Oktava MK012 w/ Hyper Cardiod Cap?

[jaredgiese]

Just wondering, I noticed in the sticky up top that the poster included this in alot of his little recommended kits and also I have seen alot of people talking about this mic. What is so good about it and why do people buy it along with another shotgun mic?

 

[atomick]

The Oktava is similar in overall concept as the extremely high-end Schoeps one sees on movie sets: modular, small, multiple capsules. Unlike the Schoeps, they're 1/10th of the price and are made in Russia. I personally think it's this form factor, more than their sonic characteristics, that makes people dub them the "poor man's Schoeps." I don't know of a swappable capsule modular mic system for less dosh.

They do have a frequency response that does lend itself well to reproducing the human voice. The same can be said of their noise floor: feed it solid levels and it's fine, but try to record quiet sources or very subtle dialogue with them and you'll find the noise floor fast. Super hissy.

The hypercardioid capsule is great for indoor dialogue for the same reason all hypers are good for the same thing: solid off-axis noise rejection without all the problems that the interference-tube design of shotgun mics have indoors. Having a hypercardioid and a shotgun is a wise investment due to this interior-exterior issue, but for the novice, a cardioid is more forgiving and sounds just as good if you can get it close enough to overwhelm room noise with the actual sound source. The Oktava capsules sound "duller" - more high-frequency attenuation - the narrower they get, in my experience. This isn't bad, just reality. Some voices totally benefit from this. But, for example, I'd never record full-frequency sound effects with a hyper Oktava.

So, overall, they're a decent value. If you get one modded, like from OktavaMod.com, things improve somewhat. I own an OktavaMod MK012 with an omni, cardioid, and hypercardioid capsule. It's a good unit, and I love having a semi-decent mic that I can put in odd situations and not cry if it totally bites it or gets fried.

But Schoeps, they're not. Just know what yer buyin', and you might just love 'em.

 

[unclebob6958]

The Oktavas have a very good rep. They are a little less forgiving of handling noise, but not a problem for a good boom-op.

There are some cheap Chinese copies in circulation. Make sure you get in writing that you are getting an authentic Russian mic, not a knock-off.

 

[jaredgiese]

Ok thanks you two, just wasn't sure exactly what the hype was about it. Will probably get one eventually