to be able to get a decent microphone for my personal projects. when i say released my wife said go for it. lol

Anyways, ive always debated what to buy.

Either a wireless lapel system or a really nice boom mic..

Here is what its used for..

1. Outdoor shooting. I live in Scotland, some times of the year it can get quite windy, i want something that has decent wind resistance, i know for 500-750 i wont be getting the professional grade, something that has a long life. I dont know if it runs phanton om my DVX or if it has its own battery pack

2. I do stuff indoors. A mic that will be versitile for indoor interviews, weddings, etc.

Mainly, i use it for interviews. I dont really care for ambient noise just want something portable, easy to set-up, lightweight, wind resitant etc

Any thoughts
 
For this budget (and I assume you mean £ and not $ as you live in Scotland) then the K6 + ME 66 and a Rycote S-series kit seems to be the ideal choice.

As the K6 is modular, you can add other mic. heads at a later date, as required, and when funds allow.

If you have more funds available later then you can add the ew 100 ENG G2 radio kit which gives you a pocket transmitter with tie mic. a plug-on transmitter (to make the K6 wireless) and a camera receiver.

I hope this helps.
 
If only one mic then you could take a look at Rode NTG-3. It is somewhat similar to Sennheiser MKH-416, which is a lot better than Sennheiser K6+ME66. NTG-3 is about two hundred dollars more than ME66+K6 but nevertheless more bang for buck, IMO. Of course wind protection is necessary anyway, K-Tek K-Zepp might be a welcome addition to either one of the mics.

Rode NTG-1 or 2 are also options, even though they are of lower cost than your budget range. At least if you consider the ME66+K6 then take a look at these two. NTG-1 and 2 are essentially the same mic, 1 without the battery option. And if you get this one then you might also fit a hypercardioid microphone in your budget. An Oktava or perhaps AKG CK93+SE300b combo.

Hypercardioid is usually a lot better than a shotgun when indoors.
 
Echoing others here, try to fit a shotgun with shock-mount, zepplin, furry, and fishpole along with a hypercarioid mic, into your budget. That'll give you the most flexibility indoors and out.

Buying a wireless lav system is great, but not as versatile. On the other hand, having a fishpole-mounted mic requires a second crew member.
 
thanks for the help thus far.Unfortuneatley, I mean dollars because I can buy it from BH photo and have them ship it here. Sorry. Also, I have a Rode but i just dont know which one it is. No serial numbers model etc. How can i find otu which one I have. Thanks guys

dg
 
For less money I would go with the Micover Puffin furry. My side by side shows them to be just as good as the Rycote Softie at half the price. I also just ordered a Rode zeppelin. I don't know how it stacks up against the Rycote, but at the price DV Creators is currently giving us, I'm giving it a whirl. OF course, you have to buy from those retailers, not B&H.
 
scotman said:
thanks for the help thus far.Unfortunately, I mean dollars because I can buy it from BH photo and have them ship it here.
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Do not, under any circumstances, buy any radio equipment from them.

Any radio equipment bought from the USA is likely to be totally illegal in the UK - if you want any radio it's best to buy in the UK. IE: The golden rule is always to buy any wireless equipment in the country of intended use to ensure it complies with the relevant transmission regulations and frequencies. The USA uses totally different frequency bands from the UK.

Regarding the other equipment - remember that your guarantee is with the dealer, so any faults will likely mean shipping back to the USA. Don't forget import duty.

Yes, sometimes it can be cheaper to buy in from the USA, but check all the sums first to be sure you are making a worthwhile saving. Best to also check-out dv247.com as they are UK based and their prices can be pretty keen.
 
John Willett said:
Do not, under any circumstances, buy any radio equipment from them.

Any radio equipment bought from the USA is likely to be totally illegal in the UK - if you want any radio it's best to buy in the UK. IE: The golden rule is always to buy any wireless equipment in the country of intended use to ensure it complies with the relevant transmission regulations and frequencies. The USA uses totally different frequency bands from the UK.

Regarding the other equipment - remember that your guarantee is with the dealer, so any faults will likely mean shipping back to the USA. Don't forget import duty.

Yes, sometimes it can be cheaper to buy in from the USA, but check all the sums first to be sure you are making a worthwhile saving. Best to also check-out dv247.com as they are UK based and their prices can be pretty keen.
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All good advice. I got burned when I bought a wireless on e-bay where the seller neglected to tell me it was bought in Germany. That's 450 bucks I threw out the window.
 
WOw. I never thought of that. Thanks for the tips. any other thoughts on mics... and any other Uk dealers i can look into.

If i went with a Rode NTG 2 thats not wireless so i should be ok in the Uk correct?

cheers
 
Yes, any wired mic will be fine anywhere in the world, presuming you have a way to connect it to your camera or other recording device. :)

As far as the mic goes, I have to respectfully disagree with Mr. Willett above. The ME66 is extremely overpriced for the quality. There are far better mics for far less money. Look into getting a used Sennheiser 416. I picked mine up from someone in Germany for US$400 or so and the sent it in to Sennheiser for a check out and cleaning for another $50. Then get wind protection (not going to jump into the Rycote vs. Rode barrell here, though I would say also look at the k-tek k-zepp....k-tek's products are great and very well supported.)

Another good "starter" mic is the Audio Technica AT 4073a. Also a good value for the quality. I haven't tried any of the Rode's yet, but they do get some good reviews.

HTH,

Phil
 
scotman said:
If i went with a Rode NTG 2 thats not wireless so i should be ok in the Uk correct?
Click to expand...

That would be OK - but you will have to add VAT and Import Duty and remember that any problems may involve sending it back to the USA.

