Rode NT5-S vs. Oktava 012-01 ... handling noise comparison?

F

fuzz

New member
Hello everyone - I'm new to the forum, been lurking around for the past 6 months or so, which helped me a lot in gathering info on what equipment to get as an indie film sound guy. Btw., I'm from Germany, so please excuse this or that typing error and such. A little background: Most of the work I've done over the years was in studios (band recording, postproduction, etc), so I have a fair bit of audio basics. I'm relatively new to on location shooting, but people have been very happy with the results I get (steady hands, two ears), so I told myself to get my own equipment and start a small business as a freelancer. Part-time, whatever, I'll see how it goes.

To the question: My equipment funds are almost down to zero, and I still need an indoor mic. Until I can afford somethin fancy, I'm kind of torn between the two aforementioned mics (for fiscal reasons I already settled for the versions with fixed cardioid patterns). I did a lot of research and some people say the Oktavas are prone to handling noise, while I cannot find any such info on the Rode (while some say it has a forgiving pattern).

So, the info I have on the two yet are:

Oktava:
- Nice balanced overall sound
- Prone to handling noise
- The newer versions (if russian) don't need the mod

Rode:
- Bit harsh
- Forgiving pattern

Sorry if this thread topic might seem a bit redundant at first look, as there is quite some similar discussion (X vs. Y) already, but my major concern is the handling/wind noise issue.

Anyway, I hope to be able to contribute in the future, and sure looking forward to some answers...

:cheesy:

Mike
 
Last edited:
I'll toss a curve at you. If money is short and you are looking at a Cardioid (usually a Hyper is recommended for interiors, though I have had good results with a cardioid at times) then consider a pair of CAD CM217's at $60/ pair.

The upside is they work really well as plant mics so you can use them later on. They have pretty low handling noise and they sound pretty decent. They are also extremely light. They don't have much bass, but you would probably end up rolling it off on dialog anyway. At about 1/9th the cost of the Oktava they are a real bargain.
 
I'm in a similar situation, i'll be buying soon arode ntg-3 + rode blimp + pool + sony mdr...

I need a mic for interiors, i think a hypercardioid is the best option, and i'm between the ntg-5 and the oktava 012

anyone worked with any of these mics for location audio in interiors??

I think i will be buying the oktava matched pair pack (with 3 capsules each mic: omni, cardioid and hyper), so i can take stereo ambiences and that. do you think its a good idea?
 
Interesting curve re the CAD CM217's. . . I'm going to have to give that some thought for our own kit.

The Oktava receives a lot of praise for its sound - generally considered to be among the very best "bang for the buck" sounding mic on these forums. Balancing that, its sensitivity to handling noise is also very well documented / cursed.

It was primarily this issue that sent us toward the AKG blue line CK93's as we frequently use inexperienced audio help, a decision we've been very happy with and never looked back. With a decent mount in experienced hands this would probably not be near the issue it would have been for us. Good hands, a pair of gloves and you might be golden.

Welcome to the forum. Be sure to let us know how it works out for you and best of luck in your new venture.
 
Just clicked on Noiz2's CM217 link - they're on sale right now - 2 for $50 ! ! ! Damn hard to say no.

Gotta love this place.

Thanks Noiz2!
 
yumek190 said:
...

I need a mic for interiors, i think a hypercardioid is the best option, and i'm between the ntg-5 and the oktava 012

anyone worked with any of these mics for location audio in interiors??

...
Click to expand...

FYI - there is no Rode mic called the NTG-5. There's an NT5 model, which is a cardioid pattern, not a hypercardioid. While they have their uses, a cardioid is not usually the first choice for a boom mic when recording dialog.
 
the Rode small diaphragm condensers are better built than the Oktavas. Much more robust. The screwing mechanism for the capsules is a bit dodgy too on the Oktavas after some years of use. My Oktava caps have several "Macken" (don't know the English word right now) from falling down but still work fine. Soundwise I have to say I never heard of anyone using the NT5 for film, while the Oktava is extremely popular in that field and considered the "poor man's Schoeps". A big advantage for Oktava is that there are many options for different capsules, such as large diaphragm (for studio use), figure of eight (good for MS stereo), etc.

As for the wind noise, it's there if you don't use a lo cut on your mixer (I always do) or recorder. Alternatively Oktava sells a lo cut cap that you screw between the mic body and head and supposedly kills the handling noise problems too. Apart from that, always use a foam wind screen when shooting inside.

As mentioned by others, Oktava offers hyper caps which Rode doesn't. While the card sounds a bit nicer than the hyper to my ears, the hyper is crucial when you can't get close enough to the talent.

By the way, I love the omni caps on the Oktavas for AB stereo ambience/fx stuff.
 
hey thanks for the input folks... i scraped my last money together and just jumped on the oktava bandwagon.

a week ago, i received the "movie set" as offered by an online dealer here in germany, containing the mic, lo cut, hyper cap and some less interesting pop shield. i also got me a rycote softie and a shock mount for it from the same dealer, and i must say i'm impressed. up to this point, i have always used shotgun mics in all situations, and the indoors difference is astounding. we had a scene where an actor yelled for about 3 minutes, it was shot over and over, so i had the chance to try my shot (ntg-3) and the oktava, and the room reflections were much easier to handle with the latter. to my ears, the oktava sounds detailed and balanced, and i find it clean enough for my level of work.

the softie/shockmount combination works rather well, and i don't experience any overly bothering wind/handling noise even with wilder swings - which i was kind of afraid of by reading lots of complaints all over the web. i had dialogue with 2 actors standing about 1.5 m apart, with one of them moving and turning her head constantly, and i was able to catch both rather well after 2 tries, which i would consider almost impossible with the bulkier/heavier shotgun/mount construction. i'm not a very experienced boom guy, but i think the okatava allows me to do a better job indoors and i can't wait for the next shoot.

oh, btw., here's where i got the stuff, might be interesting for fellow europeans: http://www.oktava-shop.com/view_prod.php?id=110


happy holidays,

mike
 
alright mike! now you're equipped with a pro-level set of mics for most situations. the difference in quality from there on upwards is subtle while the prices increase in big steps. If one day you have so much money you dont know what to do with it you can buy all Schoeps.
 
I strongly prefer the NT5 here for handling situations. It's quite immune to low rumbles. Use them day in/out. It's a sweet cardioid microphone for it's relative small size, but doesn't come in black. Although you could gaff black it, I'm not sure whether you could tell the difference between the MK012 and NT5 then. The MK012 series has that flexibility factor though.
 
alright, thanks a lot for suggestions and advice! i think i have all i need at the moment, the rest is training and gathering experience... schoeps will have to wait for a long, long time. funny experience from our last (student) movie: they were shooting super wide shots all the time, so i had to hide under tables, stretch out in the most uncomfy situations for what seemed like endless (5 min or such) takes, and so on. very demanding, both physically and mentally. they couldn't understand why i desperately tried to get as close as i could, because in the director's and DP's reasoning all i needed was a "shotgun mic", so i would be able to pick up dialogue from 10 ms distance in the middle of busy streets etc. sigh. i think this was my last student movie.

:cheesy:


oh, btw: happy new year and some nice days off to everyone!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top