[Ty Ford]

Hello Crye and welcome to the Cow Audio Forum,

“So can I use ANY Lapel mic (LAV) for my video camera? i.e. Are they universal? Or do I need to have a specific lapel mic for a specific video camera? BTW, someone said ‘Omnidirectional’ LAV is the way to go for my purposes.

They also said “If your camcorder has a 1/8″ jack, a wireless base station (that can receive an audio feed from a single lav) can be used” … My cam has that jack(which I also use with my shortgun mic), but considering what I said, do I really need this connection for my purposes(non-LIVE to a current audience)? I always see Lavs in ‘pairs’ with other ‘things’ (guessing transmitters, receivers etc) … So I ask, for my purposes, do I need all that (or which of them do I need)? How do I finally get the audio files to PC, and what format considerations should be in mind pre and post?”

Your camera has a stereo unbalanced mic input jack. Lavs are mono, so you have to have the right cable or your audio will only go to one channel. That may or may not be OK for you.
Lavs are somewhat universal, but there are considerations. You will be in a stadium shooting people at a distance, right? What are they doing?

My best guess, given that I don’t have enough information, is that you should get a Sennheiser G3 set of wireless transmitter body mic and a receiver. Get the kit that comes with body mic, receiver and lav. The receiver has a bracket that will allow you to mount it in the camera shoe mount. From there you use the cable that should come with the kit to feed your camera.

You need to know what frequency band of wireless to choose for the kit. There are three bands and if you get the wrong one, you will run into interference problems with local radi oand TV stations.

Where will you be using this equipment?

Regards,

Ty Ford
Cow Audio Forum Leader

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[Ty Ford]

Hello Mark and welcome to the Cow Audio Forum.

First, the only way you could miss this during production is if no one was listening, or they were listening on crappy headphones. Sony MDR7506 or Audio Technica ATH-M50 would have told you the truth. Get ’em. Use ’em.

Second, popping a lav? Were these omni or directional lavs? Directional lavs are a LOT more susceptible to popping and are seldom a good choice. Check your mics. If they are you really have to be careful with positioning so you don’t lose the voice, but when you do that you increase the chance for popping.

Omnis are a much better solution and if you get a popper, you can turn the mic upside down so it’s not aimed at the face and still get OK sound. You can’t do that with a directional lav.

Third, I have successfully edited out pops in Pro Tools without disrupting the word. Zoom way in and you will see a large positive and negative swing. Replace that very small section with room tone. You may see more than one +/- cycle, but usually removing the very first one does the job.

When I work on audio that isn’t linked to video, I just cut that cycle out because I don’t have to worry about timing drift.

Regards,

Ty Ford
Cow Audio Forum Leader

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[Ty Ford]

Great Crye,

Please let us know how that turns out!

“Please input same on my next LAV post, if that’s not too much asking.”
Sorry, I don’t understand what you would like?

Regards,

Ty Ford
Cow Audio Forum Leader

Want better production audio?: Ty Ford’s Audio Bootcamp Field Guide
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[Ty Ford]

Hello Mano and welcome to the Cow Audio Forum.

Gross differences in impedance can show losses, but here, not so much. However the Mk ii has crappy audio. I wouldn’t use it for production anyway. I hear the mk iii is much better.

But, you need a phantom supply and the correctly wired cable to put the audio to the correct pins in the camera input.

The NTG-2 runs on a battery, so you wouldn’t need a phantom supply, but you’d still need a specific cable. Also with no mixer and limiter, you can’t control the audio level while shooting. You will probably need to do that.

Regards,

Ty Ford
Cow Audio Forum Leader

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[Ty Ford]

Hello Jaanus,

In addition to the good info you have received from Eric and Peter, I’d suggest you raise your sights from an NTG-2 to the NTG-3 as long as your camera provides Phantom Power.

The NTG-3 uses the same RF circuit scheme as the Sennheiser MKH 416. It’s humid in India. YOU need all the protection you can get.

More about the NTG-3 here: https://tyfordaudiovideo.blogspot.com/2013/01/rode-ntg-3-shotgun-mic.html

Regards,

Ty Ford
Cow Audio Forum Leader

Want better production audio?: Ty Ford’s Audio Bootcamp Field Guide
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[Ty Ford]

Hello Eric and welcome to the Cow Audio Forum.

