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Low priced lav and shotgun mics?
I tried to do a search and came up with very little. I am sure this question has been asked before. I am pretty tapped out finacially…..having just bought an HVX200, firestore, and lights and wondered if there was a decent wireless lav system out there. I can budget about 3-400 bucks, but as I make more money, I may be able to spend more. I have been doing research, but sometimes people know of a good product that isn’t in the mainstream. I would also like to know how low I can spend on a shotgun mic. I am doing this for some ENG work and my indie films.
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3 Replies
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For a lav system, you might want to consider the Sennheiser EW112P-G2, $500. I’ve used them before and they will do the job if you keep in mind the sacrifice of performance for budget’s sake. Also remember the sound you hear from professionals is a combination of wireless lav system AND the lav mic. Most mics that come packaged with lav systems are not that great. Unfortunately,great performance, flexibility and sound don’t come in cheap packages.
As far as shotguns, you can go as cheap as a couple hundred dollars. The cheapest shotgun mic that I could recommend would be the Rode NG-2 ($260) if you absolutely do not have the money. An honest comparison between the Sennheiser ME66/K6 combo ($480) and the Rode might favor the German, but it’s nearly twice as much. Don’t forget that windscreen.
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[Rodney M] “For a lav system, you might want to consider the Sennheiser EW112P-G2, $500. I’ve used them before and they will do the job if you keep in mind the sacrifice of performance for budget’s sake. Also remember the sound you hear from professionals is a combination of wireless lav system AND the lav mic. Most mics that come packaged with lav systems are not that great. Unfortunately,great performance, flexibility and sound don’t come in cheap packages.
As far as shotguns, you can go as cheap as a couple hundred dollars. The cheapest shotgun mic that I could recommend would be the Rode NG-2 ($260) if you absolutely do not have the money. An honest comparison between the Sennheiser ME66/K6 combo ($480) and the Rode might favor the German, but it’s nearly twice as much. Don’t forget that windscreen.”
You want good sound, but cheap. Good sound doesn’t come cheap.
I agree with Rodney that the G2 is about as low as you wnat to go. HOWEVER, getting a better lav than the one that comes with the G2 is a help.
The Rode model number, BTW, is NTG-2. It’s OK and runs on its own AA battery.
You don’t say whether you intend camera mounting the mic or booming it. No mic, regardless of cost does as well camera mounted as it does boomed. Closeness to the person speaking is ABSOLUTELY essential to good audio.
Shotgun mics are not good when used indoors unless you are on a sound stage. For indoors (again, on a boom) you want a hypercardioid.
You also want wind protection for any boom mic.
Did I menton:Good sound doesn’t come cheap. If you go “cheap”, everthing you do will look and sound cheap.
You think you have budget restraints?! Hollywood is constantly looking for ways to keep costs down. If Hollywood thought they could get by with less, they’d be using $25 mics from radio shack.
Regards,
Ty Ford
Ty Ford’s “Audio Bootcamp Field Guide” was written for video people who want better audio. Find out more at https://home.comcast.net/~tyreeford/AudioBootcamp.html
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We have had good results with the Azden shotgun mics. We have one each of their 3 models and they work well.
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