Microphones

[Noah Kadner]

300 for both or each?

Noah

My FCP Blog. Unlock the secrets of the DVX100, HVX200 and Apple Color. Now featuring the Sony EX1 Guidebook
https://www.callboxlive.com

[Chris Bryan]

I’m on a tight budget, so $300 for both would be great. I’m just trying to get a general idea here, and maybe some brand names so that I at least have a starting point for when I am shopping around. Right now it’s all chinese to me.

[Noah Kadner]

AKG and Lectrosonics are two good Mic brands. I’d waltz through their lines and see what you can afford. There’s also lots of good used mics on eBay.

Noah

My FCP Blog. Unlock the secrets of the DVX100, HVX200 and Apple Color. Now featuring the Sony EX1 Guidebook
https://www.callboxlive.com

[Robert Pyke]

I’m even newer. My AG-DVX100B has not yet arrived! But I can already tell that I want a handheld wireless mic and a (spot)light for shooting interviews on location without control over the noise and lighting conditions. I am willing to go up to around $500 for each. Any suggestions? Also, by chance I am going to be in New York City this Friday. Which if any of the big stores do you recommend for having a decent range of choices?

[Steve Wargo]

For that handheld wireless, a Sennheiser is a sure bet. We have 4 of them and never a problem.

Mic wise, we have Audio Technica.

This stuff is in our rental department and no one has ever complained.

Good luck

Steve Wargo
Tempe, Arizona
It’s a dry heat!

Sony HDCAM F-900 & HDW-2000/1 deck
5 Final Cut (not quite PRO) systems
Sony HVR-M25 HDV deck
2-Sony EX-1 HD .

[Chris Bryan]

Thanks for all the help. I was buying a camera and B&H yesterday and I stopped by their audio department. Here’s what I found out. Apparently the iRiver that everyone on this forum raves about for audio recording no longer exists. iRiver no longer makes a product with a built in mic input.

Griffin and Belkin make attachment for the iPod with a mic input. However on a 30g iPod with a fully charged battery, you only get about 1.5 hours of recording time before the battery dies.

The salesperson at B&H pointed out the Olympus line of digital audio recorders which all have mic inputs. The cheapest one was $47. The most expensive was a prosumer model around $190.

Hope this info helps some other people out.

[Steve Eisen]

Now that you know about iRiver, what does that tell you? Reading all your posts across the forums, I can see that you are looking for the Cheap alternative. Unfortunately, cheap is not the way to go in video production. Get yourself a loan and buy or rent some decent equipment.

Steve Eisen
Eisen Video Productions
Board of Directors
Chicago Final Cut Pro Users Group

[Chris Bryan]

It tells me that the iRiver is no longer a viable option, however there are other devices that will do the trick. I posted them here, so that other people in a similar situation to myself will not waste time looking for an iRiver that no longer exists.

Throwing money at a problem is not the best course of action when there are other viable solutions. Your financial advice was not asked for nor needed.

If you don’t have any constructive advice please don’t respond to posts. It’s a waste of everyone’s time and does not make this forum any more useful.

[Robert Pyke]

Just to close the loop on my question, I ended up getting an Electro-Voice RE50/B with a Sennheiser SKP100 plug-on transmitter. I think that this is a pretty standard set-up. Anyway, used it in New York City last weekend and it worked great. I discovered that a good way to find out what other people are using, apart from hanging out at B&H, is to hang out in Times Square. Ran into two other little crews. Off the subject of this thread but I am still looking for lighting suggestions. I bought a Litepanels LP-Micro, which is relatively expensive but very light in weight, which is great for indoor and/or close in stuff, but what’s a good choice for a moderate cost options that is more like a spot, with a greater throw, but not a humongeous battery pack?