Audio Technica 835b?

A

Avenger007

Well-known member
after searching around I found the AT835b to be a great buy. Ive heard a few good things but no luck while searching on here. How does it stack up against azden's comparable model and is it worth it to step up to the 815? how bout the 897?

Used for film and some videography but mostly making movies/short narratives. TV commercials as well. Looking for something under $250 and with good range/not too directional (like the 815 might be with such a long length).
 
Avenger,

If you scan the posts here (or even better, search them), my sense is that the 897 is a "decent" entry level shotgun, most people have recommended strongly against the Azdens, and really the best "low-priced" shotgun is the AT 4073a. But, there have been lots of opinions expressed here, and everyone has a slightly different read.

One up and comer is the Rode shotguns. For the price, they're supposed to be pretty good too. I'm trying out the Rode NT5 right now for interior work, and it sounds pretty good.

Anyone else want to jump in?

Phil
 
A professional sound mixer would object to the thought of using a $250 microphone or anything made by Audio Technica on a TV commercial, but so would a Director of Photography object to shooting with a $5000 HD camera or anything made by JVC. :grin:
[/size said:
Avenger007]Looking for something under $250 and with good range/not too directional (like the 815 might be with such a long length).
Click to expand...


There are shotgun (interference tube) type microphones which are sold in varying degrees of directionality. Most have a 90° pickup pattern while others could be 50° or even [size=-1]45°. S[size=-1]hotguns are most effective when pointed at the source of the sound and can attenuate much of the noises coming from the sides. They are less effective at attenuating noises coming from the rear of the microphone, typically indoors, and in highly reverbient spaces.

Then, there are Hypercardioid microphones. Hypers are less directional and are better suited to indoor dialogue and do not work well outdoors as a generalization. Hypers, generally speaking, have a fuller, richer tone and capture more of the subtleties that are often lost in a shotgun-type design. Unfortunately, hypers are a poor choice for areas where there is wind, as their sensitivity actually hinders your ability to record good sound; they "hear" the wind far too well to be useful for anything.

It really comes down to indoors vs. outdoors. If you want to go for a Hyper, the AKG C300B preamp with a CK93 hypercardioid capsule is an excellent choice for around $400 or so. If all this talk of microphones makes your head spin, get the Jay Rose book about sound for video, or just get the Azden and proclaim to the world that you have no interest in getting good sound. Not to be elitest here, but that's in effect what you would be doing. Of the two, the Audio Technica would be a better choice.

If you haven't already, I would visit the sticky at the top of the audio forum about the "Shotgun Shootout" which has samples of several microphones and I can hear the difference. Definitely check out the difference between the Sennheiser ME66 and the Audio Technica 4073a. The Audio Technica really sounds excellent, but is around $500. Please be aware and consider that any microphone priced less than a ME66 won't even sound as good as ME66, which is a pretty thin-sounding mic to begin with.

Hope this helps.
[/size]
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top