would that be better go with wired mic than cheap wireless mic system??

L

liukaitc

Active member
I need a handheld mic...I know people here would recommend G3..that cost 600..
Sony UWP-v2 cost 500..
but either one is not within my budget....
I can only afford the Samson um1..that is 200..and I know people here would not recommend it...(but hey..this unit got great customer review at b&h)

so is that better just buy a wired handheld mic fisrt than a 200 buck wireless one???
 
Even if you have a $5000 wireless mic system (like a digital Lectrosonics or Zaxcom, et.al.) wired is ALWAYS better than wireless. No exceptions, no caveats. Even Lectrosonics, Zaxcom, et.al. will tell you that wired is always better.

Now, certainly there are places where wired would be inconvenient, impractical, or even impossible. THEN we are FORCED to use wireless as a less desirable alternative.

Sub $500 wireless systems are unreliable, fiddly, cheap, trashy, plastic, disposable toys. They will ALWAYS fail at the least opportune moment. If there are any exceptions to this rule, in >25 years of following this topic online (back before the internet, using USENET), nobody has ever made a credible demonstration of a sub-$500 reliable, decent system.

There, I have used the word "ALWAYS" TWICE in the same posting, and I feel quite justified.
 
ye..I understand wired always has better sound quality..
but the reason for me obviously is that it is much less expensive than a 600 wireless mic...
I would like to use handheld mic for event interview type video...
would wired one just be fine?? would the wire cause hassle at event? I do not have experience yet..I can not imagine..
u guys have experience..
 
We can only speak from the perspective of sound quality. Wired will always be better than wireless.

As for whether a wired hand-held mic for interviews would be PRACTICAL for YOUR application depends on your application. Clearly, only YOU can make that decision as we have no clue what the situation is.

What kind of event? Are you in a fixed location on a tripod, or walking around? How far away is the camera from the interviewer/interviewee? Does the person doing the interviewing have any experience? (Or practical street-smarts?) Would you be able to have another person as a production assistant to help wrangle interviewees, keep the mic cable from becoming a possible trip hazard, etc? Are you the producer? Or is the interviewer the "producer"? There are dozens of variables here.

Of course, we are assuming that you have good headphones to monitor the audio whenever the camera is recording. No matter what kind of mic you are using.
 
If you're on that tight of a budget wireless shouldn't even be a consideration. Those lower end ones are not reliable enough.

That said, if you were able to get a proper wireless (G3 being my personal choice) I would absolutely recommend it above any wired system. They are very reliable and can be used for a lot more situations than a wired mic. That's speaking from the side of convenience and practicality, which wins out over marginal quality changes in my mind. I know you can't afford to buy those, but you may want to consider renting. You don't have to own an entire studio setup to film something, not with all of the low cost rental options you can find online and sometimes locally. Again, it depends on your needs.

And as with the above, headphones are absolutely critical, so make sure you don't skimp on that. Those you'll want to buy.
 
the biggest issue of cheap wireless microphones is the inability to choose what frequency you are running on. Especially in a city, you will run into rf issues that will cripple your wireless. I have had experiences where even my g3s have only had a 10 foot distance reliability in the cleanest channel I could find.

Aside from audio quality, wireless systems are not something that you should put all of your faith in. They fail... often. first invest in a good wired mic, then invest in a wireless mic. I would rather have a little bit of an inconvenience with a cable than something that doesn't work at all.
 
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