Clip-On Microphone: Would Like Suggestions

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Denniscasey

Well-known member
I film vintage race car and aircraft events for own enjoyment and am finding filmed interviews with drivers/pilots enhance experience. Quality aside, background noise is often a problem when just using HMC40 mike. I have tried an inexpensive Radio Shack clip on mike with 20 foot wire connection, but ready now for wireless set-up (I am thinking I can be roaming around a bit to get close-up film of car/aircraft while listening to interview). I also still have not upgraded HMC40 mike to Rode or similar add-on external mike. So I have following questions:

1. Is there an "all purpose" add-on mike that would serve both purposes (interview subjects, get better quality race track sound)?

2. What recommendations would you have for "interview" mike (at hobbyist price point) and what features should I look for?

Thank you, Dennis
 
That is a tough row to hoe, for sure. I use Sony UWP-V1 wireless mics for interviews and such. They seem to be about the least expensive you can get, and still get decent reception without weird wireless sounds (swish - swish)... and I think they start at about $480 for the transmitter/receiver pair. All purpose mic? That is really subjective. I know a lot of people use a short boom for their on camera mic, one that doesn't do what the high-end booms do (target one direction in a tiny pattern). People in these forums seem to really like the Rode mics. I've used one on occasion, and it did a good job.
 
Regarding wireless clip-on mics for interviews and such, Dave Dugdale did a comparison video between several models a little while back. It's worth watching if you haven't already seen it:



The above mics are all a bit on the expensive side for hobbyist use. Then again, I once used a cheap Radio Shack wireless lav mic for a short promo video and the sound quality was atrocious. You get what you pay for, I guess.

Probably any shotgun mic is going to be an improvement on the built-in mics. I'm using a cheap Azden with a shockmount and it sounds pretty respectable as on-camera, general purpose audio goes - certainly better than the HMC's own mics. If I was forced to chose only one upgrade for the camera, then a shotgun mic on a shockmount would be it.

I also bought a Tascam DR40 ($150) a little while back for supplemental audio, and the quality of the built-in mics is terrific to my ear. It might be worth considering if you want really good audio on the cheap. They're very sensitive to wind noise, though, so it really needs a dead cat more than other mics I've used. It's a stand-alone recorder which has pros and cons. Pros: higher quality sound files than the HMC40 can record internally. No need to tether it to the camera. Cons: Lots of work in post as you have keep the sound files organized and sync them to the video.
 
Thank you for suggestions, voxwerx, including the price point comment to get decent results with wireless mics. Dennis
 
Thanks, Wesley. Helpful video of things to consider when buying wireless mic. I had also considered the stand-alone recorder (i.e. Tascam DR40) for reasons you point out. Given the hobbyist level of my work and the relatively few times I really do interviews the extra work to sync and organize audio files might not be too time consuming particularly if I use a sync sound at beginning of recording. I will get a shotgun mic--just about reach point to buy one and I get busy with other things for several months. Clearly would be a good investment to improve general sound recording of HMC40. Dennis
 
Dennis Azden SGM-1X, Is good and is very inexpensive , like $180, with an 6 -15 feet XLR CABLE, The DR40 is Fantastic, because records Wave not Dolby at 96 KHZ 24 bits giving you a very robust
Codec that you can manipulate in Edition much better. Good Choice.
 
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