Recommendations: 4 a shotgun mic!!

R

rmaxmaicon

Member
Hi, I'm a newbie to all of this high-tech sound/camera equipment stuff..and I pretty much know very little about my DVX100b (only the basics) and about nothing when it comes to sound. My goal in buying the camera was to create quality product whenever I want...I'm an actor and am interested in creating short films, music videos, comedy skits...etc.
I have around $500 to work with. I'm looking for a Shotgun Mic and have thought about the Senheisnner ME66 with blimp windscreen and windsock. I know that alone would run me around $900 or so...but am willing to find something used. Do ya'll have any suggestions??
Is this a recommended shotgun mic??
Thanks, Much appreciated
 
Before you make any decisions about what to buy, I would start reading the stickies at this part of the forum. Different microphones are good for different things, and a lot of people with little knowledge of sound go buy a shotgun because that's what they recognize. This might lead to less than good results depending on what you want to do with it.

For starters, since you're considering a blimp I suppose that you want to be able to use it outdoors. A shotgun is generally good for that since it rejects a lot of sound from the sides, but this means it must be properly aimed at the actors mouths, and if there's any kind of movement from the actors then you need a dedicated boomer that handles the mic and repositions it every time that happens. If you are going to be filming indoors as well, then you might want to look at another mic (or better yet a second mic) since shotguns are generally not good when there are a lot of reflective surfaces like walls and ceiling. You can still get acceptable results with one if the room is not too reverberant, but it once again requires good positioning.

So, one key question is if you will have a person doing sound for you or not. If you are thinking of having the mic mounted on a camera or a stand, know that the results may be lacking. The best would be to get in touch with someone that knows more about these kind of things and maybe even has equipment of their own, to do it for you.
 
Thanks for the replies!

Thanks for the replies!

I've read some of the stickies...
Essentially what I'm looking for is sound that will be good enough to make a decent short film...No action based films...mostly drama..indoors/outdoors. I looked into shotgun mic because Lavs require one for each person who will be speaking and I can't afford that. I essentially want the sound to be audible, crisp, and can pass for a solid little production. The internal mic on my camera sounds crap...I'm looking moreso for a film like sound if possible for my $500 budget :Drogar-BigGrin(DBG) I was told by my buddies brother who has made a few feature films that All I would need with my DVX is a decent shotgun mic and I can create some stuff
 
Your buddies brother hasn't told you the complete story by a long shot. Shotgun a good choice in many (but not all) cirecumstances oudoors. Indoors can be another story. But it doesn't stop with the choice of mic...it also has to be used correctly. First and foremost that means handled by someone who is paying attention and positioned close to the talent. Even shotguns aren't any good when too far from the speaker and for normal dialog recording "too far" means greater than about 22 inches maximum. They also need to be tightly aimed and moved with the talent every time he moves.
 
Cool! I just read a stickie from I believe the name was Jeremy Ordan which was extremely helpful....
Now my question is: Does anyone on the website have an audio kit that they are selling?? I'm looking for the best
bang for my buck
THANKS YA'LL
 
OK, SO THIS IS THE THREAD I JUST READ!! I'm looking for something like a Kit#5-#6....Anyone here selling an audio kit??

OK, so that is my questionnaire. Pretty complete and sort of helps guide you to get started hopefully. So now to what people write me about, the actual kits. What I am going to try to do is to put together a couple of new to sound user kits for all budget considerations and situations. I will include links on where to purchase and see what we can come up with from there.

NOTES: Please remember that sound travels through a cable. I am not including cables into this post but please always budget $25-$75 for cables. Furthermore, I am not including headphones, there are numerous threads regarding headphones, personally I like the Sony MDR's for $100.

Kit #1: Ultra Budget Kit
Who It's For: People who want to move from on camera microphone situations but have virtually no money to invest. These people are not concerned with noise floor in their audio and are just looking for a small upgrade for the standard microphone set up.
Includes: Audio Technica AT55 Shotgun Microphone ($75), Painters Pole ($35), 1/8" to 1/4" converter ($10), 1/4" to XLR converter ($10). Total cost: $130

Kit #2: I don't care what you say, I'm going on camera Kit (indoors)
Who It's For: People who refuse to listen to reason and are determined to mount their mic on camera. WARNING: Results will vary with this kit.
Includes: Oktava MK012 w/ Hyper Cardiod Cap ($180), High wind screen ($50), Sambra Shockmount ($50). Total Cost: $280

Kit #3: Web Short Film Producer Kit
Who It's For: People putting together short films, primarily indoors, and looking to cut corners where possible to save money but still want decent results.
Includes: Oktava MK012 w/ Hyper Cardiod Cap ($180), High Wind Screen ($50), Sambra Shockmount ($50), Gitzo 10' Boompole ($120). Total Cost: $400

Kit #4: I don't care what you say, I'm going on camera and I want a shotgun mic damnit Kit (indoors)
Who It's For: People who refuse to listen to reason and are determined to mount their mic on camera and want a shotgun mic. WARNING: Results will vary with this kit.
Includes: Rode NTG 1 ($250), Rycote Softie ($100), Gitzo Shockmount ($50). Total Cost: $400

