wedding shotgun mic suggestion needed (on top of c100)

[Shawnvfx]

Edit * What I have: Sennheiser G3 (for Groom), Tascam Dr100 mk ii

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Hi, I guess its the time to upgrade my wedding gear and make wedding "films"

Im a C100 user and found out the internal mic isnt sufficient enough which means it picks a lot of the room/ambient noises up, and it is so hard to clean that noise in post as its gonna distort the human voice.


basically, I need a mic for clean audio recorded from the groom and bride during their preparation phase

but at the same time acts like a backup audio for ceremony

hopefully, it can record the dialogue during their first dance (cuts out background music)


it has to be able to :

1. mounted on top of my c100 hopefully shorter than 200mm (so it wont show up in wide angles, I dont have time to switch lens and mic)

2. when a person is screaming or whatever, the volume it automatically lowered, instead of higher than 0db. and it has to be perfectly quiet when the room is quiet. I hate mics automatically adjust its volume up when Room is quiet.

3. directional, i want to record whatever is infront of the camera. low ambient noise

4. handling noise has to be low



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I know it is impossible to find mics like this, but do suggest some mic that is close to this

my budget is around $1000 - $1200, cuz I need this mic to act like a boom mic for interviews or sometimes my personal Indie features.

The reason Im setting budget this high is I want one time purchase and it has to last at least 10 years , like the 416, which is ancient but still industry standard. (I dont want to buy 416 because of its age).

currently Im looking at sennheiser 8060, but I dont have a store near me to try it out, and I dont know how it performs when mounted on camera.

If there is no mic that suits my need at this budget, then im gonna wait for the Rode Videomic pro HD.

PS. the videomic is not good enough for me, I borrowed from a friend and tried it out one time and its still noisey.

 

[Alex H.]

Im a C100 user and found out the internal mic isnt sufficient enough which means it picks a lot of the room/ambient noises up, and it is so hard to clean that noise in post as its gonna distort the human voice.

Before plunging a considerable amount of money into a microphone, it might be wise to study up on audio recording for video, and how mics work. There's a great tutorial video available for download from the DVXUser store that is a good starting place. You'll also find lots of good information in the yellow stickies, and by doing a search of the Audio forum for "wedding". Many similar or identical questions to what you have asked, have been asked many times before.

None of what you want to accomplish is as dependent on the mic as it is on the application of the mic. This information has been posted ad nauseum, but here are a couple of things to think about:

basically, I need a mic for clean audio recorded from the groom and bride during their preparation phase

but at the same time acts like a backup audio for ceremony

Pick one or the other. You cannot do both, especially from a camera-mounted mic.

it has to be able to :

1. mounted on top of my c100 hopefully shorter than 200mm (so it wont show up in wide angles, I dont have time to switch lens and mic)

On-camera is the last and worst place to put a mic. It may be (marginally) better than the camera's built-in, but it's still too far away from the action to get anything usable, and too close to the camera's operator not to pick up some of the sounds from the camera and handling of the camera.

2. when a person is screaming or whatever, the volume it automatically lowered, instead of higher than 0db. and it has to be perfectly quiet when the room is quiet. I hate mics automatically adjust its volume up when Room is quiet.

The mic doesn't do this. The camera/recorder does. Turn off any kind of AGC/ALC (Auomatic Gain Control or Automatic Leveling Control) feature in your camera's audio setup menu. Set your recording level so that the loudest sound source you have doesn't peak. And if you move from a quieter location to a louder one, or vice versa, you'll need to adjust your recording levels.

The most important thing, though, is to buy a good set of headphones use them. If you aren't listening, you have no idea what you're recording and you'll have to live with mistakes after it's too late. Listen, and you can detect - and fix - problems as they arise.

... hopefully, it can record the dialogue during their first dance (cuts out background music)...

3. directional, i want to record whatever is infront of the camera. low ambient noise

The mic will record whatever you point it at. If it's on top of the camera, it will record whatever's in front of the camera. If the ambient sound source that is troublesome, is in front of the camera (even if it's behind the subject), it will be recorded.

4. handling noise has to be low

Handling noise is a concern, and mics with lower handling noise are certainly preferable, but a proper shock isolation mount will go a long way.

my budget is around $1000 - $1200, cuz I need this mic to act like a boom mic for interviews or sometimes my personal Indie features.

There is no such thing as a "boom mic." The boom is just a pole, and there can be any one of a selection of mics mounted to it... including (and often) a shotgun. The accuracy and rejection of a boomed mic comes from a combination of the mic's response pattern and the placement of the mic. If you want it to act like a boomed mic, it needs to be on a boom.

 

[Shawnvfx]

Before plunging a considerable amount of money into a microphone, it might be wise to study up on audio recording for video, and how mics work. There's a great tutorial video available for download from the DVXUser store that is a good starting place. You'll also find lots of good information in the yellow stickies, and by doing a search of the Audio forum for "wedding". Many similar or identical questions to what you have asked, have been asked many times before.

None of what you want to accomplish is as dependent on the mic as it is on the application of the mic. This information has been posted ad nauseum, but here are a couple of things to think about:



On-camera is the last and worst place to put a mic. It may be (marginally) better than the camera's built-in, but it's still too far away from the action to get anything usable, and too close to the camera's operator not to pick up some of the sounds from the camera and handling of the camera.



