Mics

W

Whiteside Production

Active member
Does anyone know if ATUS or HISONIC is any good? or is it crap? I am looking for a cheap wireless lavalier mic and I would prefer camera mount and possibly 2 channels-and I dont have much of a budget...I saw this sony set, but it's only one channel--

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=productlist&A=details&Q=&sku=205076&is=REG&addedTroughType=categoryNavigation

Or i could get this--

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=7380928428&rd=1&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3APIC&rd=1

What do you think? Those are in my price range, but both have down sides...the Sony is only one channel, and that HISONIC is not camera mountable.

Some feedback would be appreciated.
 
The general consensus is that the Sennheiser G2 is the lowest grade of wireless that you want to invest in.

Do a search and you will find a lot of people having problems with other models of wireless setups that come in below this model.

If $ is a big problem check out www.americanmusical.com. They do a split payment option that is not credit based, they just bill you 1/3 of the amount each month but ship it to you right away. If credit isn't an option then check out www.bhphoto.com they offer that billmelater service.

If its just a matter of having enough money, well that's easy. RENT or HIRE someone.
 
Um, how did you come to the conclusion that you didn't need lavs (wired or wireless)? What do you propose instead?

Regards,

Ty Ford
 
Between the two threads there's a budget issue that really should be stated from the outset... within this forum some people think that advice to spend more money is because we're audio snobs.

Trust me... it's NOT that!

If you put something like (sigh... here we go again) an Oktava Hyper up against a dirt cheap (sub $200) shotgun then the Oktava will sound at least twice as good... and it's $165. That is a good mic solution that happens to be cheap. (you still need a mount and windscreen) If you insist on a shotgun then I'd check out the Rode NT-G2.

Every week I pop into the audio forum at DVinfo.net (where I lived for much longer then here) and I just can't get back into that board... the audio forum has become mostly about the very bottom dollar route of getting audio... to an unrealistic degree... I outgrew that thinking 3 or 4 years ago and that message board is still stuck at that level.

There are threads discussing the differences in sub-$100 shotguns but the simple fact is that once you get some experience with even the very entry level of "semi-professional" mics you'll NEVER look back. I don't want to speak for the real pros on this board, but I'll never use an ATR-55 again... or a 300... or any of those. Dirt-dirt cheap mics don't perform very well... and dirt-dirt cheap wireless systems will fail you almost instantly.

If you have a DVX then you're crazy if you can't devote 15% of that budget into a mic system. I used to cringe at the thought of having 30% of my DVX budget in sound... and now it's about 150%. Trust me for wireless you don't want anything less then a G2... and for mics there is nothing good under $100 unless you're lucky... and it's USED. There is some debate about this, but I'm one of the people who really does believe that sound is at least 70% of the experience.

If all that sounds like B.S. then I won't argue the points... almost any shotgun around a hundred bucks is going to be on nearly the same level... just keep the mic out of frame and get it as close as you possibly can to whoever is speaking. If I could only give 3 words about doing sound; closest mic wins.
 
now you're thinking... as a rule, and most pro audio people will agree, the boom is the first item reached for to record a good track. After that, guys grab a WIRED lav, and then if they have to, they pickup a WIRELESS lav. (Checkup Jay Roses books for this - he summarises the whole thing really well.)

As for Azden, well, I wouldnt go there if you can afford not to. Have you looked into renting the good stuff until you can afford to buy it?

I know its nicer to own stuff, but if its not good stuff, most of the time it only fails on you, or doesnt work as well as you want it to.
 
I totally 100% agree with mattin. My problem is that I am 16. I don't have a ton of cash laying around, but I've got somewhere around $200 that I can spend on film equipment. I would love to have a nice shotgun, but I don't know where that money should go right now. I actually use a Sony DSR PD-170. And no, my parents didn't buy it for me. I did. I own a sign/banner/sticker company, which is very successful. As you know, the sony comes with a femovable shotgun. I am much of a DIY'r; I have made a matte box, steadicam, dolly, and a boom. I just don't know where my money should go. My friend and I are writing a feature and i want everything to be as best as it could be. Maybe you could point me in the right direction as to what i should invest in next?
 
