which mic for my T2i and quick style shooting?

K

killmaster

Active member
Hi There,

There is a plethora of info about shotgun/camera mount mics but I thought I'd ask outright for opinions based on experience with using a camera mount mic (specifically on my T2i) that allows for the most spontaneity and maneuverability. I want to find a solution that will allow me to keep the mic mounted (going to my Olympus LS-11 which I will also carry) and know that I can get good audio with whatever I'm pointed at, mostly at fairly close range.

Ran across these:
Sennheiser Sound & Light Kit with MKE400 Microphone
Rode Stereo VideoMic Camera-Mounted Stereo Microphone

I'm going to be doing a film which requires in some cases getting in and getting the shot before anyone notices so I don't want to mess with a lot of gear but want to come away with something useable.

Very interested to get others experiences doing this "one man band" type filmmaking...

thanks,

Greg
 
Due to AGC, regardless of which mic you chose, you will have audio ramping and noise issues, period (its part of the camera and so far, not defeatable by reasonable means) .

That being said, if you can manage to add a Zoom H1 to the party then you can record audio sans the AGC and lock it to video in post. the H1 will simply stand in for the audio portion of the T2i and where you would normaly plug mic into cam you simply plug into the H1, all you need to figure out where to mount the sucker, which can be done simply on one of those strobe holders that act like a second handhold as well. The H1 is realy small and light so it shouldnt weigh you down too much.

Good luck
 
thanks recordingwhiz. I think maybe you didn't see the part where I will plug the mic into my LS-11 external recorder? Thanks for the advice on the strobe holder though. Don't know about that and I'll check it out...
 
Re-read the post. The mic will be feeding an Olympus LS-11 recorder.

To the OP, there are two things to consider here:

1) Camera-mounted mics are terribly inefficient for critical audio. The mic will always be pointed straight out. While you may get a decent level on dialog at close range, you're also going to hear everything happening behind the subject as well. So don't expect miracles out of this solution.

2) Stereo mics are not the way to go, if you are planning to record any dialog at all. Dialog is always recorded in mono, and panned to the center of the mix in post. If you need to pick up some ambient sound beds (which can be in stereo) in the field, you can always use your LS-11 and its built-in mics to record rooms, fields, forests, rivers, etc.

Rode makes a mono VideoMic, and if you absolutely must go with a camera-mounted solution that would be one to consider. There's also one from Azden, though I'm not a fan of anything with the Azden name on it. Sennheiser also makes one, as you found. I use the Rode VideoMic on my T2i, even though audio recorded to the camera is for reference only, and critical audio is recorded separately. It's a vast improvement over the pinhole mic on the camera.
 
great tips C2v! thanks... would there be a solution you can think of other than camera mounted if I want to shoot everything by myself? maybe hat mounted :)
 
killmaster said:
great tips C2v! thanks... would there be a solution you can think of other than camera mounted if I want to shoot everything by myself? maybe hat mounted :)
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If you are one-man-banding it, your options are certainly limited. A camera-mounted mic can help pick up some non-critical b-roll audio. However, I'd pack a small sound kit with you for interviews/dialog, including a lav (wired or wireless) or two and a small mixer or pre-amp (Sound Devices MixPre or MM-1). And please, please do not forget a good set of headphones. Listen to your audio as you record. If you find a problem with your sound in the edit bay, it's too late.
 
It depends on what you are doing. If you are making a guerilla doc then camera mounted is probably right in the zone, if your trying to have a "polished" feature sound it's not going to make it. Most people are somewhere in between so YMMV. The VIDEO MIC works surprisingly well, but nothing is going to give you really clean close dialog with out getting close. You can probably rig something but ... you may look pretty goofy and not too incognito. I helped a friend build this mount

DSCF1882.JPG

to hold a small monitor for some shooting he was doing.
 
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thanks Noiz2!

definitely guerilla style. I don't even care about pristine quality outside of you being able to hear without straining.
 
Not hijack this post, but I have question regarding my future t2i and my VideoMic:

With the H4, can I attach my RODE VideoMic with an XLR adapter? If so, will the sound improve tremendously? As much I like the VideoMic, I can hear the noise and I'm wondering if the H4 will reduce those vague noises (you know like, "pssssssssssh" aka ocean noise... I don't know. lol.) Or should I just use the H4?

The reason I wanna attach the VideoMic is because I wanna use a boom pole.
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No, changing connectors is not going to improve anything with the mic. BUT, you say you "hear" the noise, but where? If your going into a decent recorder then it's probably the mic, though could be gain structure (ie having something turned down too low and cranking a level up later will bring out noise). If your recording into something like the camera then it generally crappy sound section is probably more to blame. If your just patching it in to something and listening with headphones and not recording then it could also be the headphone amp. For some stupid reason (probably $), some headphone amps are really noisy and or underpowered. You have to know your box. THe old Tascam DAP-1 headphone amp was easy to overload so most of the time when you thought you heard a clip (probably run into this more in FX where we don't leave as much headroom and your often monitoring hot to drown out the environment) it was the headphone amp and the recording was fine. The H4 alone is not a good dialog setup, your going to want some mono directional mic attached to it.
 
C2V said:
Except that's exactly what you're doing. You've posted the question in another forum. It'll be answered there.
Click to expand...

To be fair I think he really should start the question as a thread in the audio section. He was told in that other thread to post his sound questions here so...
I would have never seen the first post since it's in the Cinematography section, I searched because of your comment.

So OP, post your sound questions in the sound section, you will get more informed responses. AND don't double post, it clogs the bandwidth.
 
OK, but you haven't given enough info for anyone to tell. At the core no mic will improve by connecting to a different recorder. The exception is a recorder that under powers a mic that needs power. But basically the mic puts out X and the recorder records ? So if your not recording to a good recorder I'm not sure how your judging the mic.
 
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