saneproductions
Veteran
I would like to get something better than your typical sm58. This will be at a trade show and I have a good budget, so I would rather get something that is good for something else too. anything in the $200-400 range?
Handheld Mic for ENG Style Interviews
- Thread starter saneproductions
- Start date
MattinSTL
Sound Modulator
That's a weird budget for an ENG stick-mic... I'm curious if anybody will suggest anything above $200? I had a Beyerdynamic m58 and it wasn't worth the cost.
I like... EV RE50ndb... $160
Also like... AKG D230. $130
As long as you don't mind seeing the mic on cam then either is a good choice... the EV is built like a tank and the industry standard... it looks good on cam because it's the mic you always see on every news or eng show already. I think the AKG is a better sounding mic though... just not as pretty and not as professional looking on-cam.
And if you happen to already have a 416... that mic can be great for doing an interview while hand-holding the mic outside of the shot... at the bottom. If the trade show is in someplace that's really loud... like an arena... then you'll get the best isolation with an eng stick mic... but if it's in someplace like McCormack Center in Chicago... then the 416 trick would work also.
And, for all the guys who like to ASSUME a 416 means any other shotgun will work for this also... NO... a 416 can easily be handheld and quiet if you make the slightest effort... but most other guns will magnify the slightest hand movements.
I like... EV RE50ndb... $160
Also like... AKG D230. $130
As long as you don't mind seeing the mic on cam then either is a good choice... the EV is built like a tank and the industry standard... it looks good on cam because it's the mic you always see on every news or eng show already. I think the AKG is a better sounding mic though... just not as pretty and not as professional looking on-cam.
And if you happen to already have a 416... that mic can be great for doing an interview while hand-holding the mic outside of the shot... at the bottom. If the trade show is in someplace that's really loud... like an arena... then you'll get the best isolation with an eng stick mic... but if it's in someplace like McCormack Center in Chicago... then the 416 trick would work also.
And, for all the guys who like to ASSUME a 416 means any other shotgun will work for this also... NO... a 416 can easily be handheld and quiet if you make the slightest effort... but most other guns will magnify the slightest hand movements.
http://www.frontendaudio.com/SE_Electronics_H1_Handheld_condenser_p/8001.htm
very nice nand held condenser
very nice nand held condenser
SilverWolf
Veteran
MattinSTL said:
I went with your suggestion of a RE50 that you made in another thread and all I can say is wow. This mic is wonderfull. I've shot roaming interviews in a club where the interviewer could barely hear the person talking and the mic picked it up perfect
If you check out this video of mine you can see the mic in action.
http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=2018065417
You can hear her voice cracking because she has to talk so loud for the club
saneproductions
Veteran
could be phantom or dynamic.
It is a wierd budget, I was just assuming that you couldn't get a good mic cheap. I was thinking I could get something I could use for other stuff too. I guess I assumed wrong.
That SE mic looks nice too.
Thanks
It is a wierd budget, I was just assuming that you couldn't get a good mic cheap. I was thinking I could get something I could use for other stuff too. I guess I assumed wrong.
That SE mic looks nice too.
Thanks
MattinSTL
Sound Modulator
That SE mic looks good to me also.
Mike... I didn't mean a "weird budget" as in "wrong budget"... I also like to feel that I got the best option. A while back I wanted a mic like you're asking for... something really high-end sounding... that wasn't dynamic... I bought a Shure sm86 (or whatever the "86" model is)... and I wasn't too pleased... it sounded very sterile... like zero magic in it.
After that I considered a Shure Beta 87a or 87c... but the 86 seemed so boring that I just dumped the whole idea and went back to my eng standards... and yeah silverwolf... I still think that either of those eng stick mics are good choices that make otherwise impossible jobs work. I shot some stuff like that also... and had the same result... it was almost impossible to monitor what the interviewer was asking at the time... I could barely make it out... and yet on playback you could hear everything.
I do think that mic Oleg linked is worth a look though... I still like the idea of having a mic of that nature... for multiple uses. You could probably use that for quick 'n dirty VO work also... in less then ideal acoustics. Mics like any of these we're discussing are great for ending political careers also ;-)
Mike... I didn't mean a "weird budget" as in "wrong budget"... I also like to feel that I got the best option. A while back I wanted a mic like you're asking for... something really high-end sounding... that wasn't dynamic... I bought a Shure sm86 (or whatever the "86" model is)... and I wasn't too pleased... it sounded very sterile... like zero magic in it.
After that I considered a Shure Beta 87a or 87c... but the 86 seemed so boring that I just dumped the whole idea and went back to my eng standards... and yeah silverwolf... I still think that either of those eng stick mics are good choices that make otherwise impossible jobs work. I shot some stuff like that also... and had the same result... it was almost impossible to monitor what the interviewer was asking at the time... I could barely make it out... and yet on playback you could hear everything.