Kit #5: Web Short Film Producer Plus+ Kit
Who It's For: People putting together short films, primarily indoors, but are looking to invest in better materials now that they can build upon in the future.
Includes: Oktava MK012 w/ Hyper Cardiod Cap ($180), Rycote BBG ($100), KteK KSSM Shockmount w/ soft bands ($100), Gitzo 12'7" carbon fiber boompole ($200). Total Cost: $580

Kit #6: Self Distributed Short Film Producer Kit
Who It's For: People putting together short films indoors and outdoors, and looking to cut corners where possible to save money but still want decent results.
Includes: Oktava MK012 w/ Hyper Cardiod Cap ($180), Rode NTG1 Shotgun Mic ($250), Windscreen ($50), High Wind Screen ($50), Sambra Shockmount ($50), Gitzo 10' Boompole ($120). Total Cost: $700

Kit #7: Self Distributed Short Film Producer Plus+ Kit
Who It's For: People putting together short films and indoors, but are looking to invest in better materials now that they can build upon in the future.
Includes: Oktava MK012 w/ Hyper Cardiod Cap ($180), Rycote BBG ($100), Rode NTG1 Shotgun Mic ($250), Rycote Softie ($100), KteK KSSM Shockmount w/ soft bands ($100), Gitzo 12'7" carbon fiber boompole ($200). Total Cost: $930

Kit #8: Hey... Now You're Talking Package Kit
Who It's For: People looking to make a solid investment into beginning sound and are looking for solid location sound immediately. This kit will work for interiors, exteriors, and help users progress and build upon.
Includes: Audio Technica 4043a Shotgun Mic ($500), Oktava MK012 w/ Hyper Cardiod Cap ($180), Rycote BBG ($100), Rycote Softie ($100), KteK KSSM ($100), Gitzo Carbon Fiber Boom Pole ($300) Total Cost: $1280

Beyond this, well then you've learned about sound enough to start adding mixers, external recorders, wireless, and other tools. Remember these are starter kits and if they are beneath you, that's fine!

Two final quick notes:
NOTE ONE: I suggest the Rode NTG1 as the baseline shotgun microphone for two reasons: 1. I think it sounds better and fuller than the AT897 or Sennheiser ME66. If you disagree with this then by all means please go ahead and substitute the AT897 or ME66 in place of the Rode. This is a personal preference for me and I think that the Rode, while not what I would consider professional quality is the best sounding of the >$400 microphones. This is my personal, non professional opinion. 2. The second reason I suggest the Rode is because of the price point. It is $50 less than the AT897 and $150 less than the ME66. When dealing with budgets I think this is important to recognize.
NOTE TWO: This is simply my suggestion to be a general guide to where you can move forward and start with. I have used all of the gear I suggest above and from my experience I had acceptable to great results with the gear. It will of course depend on your skill level, your enthusiasm, and most importantly you desire to learn and grow before you reap all the benefits of any of the above packages. Best of luck!

Jeremy
 
No mention of skills. But I guess that's not necessary since the equipment is so cheap these days.
 
I wouldn't settle for anything below #6, since the Oktava, while very good for it's price, is very sensitive to wind and would be very hard to use outdoors. I also know from experience that it requires a good shockmount, and I would try out the shockmount listed before I buy or go directly for an upgrade. Personally, I also wouldn't feel comfortable going direct to camera without a mixer, or instead use a recorder such as the FR2-LE or PMD661, but that adds at least 400 dollars.

What many don't realize is that a decent basic sound kit is often more expensive than a good camera, and since many spend most of their money on the picture first and treat audio as an aftermath, that doesn't leave much options left.
 
FWIW, the OP was also interested in lavs, and two very decent lavs can be had for around $400 = Countryman EMW. Hopefully he didn't confuse lav with wireless kit.
 
Jema said:
What many don't realize is that a decent basic sound kit is often more expensive than a good camera, and since many spend most of their money on the picture first and treat audio as an aftermath, that doesn't leave much options left.
Click to expand...



Yeah I realize that now...When I purchased the DVX100b I didnt know squat about shooting on video nor what it took to make quality production. My intention was to just get proffessional looking stuff on film of my acting or of other friends work or for shooting a short....essentially I didnt want to depend on landing an audition to do some work in front of a camera. ANyhow, I'm still ok with owning the DVX knowing now that everything nowadays is shot with HD practically...or film of course. Sound I'm starting to realize is practically the whole thing...i can have amazing sound to a crappy camera and still pull it off whereas having a great camera with crappy sound would be less intriguing to watch...I would think. I guess I'm at the point where I want to just get some sound coming from an external mic that would be watchable. I'm gettin' the itch like my best bang for my buck would be the Seinnheisner ME66/k6 with the Rycote attachment that was suggested by one of the earlier comments.
 
Before you decide, consider the Rode NTG-2 as an alternative to the ME66/K6. Somewhat better sound, IMHO, at a lower cost. Or if you find you have a few extra $$ over the ME66 budget, the Rode NTG-3 will give you significantly better sound without breaking the bank.
 
I second Steve's suggestion about the NTG-3. From what I've read it's very close to the MKH416 which is somewhat of an industry standard, so you would have a quality piece of equipment and not have to upgrade in quite a while. It's quite a bit more money though, so if you're concerned about cost and just want to get a basic kit to start, I would probably go for an NTG-1 or NTG-2.

Also, look at getting things used (but be shure to check the condition of the items). If you get something at a good price and find out that it wasn't what you were looking for, you can sell it again and not loose much money - if any.
 
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