Entry level shotgun mic

S

-Sandro-

Well-known member
Hello,
I want to start testing for my first short or... whatever is coming.
It's the first time I considering handling audio in general but in the same time I'm an "audio junkie" meaning that for me it's very important (PAL speed up anyone? I can't really stand digital audio compression artifacts etc..)
I want to spend as little as possible, I've already bought a tascam audio recorder but now I would like to know what kind of directional mic I should buy. I know that there are the rode ntg-1,2,3 which seem to be very famous around here but the price is too much in my case at the moment. Are the alternatives around $120-150? I'm asking because usually in every market there's always that company that provides budget products with high quality! (unless the rode ntg series mics are the ones!)
Plus what about boom poles? wind screens?
I know that shotgun mics are not the only way to record audio but seems the most logical step starting from zero to me.
 
Are you going to be doing primarily indoor or outdoor shooting? If indoor, then a shotgun isn't really what you should be looking for (though everyone, including me, always thinks it is when first starting out :) ). You'll want a cardioid or hypercardioid.
 
LOL, I know I am going to take heat for this........I love my ME64. Definitely considered by many to be "entry-level", but with it's high level output, I don't need to futz around with levels in post as much. It is a cardioid pattern too, so great indoors.
 
I think both indoor and outdoor but mostly outdoor, what should I look for when shooting indoor?
 
Here we go again - "I want Rolls Royce on a tricycle budget. Oh, I don't know how to drive a car, but can't afford to a chauffeur, and I don't want to take driving lessons."
 
Yea its a tough one. Everyone wants all for nothing. OP, if you are an audio junkie, then you should already know that good audio stuff costs quite a bit no matter which way you cut it. That being said your stated budget doesnt really allow for anything close to really good audio costs. So, Id recommend you take a look at maybe the Audio-Technica AT875R shotgun mic. IMO its a very good value for the price, but you will need to provide it phantom power. What Tascam did you buy?
 
You aren't going to get a good mic, boom pole, shockmount, and windscreen on that budget. I don't know of even poor performing products that are that cheap for everything. Your best bet would be to rent high quality stuff. You can rent a mic/boompole package for pretty cheap these days.
 
Even as a noob to this board, I can offer one piece of advice: If you're going to skimp on audio to the tune of $120-$150, don't bother pursuing filmmaking/videography as anything beyond a hobby. I went down that road, Sandro. Entry-level audio gear is a dead end, and by "dead" I mean it will kill your early projects in a very obvious and embarrassing way. I only know this because it happened to me.

What camera do you shoot with?
 
I use the AT 875R as my std short shotgun now, it's a little more than your budget but I find them excellent and far better than the rode NTG1/2, it a pressure gradient design so is more suited to indoor use but still performs well outside.

You can hear it in action here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DH8mVouKkhg
and outside here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NbvCcjrAueI

Mic details here: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/495302-REG/Audio_Technica_AT875R_AT875_Short_Condenser_Shotgun.html

Regarding windscreens I use the rode WS/6 with the PG/2 pistol grip and have a gitzo carbon fibre boom pole.

the whole lot will set you back around $500 but as others have said it's worth investing a little more as it will enable you to get good sound from the start.
 
Last edited:
yes I use at875r too..for amateur, I find it is good enough..did some small project..all my friends are surprised by the audio quality..that said for non-pro, their ear might not as that picky to sounds quality.
but again at875 is about 190..and u have to buy mic stand/boom pole, shock mount, cable, etc...still a lot more than ur budget.
 
You need a boom pole and/or mic stand, recorder (or camera with a reasonable recording capability and manual audio controls), good cables, and some sound blankets or equivalently-usable cloth, at a MINIMUM, to make your mics usable.

Once you've covered that, you'll want a shotgun with a shockmount and a decent fur (not foam) windscreen (blimp setup is ideal but costs more; replaces shockmount but still needs fur) for capturing outdoor audio, and/or a small-diaph. hypercardioid condenser with a shockmount for capturing indoor audio.

Highly recommend the DVD linked to earlier and in several of the signatures above; it could save you a lot of headaches later on if you are new to this: http://dvxuser.com/articles/dvxshop/SoundDVD/
 
Thank you guys! Why isn't a hypercardiod mic good outdoor?
So basically even if I buy one kind of mic it's not gonna cover the most usual situations = more money :( it's a pricey hobby:(
 
Last edited:
I'm leaning toward the sound of the AT 835b (which is not -that- good but the best in the price range to me within the ones I listened to) but I see it's being discontinued. Do you know a replacement for that?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top