Hyper (AT4053) vs. Super (MKH-416)?

CaptJackRyan said:
With regard to the AT4053b, is it an ideal mic for interior recording on an overhead boom?
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I don't know that I'd call it "an ideal mic" -- I don't know that I'd call any mic ideal since all mics are compromises of one sort or another. But the AT4053b is an outstanding value, of that there is little doubt; it is an excellent mic for booming interior dialog.
 
Thanks, Bruce. Perhaps, I've got that piece of the puzzle right. Since most of my filming/recording takes place in low ceiling/near wall type rooms, I would typically get a lot of sound reflection.
 
" With regard to the AT4053b, is it an ideal mic for interior recording on an overhead boom? "
- No mic is ideal for every situation. (int or ext.) Every pro sound person has variety of mics (and accessories) available. Like camera folk always have a variety of lenses, filters, lights and such.
Other than that, the AT4053 is decent interior mic for the money.
 
Just get an AT4053b for indoor dialog, and get a Rode NTG-3 for outdoor dialog. You'll be happy. The NTG-3 is virtually a clone of the MKH-416, only with a wider pickup pattern. When you become more rich you can get the super high priced mics. But really the ratio of extra money you spend won't equal the improvement on audio quality. The two mics I mentioned are solid performers in the mid-level market, and IMO have the best bang for your buck. Every audio kit for serious production should start with at least a hyper, a shotgun, and a wireless. You'll use all of them often. The later specialize after you've covered the basics.
 
Thanks, Chadfish and to all the others for your experience and feedback. My efforts and education will continue for learning to produce low noise and good dynamic range audio recordings that help to differentiate my work.
 
Hi, Chad, you have cost me a lot of money! Just kidding. I really like your advice and everyone else here. I am working on getting a good audio kit. I just bought the Rode Lav and Pin mic. Do you still think the AT4053b for indoor dialog, and get a Rode NTG-3 for outdoor dialog is the way to go? Then I can move on to the coolight people to bug them on lighting.
Not sure what you mean buy interior room. How does it work in empty rooms. I will not have a nice audio room that you have. For inside it will be my basement studio, just panel walls, for inside jobs it will be classrooms, small offices, and library. Is the At4053b good for that? I will hang this on a Manfrotto Boom mic and not touch it. And someone said to have no more then 2 feet away.

For outside, how far can the NT-G grab audio. I would like to use this for outside interviews, outdoor fishing adventures.
I hope this setup is good for all situations that I might cover. i understand you pro guys have more mics for situations, but my budget is coming to a close.
Hopefully it will be good for weddings to. Thanks for any advise before I go spend more money. The wife is giving me that eye that says I hope you are spending wise.
 
You are spending wisely!

" I just bought the Rode Lav and Pin mic. Do you still think the AT4053b for indoor dialog, and get a Rode NTG-3 for outdoor dialog is the way to go?"

That's my usual kit that I use! I do have the COS11D lav as well as the Tram, but the Rodes get the most use.

"Not sure what you mean buy interior room. How does it work in empty rooms."

I said "Interior dialog" meaning people speaking inside. Use a hyper for interior dialog. For outside dialog use a shotgun as a rule of thumb, but rules can be broken.

"For outside, how far can the NT-G grab audio. Hopefully it will be good for weddings to."

No further than any other mic. About 2 feet for a professional sound. 3-5 feet for a less professional sound. A shotgun isn't a magic mic that lets you be further away. It just rejects side noise so you don't have a lot of sounds from your surroundings. Any mic will sound like crap at 6 feet away. If you want to clearly pick up dialog, don't have the mic on the camera. Have it on a boom pole. For general use walking around, yes it's OK on the camera. If you have someone talking though, you must walk right up to them as close as you can get. In the case of a wedding, the sound from the ceremony won't be from a shotgun on a camera, it will be from a lav on the Groom, and another on the officiant. Yes I still have my shotgun on my camera for whatever is happening around the camera, but you won't be able to hear the bride/groom/officiant/ well enough to understand them from the shotgun. So do no go ruin someone's wedding video by attempting to use a shotgun mounted on a camera for the dialog in the ceremony. The dialog of the ceremony is the most important thing. The reception is another story, as that's mostly people laughing and having fun. Sometimes in the ceremony there will be a mic with a PA that you can patch into, but still that's not going to sound as good as a 2 key lavs. The lav on the groom will pick up whatever the bride says, and she doesn't have to have a mic messing up the look of her dress. Also with the mic on the groom you get a lot of cool stuff at the reception later. If 2 wireless systems are out of reach, then buy a Zoom H1 and put it in the officiant's pocket with the PinMic on him. The PinMic won't go through a suit lapel, so be prepared for that. Giant Squid has a decent lav for 30 bucks you could use wired to the H1, then put your wireless on the Groom.

Hope that helps! Also have some way to record the toasts off the soundboard. There is usually a mic they pass around. Get a direct signal of that, and also have your shotgun on camera as a backup.

To recap, at a wedding I do:

Lav on the officiant
Lav on the groom
Patch from the PA at the ceremony as backup (if they have one)
Shotguns on all the cameras if it's outside. Hypers if it's inside.

Speeches: I have an In-line Attenuator(pad) to put between the PA, and my Senheiser G3 Plug-on transmitter. Or I just put a separate recorder on the PA output. The attenuator is because PAs usually put out a "line" level signal, while the Senheiser's input "mic" level. But I digress...