So compare the US and UK prices before you buy. In my opinion it's only worth doing if the savings ae considerable over the UK price.
 
scotman said:
hey guys. I was just released some funds to be able to get a decent microphone for my personal projects. when i say released my wife said go for it. lol

Anyways, ive always debated what to buy.

Either a wireless lapel system or a really nice boom mic..

Here is what its used for..

1. Outdoor shooting. I live in Scotland, some times of the year it can get quite windy, i want something that has decent wind resistance, i know for 500-750 i wont be getting the professional grade, something that has a long life. I dont know if it runs phanton om my DVX or if it has its own battery pack

2. I do stuff indoors. A mic that will be versitile for indoor interviews, weddings, etc.

Mainly, i use it for interviews. I dont really care for ambient noise just want something portable, easy to set-up, lightweight, wind resitant etc

Any thoughts
Click to expand...

If you're mostly shooting interviews and weddings the industry standard for $500-700 is the Sennheiser Evolution G2 wireless. Sony introduced a model this year which we tested, and another user C2V tested and we both agreed that the Sennheiser sounded better overall. Although I will say that the Sony had a further operating range. If your bread and butter projects are interviews and weddings, I'd say to spend your money there and save up for the shotgun. I find myself using my Sennheiser wireless way more often than any shotgun or hyper, but thats because of the type of projects we produce. Spend the money where it will benefit you the most.

Now, if you blow your wad on the wireless, you'll have little left for a super high quality shotgun, but if you read through Dan Brockett's article, he seemed to think that an Audio Technica AT 875R was a good value under $200. The RODE NTG-1 and NTG-2 are hovering just slightly more, but may be worth the extra money. I wish they would have made it into the article for comparison as I think they would have faired well.
Heck for the price of an ME66 though, you could get an AT 875R, *and* a RODE blimp, that's nutz!
 
John Willett said:
That would be OK - but you will have to add VAT and Import Duty and remember that any problems may involve sending it back to the USA.

So compare the US and UK prices before you buy. In my opinion it's only worth doing if the savings ae considerable over the UK price.
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in 90% of the time you will save more then enough not buying in uk .
about fq - check with local guys if they work with non official uk fq ( 68-69)
i know allot of people who use lower blocks .
the g-2 in usa on usa channels could be found as low as 450 usd ( 300uk)
if you have friend who can send you with 50usd price you will ot pay any tax .
about warranty , most of the gear dont fail in the first year and if it been broken( not electronic failure)
no warranty will ever work
the place i live is exactly as uk , our dealers like to grab our balls with the prices so usually i buy everything outside and if i need to send it back the post work just fine , so don't give them even one penny more if you dont need 2 :)
 
is the Senheiser good outdoors. Where is the best place to buy in the UK. Thanks for the advice from everyone. Im getting excited. Cheers
also, is the sennheiser for use out in the field. how does it get its power if I am outdoors and how long does the battery last.

cheers

alot of my filming is done in the states.. can i use a US kit and set it up in the UK for shots once in a while?
 
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if you could get an NTG3 or the Sennheiser, which would you get. I found a certified dealer selling the NTG-3 for about 699.99 without any of the other things, but i just wanted to make sure what was a better choice. Right now looks like i have the NTG-1.

cheers
 
scotman said:
is the Sennheiser good outdoors.
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Yes


scotman said:
Where is the best place to buy in the UK?
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Many places, but LTF and Visual Impact have the reputation for keen prices and good service.


scotman said:
is the Sennheiser for use out in the field. how does it get its power if I am outdoors and how long does the battery last.
Click to expand...
If you are talking about G2 radio - then they are powered from two AA batteries that will last >8h (according to the published spec.). If you are talking about the MKH 416, it gets its power from the SKP 500 G2 plug-on transmitter.


scotman said:
a lot of my filming is done in the states.. can i use a US kit and set it up in the UK for shots once in a while?
Click to expand...
No! - USA radio frequencies and UK radio frequencies are totally different and it is illegal to use a US syetm in the Uk, and vice versa. The USA use G2 versions A and B - the UK uses version E (bank 8 licence-free or bank 6 with a mobile "shared" licence - other banks cannot be used for mobile use).

If you use radio, you will need one system for the USA and another for the UK and Europe.

I hope this helps.
 
scotman said:
if you could get an NTG3 or the Sennheiser, which would you get. I found a certified dealer selling the NTG-3 for about 699.99 without any of the other things, but i just wanted to make sure what was a better choice. Right now looks like i have the NTG-1.
Click to expand...

LTF have an MKH 416 at £625 (ref. 851) and also a 416 complete with full Rycote basket windshield kit for £995 (ref. 731) - look on THIS PAGE and scroll down.
 
no mic will work well outside without a zeppelin. That is going to add a lot of $$ to your purchase. I will say again that the stock foam will do nothing outside. Note that whatever mic you get, you need a boom to use it properly. Mounting on cam will not give you good results. I think you need to read a bit more before you buy. Try " producing great sound for digital video by Jay Rose".

If you do get the sennheiser ew100 g2 system, the stock mic is not good and should be replaced with a countryman EMW or better lav wired for g2.
 
Thanks again. Looks like Ill probably wind up getting the Rode NTG-3. ANd the Rode Boom Pole, unless you can suggest another Boom for a better price. Its just cost effective and give me a variety of things to use it for. And its compatible both in the US and UK which is very appealing to me.

So this thread could be closed unless we talk about a Boom Pole. Other than that, Scotman is getting his Rode. YEAH.... I finally have a decent mic to work with.

Wait, thats the best one to get for that price right???

Later
 
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