Recorder/Mic combo for casual DSLR setup

[radicalkat]

Hello,


I've got a friend who is a teacher and is asked now and then to record events at school. Plays and stuff. He has a Nikon D7000 and wants to do better with his audio. He asked for advice on a recorder and mic combo. He wants to mount the mic on the accessorie shoe of the camera. He's looking to spend under $200 total. Any advice?


I have a Tascam Dr100 mkII and an AT short shotgun that I use for indie shorts. I'm very happy with it, but it's too expensive for him. I'm not familiar with the less expensive Tascam or Zoom recorders. Mic advice would be welcome, also.


Thanks!

 

[Rick R]

A single camera mounted mic (no matter how much you spend) ain't gonna do it. A wireless lav mic system (or very small recorder with a lav plugged into it) may be good for lectures and such. Patching into to the 'house' PA for event type presentations is also common.
Patching into a PA has been previously covered in depth, so search this forum for more info on that aspect.

 

[Noiz2]

For what you describe I would go with one of the RODE VideoMics and skip the recorder.

The reasoning.
Dual system is a lot more complicated and it doesn't sound like that is going to be a good choice.
It will up his quality a step or two and pretty much not require a change in work flow.
And it should be "good enough" for now.

Also if he does decide to go dual he will want a decent track on the camera to sync to and the VM will be vastly better than the built in mic.

I have a friend who was videoing his kids plays and such. What he would do is tie up his rig pretty high on a post (that was part of the space) at about the third row and run that stereo pair down to his NAGRA. Then use a bunch of consumer camcorders to shot and then post sync it all. Worked really well and that is probably the next step after getting a decent mic on the camera. Well probably not Neumann mic's and a NAGRA but same idea.

I would not feed off the console, especially for school events. In a big venue with a mixer who knows what they are doing and IF it's all miced, that is a different thing but a student mixer in a school environment - your just asking for greif.

 

[John Willett]

I've got a friend who is a teacher and is asked now and then to record events at school. Plays and stuff. He has a Nikon D7000 and wants to do better with his audio. He asked for advice on a recorder and mic combo. He wants to mount the mic on the accessorie shoe of the camera. He's looking to spend under $200 total. Any advice?

Under $200 - no - that budget is so low as to be not worth doing at all.

That budget is so cheap that the on-board camera mic. would likely be better quality.

Even 40 years ago thet budget would have been considered too low!

 

[davidp158]

mic placement is key to the improvement he seeks

mic placement is key to the improvement he seeks

$200 won't go far, but even a basic recorder like the Tascam DR-40 (about $150) and some budget condenser mics properly placed will work better than if the mics are placed directly on the camera.

Mics placed on the camera only work if the camera is very close to the talent. In a noisy room, especially a gymnasium, mics at a distance just don't cut it. There will be too much ambient mush, just like what your friend hears when recording audio with his camera's built in mic. You might get by shooting an interview in a quiet room, but trying to capture a stage event with on-camera mics will not give the improvement he hopes for.

BTW, cheap mics properly placed can sound better than expensive mics in the wrong location. If he is only recording dialog, a single mic for mono audio will get him started, and he can add a second one for stereo at a later time.

Hello,

I've got a friend who is a teacher and is asked now and then to record events at school. Plays and stuff. He has a Nikon D7000 and wants to do better with his audio. He asked for advice on a recorder and mic combo. He wants to mount the mic on the accessorie shoe of the camera. He's looking to spend under $200 total. Any advice?'
I have a Tascam Dr100 mkII and an AT short shotgun that I use for indie shorts. I'm very happy with it, but it's too expensive for him. I'm not familiar with the less expensive Tascam or Zoom recorders. Mic advice would be welcome, also.
Thanks!