Shotgun vs lav

[Polaroid22]

Hello,

I need to expand my audio gear. I only own a rode videomic and a zoom h6n. But I was wondering if I should buy a LAV(like sony or sennheiser)or a better shotgun mic (like the mkh-416 or deity s-mic2). I want to shoot more commercial style video's and eventually move up to short/feature films. But Im everything but an audio expert.
I guess the lav is more handy for shooting interviews. But is the shotgun mic not more easy to capture foley, voice overs and such?

Any tips are much appreciated.

Thanks,

 

[Rick R]

Get a wireless lav, with a power supply module, so the element can be used in a hardwired configuration. BTW, most of the mic elements that included with wireless systems are sub-par, so factor in at least another $200-400 or so for a pro mic and hard-wire power supply adapter. But first, read the sticky, "The $500 Wireless Question, or, "What cheap system should I get?"

 

[IronFilm]

By far your best path is to pair with a specialist sound mixer who is focusing on this and has his own gear package for rental, rather than you buying all this stuff yourself. (which will add up to costing you many tens of thousands of dollars if you tried)

But for little small shoots you might consider just a clip on wireless lav like the Sony UWP-D11 or the new Deity Wireless Connect, and a shotgun (such as a Deity S Mic 2) on a C Stand.