OK, I'm going to chime in and put my asshole hat on because I see the point that other people are trying to make in a very nice way but just isn't coming across...

As I said in my initial response, do a search. Your question has been asked about three hundred times. The thing that you don't understand is that you are trying to do a feature with a $200 PURCHASE sound budget...

It's this simple, whether you want to admit it or ignore it, as Matt said, sound is 70% of the experience. Whatever you paid for your camera, well multiply that by 2.3 and that is what you should invest into sound.

Obviously you can't do that... What's the next best solution? RENT or HIRE someone.

Why?

Because, people will work with you for experience as long as you are honest, upfront, and don't bull$hit them.

Now, I'm not trying to be a complete prick here, but c'mon, you want a GOOD shotgun for $200. I hate to break it to you, but there is NO good shotgun microphone for $200. The cheapest good shotgun is $500, the next step $1000. We talk all the time about the benefits of other microphones, but once you actually start to play with quality microphones there is nothing good under $500.

The other thing to remember is that a microphone, regardless of your DIY ability is only about 10% of your sound budget. Cables, wind protection, shockmount, boom pole, more wind protection, stabilization, attenuation, mixing, and recording are all part of getting good sound.

It sort of sucks, doesn't it? Not really, and I can give you a very simple solution... Hire someone. Take that $200 that you have, let go of the fantasy of getting a microphone that is magically going to do everything you want, and hire someone or rent equipement.

Here in Charlotte there are rental houses where I can get a complete Lectro wireless system for an entire weekend for $50. We're talking multiple thousand dollar systems for $50. I can get a Schoeps full kit (wind protection, shockmount, microphone, pole, cables) for $50 for an entire weekend.

Even if you had $1000 you are not going to get that sort of sound (because you just blew all $1000 on the 416 and have nothing to put it on).

I don't want to be a complete jerk, but what you are asking to accomplish is not possible.

If you must own something go get the Rode Video mic, mount it on camera, and we'll have the same conversation in three weeks when you accept the fact that I was right from the get go.
 
Sorry dude, Yankee is right.

Although, I do think there are mics out there for less than 500 dollars that arent complete crap - that doesnt mean I think they're good, it just means that because you're an amateur, and you're just getting into this, maybe they'll be ok for you. Remember, though, as Yankee just said: the mic isnt the only thing - you need wind protection, and a shockmount.

Good luck... and seriously, rather use the camera mic than waste your cash on a really crummy mic.
 
Ty & Everyone else,

I wasn't trying to be a jerk, but honestly, how often do we hear this question? I hate to break it to people but for >$500 you are not going to have a complete sound set up that will yield good results.

I'm sorry if any of my comments came out rude, I did not mean them to be rude but there are a lot of things you can do with $200 but getting a sound kit isn't one of them. You can hire someone and you can rent gear. Ohh, you can buy garbage and then ask the infamous 'i have this xyz mic, why do my projects sound like crap' question in a week. Those are the only options though.
 
What can you expect from a guy in a cheap Santa suit? :)

You=the preacher
Me=the choir

Ty Ford
 
I'll join in that chorus. Preach on brother! Being honest is not being an asshole. You can say honest things in a disrespectful fashion but I don't think you did.

To offer up some ideas for Whiteside; at 16 I assume you are still in the learning phase, so start up a film/video club. Try and find people your age who are interested in sound and encourage them to invest in proper sound gear. As you guys grow and learn together you can take the production world by storm!

MattinSTL put together a good posting on a nice minimum sound kit that one can build on http://www.dvxuser.com/V3/showthread.php?t=34334 If you want to start with an Oktava taped to a broom stick, you can do that for $200, learn why it sucks, and build from there. :thumbsup:

But as stated so well by Yankee, if you are trying to get professional results, you need to hire a professional. That production budget for the video/film project?...it's not all for the camera dept, sound dept gets a slice of the pie. Stop being so greedy! (hows that for being an asshole?)

Good luck
 
so much swearing... haha! yankee, dude, you arent being an asshole, you're just telling the guy what he NEEDS to hear. Nothing wrong with that.

PS - Where did you get your asshole cap, I want one! ha ha!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top