shotgun/boom mic with zoom h1?

G

gutterball321

Well-known member
I am shooting a short film next weekend and need some help with audio. I am shooting with a panasonic gh2 and have a zoom h1 recorder i usually use for interviews. Is there a cheap shotgun/condenser mic that will plug into the zoom h1 but have a long enough chord to run up a boom pole? I know i could just try to attach the zoom h1 at the end of the boom pole but then I can't listen to the audio as i record.
 
HTDZ shotgun microphone. Approx. $30 on eBay. Or any shotgun with an 1/8" mini-plug on the end of the cable. Or an adaptor.

Did you say _this_ weekend? The HTDZ will take several weeks to be delivered from Hong Kong.

GJ
 
If you just want to experiment with not spending much money, then Gregg's suggestion is a ggod one. Otherwise, I would probably opt for a Rode NTG-2 which is decent and can be driven by an internal battery. Then you need to add an XLR-cable and an adapter to 3,5mm (and make sure it's one that goes from balanced to unbalanced in a correct way). A bit more expensive, but also a bit more quality. Good luck on the short!
 
thanks. i already own a NTG-1, just didnt think there was a way to connect it to my zoom h1. anyone got a link to an adapter so I dont buy the wrong thing?
 
gutterball321 said:
thanks. i already own a NTG-1, just didnt think there was a way to connect it to my zoom h1. anyone got a link to an adapter so I dont buy the wrong thing?
Click to expand...

Not possible. The NTG-1 does not have an internal battery compartment. That's the difference between the NTG-1 and the NTG-2. Without internal power, your mic won't work with the H1, since the H1 will not provide the mic the power it needs to operate. If you already have a shotgun mic and wish to use your H1, your best bet is to get an external pre-amp, or a mixer, that can feed the H1 the signal it needs. Phantom power is the key here. Some options:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produ...es_MIXPRE_D_MixPre_D_Compact_Field_Mixer.html (cream of the crop, great i/o and great metering)
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/684281-REG/juicedLink_DT454_DT454_4_Channel_DSLR_Camera.html (not as fancy, pre-amps aren't the best, but it has metering, albeit rudimentary)
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/674344-REG/Beachtek_DXA_SLR_DXA_SLR_Active_Audio_Adapter.html (also not as fancy as the MixPre-D, same drawbacks as the Juicedlink above but with no metering)
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/563070-REG/juicedLink_CX231_CX231_Audio_Mixer_and.html (it'll do the job, but has no metering and the pre-amps aren't the best)
 
You can purchase phantom power adapters that have a battery in them and attach to the end of a microphone. This does make an already long shotgun mic even longer however. There are other remote type phantom power supply options available also. Avoid really cheap shotgun mics. Buying some thing to supply phantom power to you NTG-1 is a better option than buying a cheap mic. Use an XLR cable and buy an adapter to take it down to min-jack.
 
Of course, if you find yourself posting about needing a microphone for a film project that is only one week away, you are probably not making a Hollywood film, or even anything for professional broadcast; especially if your criteria is to find a microphone to plug into the 1/8-inch mini jack on your already purchased Zoom H1. In that case, you might go ahead and take the suggestion of someone who has tried a specific inexpensive microphone that doesn't need phantom power and fits the above criteria, including the fact that it works quite well and happens to be extremely affordable.

There are lots of options for a range of users, not all of them need to be the most expensive choices, or even moderately so. Right? (Insert "smiley" here)

GJ
 
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