Sennheiser 416

Luke

Luke

Well-known member
Do you recommend the 416 for an on camera mic? Would it fit ok on an hpx500? Any other recommendations? I cannot have a sound guy with me so i would like something really good for interior and exterior on camera recording. $2,500 to spend on this mic.
Thank you for the help.
Luke
 
What are you going to shoot?
When you´re doing image and sound in a run´n gun style, you might consider using wireless lavs.
For locked down interviews use a hyper on a boom for interiors, outside a shotgun will give you a little more room to frame the picture...

On camera mic should be your very, very last resort!
And you might want to use a hyper or the Sanken for it, to only record what´s going on INFRONT of the lens...

Shotgun: Sennheiser MKH416, Sanken CS3e, Schoeps CMIT-5U
Hyper: Octava 012, MBHO 603 with K500
Wireless: Sennheiser G2 100
Lavs: Countryman B6, Sanken Cos11, Sennheiser MKE2

You should get a combination out of these for your 2500$...

PS check out the audio stickies...
 
Thank you for the help.
I will be traveling between UAE (Dubai), Oman and parts of Egypt. I need to pack light and was looking for a good compromise mic that can fit the bill for many situations. I will be doing a lot of out door ambient recording and the mic will have to be on the camera. I will also be doing some interview stuff as well. So at most i could see having one camera mic and one or two wireless lavs.
Luke
 
will the mkh416 get in the way of the lens with its length or will i be able to mount it further back?
 
Desert shooting? Protect your camera against sand ;o) ...
Mattebox with flags and ND filters ill be handy too...
And get Rycotes or a complete blimb for the mics, wind will be an issue too...

Good luck!
 
If you're looking for a super minimal setup and want decent overall sound I would suggest buying a stereo (M/S) shotgun for the camera, and then if you can afford it get some wireless. Although they may be more trouble than they're worth. Also keep in mind with wireless overseas you really need to do your homework on what frequencies are going to work for you. Keep in mind that police and military in other countries may be using different ranges that overlap with yours and may give you headaches.

Back to my stereo mic idea. Your camera has two audio inputs so you may as well make the most out of them. My choice would be a Sennheiser MKH418s which has more or less the same super cardioid capsule as a 416 with an additional figure 8 capsule built in as well. This allows for mid side recording. Which if you're unfamiliar with you should do a few searches and get up to speed. This would allow you a ot of versatility in post. For example you may have scenes where you want more of a stereo image (music, street scene, nature stuff) and other times when you would rather just have a very directional "just what's in front of the camera sound" (interviews). This would allow you to have both options in post production, so you wouldn't have to worry about it in the field. If you plan on recording any music I would consider this an essential piece of gear. What fun is mono music? not much. Also I second the wind protection. You need it. A simple foam is not enough, get a rycote furry thing (or the short hair version if you're worried about fur getting in your frame) and be done with it.

I just got back from a trip to west Africa and I know that I wouldn't have used wireless much if I had it. There was just no time to set that **** up on the fly. I don't know what you're planning, maybe you have more setup time planned out, but I had to be ready for anything at the drop of a hat, and I had no separate sound guy, it was just me and a camera. Hence, the built in camera mic was the only source of audio 90% of the time. This is obviously not ideal, but if that's the situation you're in that's all you really have, so you may as well make the best of it. Sanken also makes a M/S stereo shotgun mic (Cs5 I think) and cheaper brands do exist that make M/S shotguns, but those two are what I would recommend for pro quality.


Good luck!
 
I can´t comment on the stereo setup (sounds worth looking into...),
but what´s easier than setting up I wireless lav?
If it can be visible in frame, it´s a two buttons solution (2 x ON).
You can still have your shotgun on camera.
When your in a war zone, granted there often is no setup time, but otherwise wireless let´s me do one-man-jobs that couldn´t be done otherwise (walking and talking eg...)
 
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