I do think that mic Oleg linked is worth a look though... I still like the idea of having a mic of that nature... for multiple uses. You could probably use that for quick 'n dirty VO work also... in less then ideal acoustics. Mics like any of these we're discussing are great for ending political careers also ;-)
saneproductions
Veteran
I appreciate the advice from everyone! I just need to decide what to do now. I will need to order it pronto on monday morning since I leave in less than a week.
MattinSTL
Sound Modulator
Oleg knows sound... if you want something that's higher end then a normal dynamic then you might want to give that SE mic a try. I'll probably end up trying one later this year.
If you want a mic that will look like every other news interview mic on cam... and works pretty good (as long as you get the mic CLOSE) then the re50ndb is a solid choice. Watch any news or infotainment show... you'll notice that they all use the same interview mic.
They sell a cheaper version of the re50, that's less sensitive... but I'd definitely spring the extra $30 or so for the higher sensitivity. With the lower sensitivity you get a smaller bubble of pickup... which is good in a really loud environment... but at other times... if the ambience isn't too bad it will be nice to have just a little more freedom of mic placement. You can decide which is more important to you.
If you want a mic that will look like every other news interview mic on cam... and works pretty good (as long as you get the mic CLOSE) then the re50ndb is a solid choice. Watch any news or infotainment show... you'll notice that they all use the same interview mic.
They sell a cheaper version of the re50, that's less sensitive... but I'd definitely spring the extra $30 or so for the higher sensitivity. With the lower sensitivity you get a smaller bubble of pickup... which is good in a really loud environment... but at other times... if the ambience isn't too bad it will be nice to have just a little more freedom of mic placement. You can decide which is more important to you.
saneproductions
Veteran
Thanks Matt!
saneproductions
Veteran
Thanks Oleg! You rock!
saneproductions
Veteran
I went with the RE50 and it worked like a champ. I made 50 podcasts in 4 days with little or no editing and no time for mistakes. It was run and gun from hell! I would never get another hand held mic. I love the internal shock mounting!
www.youtube.com/medc2007
Not my usual work btw
There was another shooter that had a little rode video mic on his handycam, you can tell which stuff I did.
www.youtube.com/medc2007
Not my usual work btw
There was another shooter that had a little rode video mic on his handycam, you can tell which stuff I did.
MattinSTL
Sound Modulator
Good job... you have excellent mic management in that clip. The one thing I was worried about is if the interviewer would be able to handle the responsibility of having the mic where it needed to be while the talent was speaking... not to mention his (your?) own voice... which is why I suggested getting the higher sensitivity model.
If you find yourself in a situation like this very often then you can also look at mounting a low sensitivity lav on yourself... then you won't have to move the mic to you.
The RE50 and RE50ndb both LOOK the same, but the ndb doesn't need to be as close to hear the voices... but that also means that a larger bubble of sound will hear more of the background noise. I'm guessing you went with the regular RE50? It sounded like you had really good isolation over the environment.
Sometimes you want the bubble to be big... sometimes you want it to be small. This clip is an excellent example of that... it's good that you (or the interviewer) handled the mic like a champ.
The other issue that's nice about the RE50... is you can get away with a non-phantom plug-on for your wireless... again this might make me lean to the ndb model... but it's still a tough call... you can always gain up the bubble, but it's a lot harder to shrink the BG noise.
Either way... GREAT JOB... and thanks for posting that clip.
If you find yourself in a situation like this very often then you can also look at mounting a low sensitivity lav on yourself... then you won't have to move the mic to you.
The RE50 and RE50ndb both LOOK the same, but the ndb doesn't need to be as close to hear the voices... but that also means that a larger bubble of sound will hear more of the background noise. I'm guessing you went with the regular RE50? It sounded like you had really good isolation over the environment.
Sometimes you want the bubble to be big... sometimes you want it to be small. This clip is an excellent example of that... it's good that you (or the interviewer) handled the mic like a champ.
The other issue that's nice about the RE50... is you can get away with a non-phantom plug-on for your wireless... again this might make me lean to the ndb model... but it's still a tough call... you can always gain up the bubble, but it's a lot harder to shrink the BG noise.
Either way... GREAT JOB... and thanks for posting that clip.
saneproductions
Veteran
Thanks Matt,
it is the RE50b that trew sells. I was not able to find the ndb. That is not me doing the interviews, that is the guy who hired us. I was running camera for the Q & D interviews. I would say that they end up shooting too much of a profile, but I didn't have much choice in the 1 minute and 1 take world I was working in. I tried to make them less boring by using manual zooms. the are 63 other clips up there too.
This is defiantly not my normal type of work, but that mic is bullet proof~
it is the RE50b that trew sells. I was not able to find the ndb. That is not me doing the interviews, that is the guy who hired us. I was running camera for the Q & D interviews. I would say that they end up shooting too much of a profile, but I didn't have much choice in the 1 minute and 1 take world I was working in. I tried to make them less boring by using manual zooms. the are 63 other clips up there too.
This is defiantly not my normal type of work, but that mic is bullet proof~