The mic doesn't do this. The camera/recorder does. Turn off any kind of AGC/ALC (Auomatic Gain Control or Automatic Leveling Control) feature in your camera's audio setup menu.



The mic will record whatever you point it at. If it's on top of the camera, it will record whatever's in front of the camera. If the ambient sound source that is troublesome, is in front of the camera (even if it's behind the subject), it will be recorded.



Handling noise is a concern, and mics with lower handling noise are certainly preferable, but a proper shock isolation mount will go a long way.



There is no such thing as a "boom mic." The boom is just a pole, and there can be any one of a selection of mics mounted to it... including (and often) a shotgun. The accuracy and rejection of a boomed mic comes from a combination of the mic's response pattern and the placement of the mic. If you want it to act like a boomed mic, it needs to be on a boom.

Thank you for correcting my terms, but you didnt give me any suggestion, btw I currently own Tascam Dr100 Mkii recorder as well.

 

[Alex H.]

Thank you for correcting my terms, but you didnt give me any suggestion,

Because until you do some research on how to use the mic, no amount of money you spend will get the results you want. You can buy a $20 POS from eBay, or spend $3k on a Schoeps. It won't make a difference. Further, one mic is not going to cover you for a wedding. At all.

But, since a model number is the only answer you want:

Sennheiser 416
Audio Technica AT875
RØDE NTG-1
RØDE NTG-2
RØDE NTG-3
Sennheiser 8060

Pick one. I'm not trying to be flip, but the reality is that there's so much more to audio recording for a wedding than just this one mic. Plus, the original question was about usage of a mic that won't do the mic (or your video) any justice at all. Any of the above can be used to record wedding audio, as a smaller piece of a larger setup.

And the other reality is that we have so much of this information on the site already, it comes down to giving a man a fish, or teaching him how to fish. Honestly, you'll be better off if you read some stickies, watch some tutorials, and get a better understanding so that you can make an informed purchase. I can give you a model recommendation of a really super-fantastic shotgun mic... but what if you buy it and learn the hard way that it wasn't the right way to go, or because you don't know how to use it you blame the mic (and worse, the one who recommended it) for a wasted purchase?

btw I currently own Tascam Dr100 Mkii recorder as well.

That's helpful, especially for the ceremony. You can record several mics (a couple to the camera, a couple to the recorder, plus the recorder's built-ins as ambient/room mics for the ceremony) and have control over the mix when you go to edit.

Do you have any other sound gear? Other mics? A mixer?

 

[Shawnvfx]

Because until you do some research on how to use the mic, no amount of money you spend will get the results you want. You can buy a $20 POS from eBay, or spend $3k on a Schoeps. It won't make a difference. Further, one mic is not going to cover you for a wedding. At all.

But, since a model number is the only answer you want:

Sennheiser 416
Audio Technica AT875
RØDE NTG-1
RØDE NTG-2
RØDE NTG-3
Sennheiser 8060

Pick one. I'm not trying to be flip, but the reality is that there's so much more to audio recording for a wedding than just this one mic. Plus, the original question was about usage of a mic that won't do the mic (or your video) any justice at all. Any of the above can be used to record wedding audio, as a smaller piece of a larger setup.

And the other reality is that we have so much of this information on the site already, it comes down to giving a man a fish, or teaching him how to fish. Honestly, you'll be better off if you read some stickies, watch some tutorials, and get a better understanding so that you can make an informed purchase. I can give you a model recommendation of a really super-fantastic shotgun mic... but what if you buy it and learn the hard way that it wasn't the right way to go, or because you don't know how to use it you blame the mic (and worse, the one who recommended it) for a wasted purchase?



That's helpful, especially for the ceremony. You can record several mics (a couple to the camera, a couple to the recorder, plus the recorder's built-ins as ambient/room mics for the ceremony) and have control over the mix when you go to edit.

Do you have any other sound gear? Other mics? A mixer?

first, thank you so much for being patience


yeah, a pair of sennheiser G3's just to cover the speeches and stuff

The only reason I need a shotgun is because I need a on cam solution that records clean audio, or at least the human voice in front of the camera is louder than the ambient noise.

I need that for:

during the morning when lots of things going on in the hotel room, I need only the sound in front of the camera, not the Air conditioning sound, cars passing by etc. it is ok if it still picks up some of those noises, but at least I want the human voice is the most prominent thing in the audio track

during the ceremony for audio back up where I am 5 - 10 meters away from the subject (just a back up and sync)

during the dancing where I am 2-4 meters away from the subject, I need audio from the subject, Lav doesnt work here since the background music is pretty loud and overwhelms the human voice.

 

[recordingwhiz]

5 to 10 meters? even 2 to 4 in a noisy environment? wow, there is no magic mic that can do that...

read the stickies please. all the answers you are looking for are in there, I promise, this is a very very common question.

just remember, you cant cheat physics.

Cheers

 

[Alex H.]

The mic isn't going to get you clean audio on top of a camera and at 2-10 meters. For clean dialog, the mic needs to be close. 22 inches is at the far end of an effective range. And the air conditioning and the traffic... if they're in direct line-of-sight with the camera/mic, they'll be recorded. Also, mics aren't able to discern the human voice on top of ambient noise, especially if the ambient noise is in the same frequency range as the voice.

Again, it really doesn't matter which one you get, though you can compare specs yourself and look for the ones with the least self-noise. If it's on the camera, it isn't going to do what you want.

It's good that you have the G3 systems. Those should be your bread and butter.