Need a recommendation - onboard - super/hyper/card - $500. - must read!!

gl2tony said:
@Steve, thanks for being candid. I can understand now why you mention the boom and placement.

@C2V No offense taken! Like I said in an earlier post, I understand that this board has lots of professionals here.

Now I have to figure out which route to go for my Feb shoot.
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I'd suggest plant mics would be something to give careful consideration to.
 
@ Steve, I will consider it. I just watched a demo of the Senn wireless evolution system on YouTube. Very Cool. Costly, but very nice.

Steve, being that you understand my situation a little better. If I needed a temporary solution while I implement a better option. (The wireless is looking like the best at the moment). What can I use (onboard) that will provide a better result than using my camera's fixed.

P.S shoot is in 1 week.
 
Rental. Find a local rental house, and see if they carry the G2 systems. These can usually be rented as cheap as $25/day.

That'll save you some overhead, and give you time to save up to buy your own.
 
@C2V I'm on the road working now and I'm expected to return two days before my shoot. From watching the video on YouTube I believe it will take me a few days to play with the G2 to get acceptable results.

It would be a real risk to implement this system for the first time on a live shoot.
 
gl2tony said:
It would be a real risk to implement this system for the first time on a live shoot.
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I don't think it would be that much riskier than doing the shoot with a new on-camera mic. The plant mics would be more consistently close to the talent that the on-camera would be.

I'm going to take a shot in the dark and guess you're using a GL2.
I'll also assume you're using a beachtek or something similar to interface the mics with the camera, so you're probably limited to two mics.
How about one wireless plant supplemented by something on-camera?

I'll 2nd, 3rd or nth renting the gear, at least for now, which not only makes it inexpensive, it will let you try out some different gear so you can find the best solution for you.
 
gl2tony said:
@ Steve, I will consider it. I just watched a demo of the Senn wireless evolution system on YouTube. Very Cool. Costly, but very nice.

Steve, being that you understand my situation a little better. If I needed a temporary solution while I implement a better option. (The wireless is looking like the best at the moment). What can I use (onboard) that will provide a better result than using my camera's fixed.

P.S shoot is in 1 week.
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Actually I wasn't thinking wireless - for some reason people have come to equate "lav" with "wireless" and while wireless bodypacks are often used with lav mic pickups, they're really not always synonymous. A plant mic would be small, easiliy concealed and connected by a completely conventional XLR cable to your mixer. It would be a lav mic pickup but hard-wired like any other mic. One could use wireless if running a cable was inconvenient but hard-wired is preferred when practical (the same when the talent is wearing the lav, for that matter - old soundie adage says "Whenever you are able you should use the cable.")

If I was going to pick an on-camera mic I'd think hard about a Sanken CS-3 as it's a short shotgun that gets its directivity using a different principle than that of conventional shotguns and so isn't quite as subject to their drawbacks in reflective spaces. Less pricey options would be Rode NTG - 1 or their new NTG-3 (your JuiccedLink takes are of the phantom power requirement). You could try a hyper but I think the handling noise it would pick up would kill you. K-Tek makes a shoe adapter that will slip into the GL2s mic mount and hold a shock mount, which also serves to move the mic slightly farther way from the camera and the sounds of its zoom motors and handling noises. I saw a clip just the other day where there was a clearly audible "zzeeeee" "wheeeeee" every time the camera changed perspective or zoomed. Even if you're not going to boom the scene, is it at all possible to get it off the camera and put it in a pistol grip with shock-mount and have someone out of frame take care of aiming it? For ambience an on-camera would work, just don't expect to get good dialog with it.
 
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Steve,

The only reason I mentioned wireless lav systems is the "freedom of movement" concern. Tony is obviously working as a one-man-band here, and has no external mixer. That's a lot of cable to deal with alone, especially since he's already mentioned how much the camera might move in any given take. But I absolutely agree... wired is always better.


Tony,

Also make sure that you wear headphones as you shoot. Whether your mics are wired or wireless, you want to hear what's happening when it's happening. No better time to fix a problem than immediately when the problem occurs. You won't be taken any unnecessary risk by renting these mics even one day prior. It only takes a few minutes to figure out the gain staging.
 
C2V said:
Steve,



Tony,

Also make sure that you wear headphones as you shoot. You won't be taken any unnecessary risk by renting these mics even one day prior. It only takes a few minutes to figure out the gain staging.
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Headphones = Yes, always. Even with my DM-20 that I can't wait to chuck!!
 
Steve House said:
If I was going to pick an on-camera mic I'd think hard about a Sanken CS-3 as it's a short shotgun that gets its directivity using a different principle than that of conventional shotguns and so isn't quite as subject to their drawbacks in reflective spaces. Less pricey options would be Rode NTG - 1 or their new NTG-3 (your JuiccedLink takes are of the phantom power requirement). You could try a hyper but I think the handling noise it would pick up would kill you. K-Tek makes a shoe adapter that will slip into the GL2s mic mount and hold a shock mount, which also serves to move the mic slightly farther way from the camera and the sounds of its zoom motors and handling noises. I saw a clip just the other day where there was a clearly audible "zzeeeee" "wheeeeee" every time the camera changed perspective or zoomed. Even if you're not going to boom the scene, is it at all possible to get it off the camera and put it in a pistol grip with shock-mount and have someone out of frame take care of aiming it? For ambience an on-camera would work, just don't expect to get good dialog with it.
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Is this the K-Tek you are speaking about:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/386254-REG/K_Tek_K_OSE_K_OSE_Offset_Shoe_Extender.html

It is possible to get a hand aiming a mic. I will look into it.

Thanks..
 
gl2tony, I shoot ENG stuff, so it´s always noisy and never a controlled environment. 2 to 3 feet works fairly well with dialog and an on-camera mic but 4 feet or more would be stretching it. I use the SG outside if there is too much other stuff going on, almost never indoors.
 
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