Get a CD of all the music used ahead of time, and use that while editing any parts with music. It sounds great. Or I just buy the songs at a dollar a piece on iTunes, and burn my own CD, which allows me to then use the files to edit. Sometimes there is anti piracy stuff that prevents you from using the downloaded files, so burning a CD removes that block.

OK I've rambled on too much. That's what you get when I've had my first cup of coffee!

Cheers
 
Questions on the NTG-3, I will use this on my HMC150, and if it is in extreme conditions, I will use in on my Canon Vixia, is there something you put on the mic, like one of those fuzzy covers. Do you recommend anything?
And to attach it to the camera, I have a feeling this won't be a 10 dollar item. What do you recommend.

I have to laugh, the other day I filmed an interview with my Me66. The mic was about 2foot from the person, and laying on a little pillow on a table just out of camera's view. The woman started to talk and look into the microphone. I told her to look at the camera, and she thought the mic was the camera. I just smiled.

ok, back to question. I am sure I owe you a case of pop or beer by now. Hopefully others will be interested in your comments.

Does anyone use this with the AT4053b?
http://www.amazon.com/Audio-Technic...e=UTF8&qid=1344045823&sr=8-3&keywords=AT4053b

it is the Audio-Technica AT4053B-EL Hypercardioid Capsule. I don't want to get it, because I spent to much money now.

And did you buy any other gadgets for the AT4053b?

I think you mentioned this", You will need a shock mount of course on your boom to hold the mic without rumbling. Check out the Rycote Lyre mounts. "
Is this it?
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006GG6ROK/ref=ox_sc_act_title_2?ie=UTF8&smid=A17MC6HOH9AVE6

I am a one man band, so if the mic (AT4053b) on a boom-stand, it it not moving, it will be on a stationary one. Hopefully I can find something cheaper to attach it.

Thank you again, I feel I will have a complete pro audio set-up that will be with me for a long time. I have had my old setup ME66 for over 15 years. Not sure what I will do with the ME66 now.
 
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No need for a furry if you use it the way it's intended - Indoors. For outdoor use you need a Rycote Baby Ball gag. As for that capsule, that's the capsule it comes with, so you're good. More money for the Baby Ball Gag.
 
Yes, the interference tube, but also the fact that the diaphragm is at the bottom of the interference tube so it's farther away from the talent than a mic without an interference tube. That's why the Sanken CS-3e sounds as good as it does. The capsule is in the tip. Looks like an interference tube, but the slots allow sound to hit the other capsules that do the pattern shaping.

Regards,

Ty Ford
 
I saw all your reviews Chad on the NTG-3 and the AT4053b. It was hard to tell the difference when they are inside. They both sounded good.
It would be interesting to do a test with these 2 microphones outside. So hopefully we can see why the NTG-3 is better outside then the AT4053b. Because I know you really put NTG-3 to the test to show it should not be used inside, but it sounds great.
I will end up getting both, but just trying to see the best uses for them, and at times, I might use the NTG-3 inside if I need another mic. So maybe some extreme conditions. I can also do some tests to when I get them.

I saw a video at B&H, http://vimeo.com/36301017 saying the Rode NTG-3 is built for extreme condition, so this will be great for outdoor video shots if I take it hunting.
I am from Minnesota, and you would be surprised to see how many people getting into video hunts. I have missed some nice deer because I wanted to get them on video first. I love it, you see stuff out there that is incredible.

There are NOT a lot of NTG-3 or AT4053b reviews. I wonder why I don't see much on youtube or vimeo.
Thanks

p.s. Is there any reason I still need my Me66, if I am getting these 2 mics? Otherwise it will go up on ebay.
 
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Just got my At4053B and NTG-3
On the AT4053B, there is a little switch on the side, what is that for?

And for the NTG-3, I need a shoe to attach to my HMC-150 for outside shoots. Can I get by with a 10$ shoe to fit the mic to my camera, or do I need something more?
 
Deer Film said:
On the AT4053B, there is a little switch on the side, what is that for?
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There should be two switches. One is a -10dB pad, which can be used when sound sources are extremely loud. The other is an 80Hz hi-pass (aka bass roll-off) filter, which can be used to temper low-end rumble from things like boom pole handling noise or the distant hum of a refrigerator or AC unit. It's not very effective against wind, though, as causes more than just low-end rumble.

Deer Film said:
And for the NTG-3, I need a shoe to attach to my HMC-150 for outside shoots. Can I get by with a 10$ shoe to fit the mic to my camera, or do I need something more?
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While on-camera is a terrible place for a mic, if you must put it there you will need a shoe-mount with shock isolation (aka suspension mount). Try THIS.
 
Hi, and thank you for your info for the at4053b.
I should clarify, I would never use the mic on the camera for jobs, interviews, or such.
I just want a shoe-mount for when I go into the woods to film wildlife, or I have to hurry up and take my camera out of the car and film something cool going on.
If I end up just spending 10 bucks on a plastic shoe-mount, will it be better then the on-camera mic?
Just looking for a basic or mid range shoe-mount.
Any idea-ers.
 
Deer Film said:
Hi, and thank you for your info for the at4053b.
I should clarify, I would never use the mic on the camera for jobs, interviews, or such.
I just want a shoe-mount for when I go into the woods to film wildlife, or I have to hurry up and take my camera out of the car and film something cool going on.
If I end up just spending 10 bucks on a plastic shoe-mount, will it be better then the on-camera mic?
Just looking for a basic or mid range shoe-mount.
Any idea-ers.
Click to expand...
You'll be better off with a a shock mount instead of a simple $10 clamp in order to avoid transmitting handling noise to the mic. Rycote makes a camera mount with their Lyre system that should serve you well.
 
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