Mic Agreement for AF100?

[lawrenceingram]

Ok, there's a VERY long thread that seems to have gone back and forth, but doesn't address my basic question. The ME66/K6 gets bad reviews here (I'm told), but it has -66dB sensitivity which Jan recommends. Perhaps a more sensitive mic with a pad would be better. Then, in a quieter situation, I could remove the pad and utilize the additional sensitivity. I do most audio with lav mics, but definitely want a backup.

So what mic would you guys recommend for $500 or less?

Thanks,

Lawrence

 

[BerkeleyBob]

Please re-read message #27 in that thread and you'll see Jan got her facts wrong on the sensitivity of the ME66. Actually Sennheiser advertises it as a high sensitivity mic.
The listed audio spec on the AF100 is -50/60db and Jan said she had contacted Panasonic to get them to correct their brochure recommendation of a mic with a sensitivity of -40db because it was too hot for the camera. Unfortunately, a sensitivity of -40 is not very sensitive at all. In fact, no poster in that thread was able to find a professional directional mic with a sensitivity lower than -40db to match the AF's -50db. Of course, you can always use an 4" attenuator from either AT or Shure to pad the sensitivity down by -10 or -20 db which isn't an ideal solution either. So the search goes on to find the perfect shotgun for the AF.

 

[lawrenceingram]

Please re-read message #27 in that thread and you'll see Jan got her facts wrong on the sensitivity of the ME66. Actually Sennheiser advertises it as a high sensitivity mic.
The listed audio spec on the AF100 is -50/60db and Jan said she had contacted Panasonic to get them to correct their brochure recommendation of a mic with a sensitivity of -40db because it was too hot for the camera. Unfortunately, a sensitivity of -40 is not very sensitive at all. In fact, no poster in that thread was able to find a professional directional mic with a sensitivity lower than -40db to match the AF's -50db. Of course, you can always use an 4" attenuator from either AT or Shure to pad the sensitivity down by -10 or -20 db which isn't an ideal solution either. So the search goes on to find the perfect shotgun for the AF.

Thanks! I thought maybe I was going crazy and just couldn't find it. But I suppose if it's not really a good solution to have the pad, then it's understandable why no one agreed on a good mic. I appreciate your response!

Lawrence