Yes, I have. The NTG-3 pattern is a little wider.

Maybe this will help.

https://tyfordaudiovideo.blogspot.com/2013/01/rode-ntg-3-shotgun-mic.html

Regards,

Ty Ford
Cow Audio Forum Leader

Want better production audio?: Ty Ford’s Audio Bootcamp Field Guide
Ty Ford Blog: Ty Ford’s Blog

[Ty Ford]

Hello Crye and welcome to the Cow Audio Forum.

You have been given good advice here by several of our seasoned regulars.

The main problem is that you bought a camera without professional (XLR) audio inputs. While it was a camera you could afford and offers a very good data rate for the price, they got the price down by skimping on many things, audio among them.

The $170 mic you chose has a hard wired plug on it. As you have found, this may prevent it from reliably being used with an extension.

(Please know that professional mics for this sort of work cost as much or more than your camera and are usually connected to a mixer that then feeds the camera or a separate audio recorder.)

My suggestion would be to try one of these: https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/392841-REG/Rode_VC1_Stereo_Mini_Male_to.html/BI/8631/KBID/9745

…and see if it works. No guarantee, but it’s an inexpensive experiment with a piece from a company known for its problem solving. Ooops, you said 25 feet. So, guess not.

Next would be ditching the mic you bought and going with a self-powered professional shotgun or hyper and a cable that would allow it to be used properly with your consumer level audio input.

Something like this: https://www.trewaudio.com/store/DV-Cam-Mono-Input-Cable-CAMCX3F1-8.html?page=1

This begs other questions; what do you intend to record and where? If you will be doing work inside most residential and office spaces, an interference tube based shotgun will perform poorly as compared to a hypercardioid mic.

And, given what you say you want to do, I think it that the best advice would be to dive in and learn about audio, get a separate recorder and match the audio to the video in your editing program, using the camera audio for rough reference. Movie making is not trivial and that why the popcorn costs so much! 🙂

Welcome to the wonderful world of sound!

Regards,

Ty Ford
Cow Audio Forum Leader

Want better production audio?: Ty Ford’s Audio Bootcamp Field Guide
Ty Ford Blog: Ty Ford’s Blog

[Ty Ford]

Hello Michael and welcome to the Cow Audio Forum.

Please don’t feel “ganged-up on.” I think what you have encountered is a consensus that Richard, Peter and Noah all saw red flags and wan’t only to have your production sound as good as it could. I don’t see any post in which you were characterized as an idiot. Can you please point me to one?

“But they’re never quick to imply that if I don’t understand something they’re doing that I’m not worthy of their knowledge, insight or experience.”

Sorry, I see nothing that indicates that people thought you were not worthy of their knowledge. Could you please direct me to a specific sentence where you felt that?

“As a result of this thread I am looking into hiring someone to do the audio, because I will have more than enough to deal with on this project. So, thanks for that. But, along with the knowledge, experience and insight you’ve provided, I request you use a little tact.”

That’s a good choice, provided you find the right person. Please help us understand how you would have approached this situation with more tact? How can we do better?

Regards,

Ty Ford
Cow Audio Forum Leader

Want better production audio?: Ty Ford’s Audio Bootcamp Field Guide
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[Ty Ford]

Bill,

not everyone has your chops. (or something like that) 🙂

Regards,

Ty Ford
Cow Audio Forum Leader

Want better production audio?: Ty Ford’s Audio Bootcamp Field Guide
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[Ty Ford]

There are two mics anecdotes;

I have yet to see a movie in which there’s a scene where someone comes to a microphone and just before they speak there’s a feedback squeal or ring. It’s the most bizarre thing. It’s not like they don’t have control of that during the shoot. Some sound designer with too much time on their hands decided to put that in there and it’s a major cliche.

When using a live PA mic, grabbing the head of the mic in such a way that you block the rear ports of the capsule immediately turns the (usually) directional mic into a omnidirectional mic and can set off feedback. Move your hands away from the back ports, and the feedback goes away.

HNY Everyone,

Ty Ford
Cow Audio Forum Leader

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