My new quest - the quest for a shotgun microphone

[daveindezmenez]

Now that I've found, hopefully, a suitable camcorder to shoot my movies with, I now have to direct my attention to sound. Other than buying a spare battery or two and a stand-alone battery charger for the camcorder, my next big need is a suitable shotgun mic to do most of my sound with. Renting isn't the option it was because the Des Moines office of Cinequipt has closed down.

I've begun my research and have visited the online forums Gear Slutz (http://www.gearslutz.com/board/) and Tapers Section (http://www.taperssection.com/) for advice. The general thing I'm finding out is that you won't find a great mic for around $200 but may find a good one and that the general advice is that it is better to save up the money for a great mic than to spend money now on something not as good. Considering my finances, I may have to stick with merely good.

Here are some choices from most expensive to least that I might consider:

The Schoeps CMIT 5U ($1999)

If money were no object to me, this looks like it would be the mic to have. From the sounds of things (pardon the unintentional pun), professional sound people when they look for a mic are more interested in accuracy than the subjective "does it sound good". The Schoeps company (based in Germany) has a rather interesting website (http://schoeps.de/showroom/showroom.htm) which gives interactive examples of ways of setting up mics for a piano, a small ensemble, a singer and a speaker which is educational.

Sennheiser MKH-416 - (P48) Super-Cardioid Short Shotgun Condenser Interference Tube Microphone ($ 1,099.95 on B&H Photo)

This would be an ideal mic if I could afford it. I believe it is the model that Cinequipt was renting, but I'm not sure. They might have been renting the Sennheiser ME66. Of course, no matter what I get, I'll still need to shell out for a shockmount and whatever is needed for a windscreen. I'm thinking about buying an adapter off eBay that will allow me to use a painter's pole for a boom pole.

Audio-TechnicaAT4071A - Line/Gradient Shotgun Condenser Capacitor Microphone ($ 659.95 on B&H Photo)

Someone on the forum really liked this one and said that it compared favorably with a Neuman. (I'm still a novice at lots of things about audio, so I'm not totally sure about which brands are the best and which are not.)

Rode NTG-1 Condenser Shotgun Microphone ($249 on B&H Photo)

This was one mentioned by several people as being a very good microphone for the price. It sounded like it might perhaps be the best in this price range. I'm definitely considering it if I can't do better with raising the money.

Sennheiser ME66 Short Shotgun ($219.95 on Amazon)

This one was recommended by someone on one of the forums although they did say it had a higher noise floor than the Sennheiser MKH-416.

Another mic that has been recommended to me is the Oktava (the russian made one, not the chinese one). They are supposed to be quite flexible in that you can place the pickup in different capsules (hope I have this terminology right) and have several different kinds of mics available to you as a result. I read on the forums though that they are inconsistent in quality and reliability.

I still have to save up the money, no matter what mic I finally end up with. I was wondering if anyone had any additional suggestions of mics to consider or any comments about any of these.

[Nathos]

Buying a great mic is probably a good start for superior sound recording, but it's just that, a start. Don't overlook the additional pieces you'll need (perhaps you already have them). A beachtek or mixer will be necessary to supply phantom power to mics, and convert from XLR to the mini-phono plug your HV20 accepts.

If you're shooting in HDV, do keep in mind that your camera is going to be compressing the audio using a fairly crummy method...sacrifices were made to shove HD footage onto a medium that was designed for standard definition. I don't believe that you get your money's worth out of a two kilobuck mic if your audio recorder is a camcorder compressing the audio down to fit alongside HDV. On the flip side, that 2k mic will probably last you many years if you are nice to it, and you can add pieces to your audio chain over time to grow into it.

I couldn't hear much difference between an Oktava MK012 and a Schoeps CMC6/MK41 recorded into an HDV camera...once I got a good quality audio recorder, I lost interest in using the Oktava though =)

[MartinPauly]

Hi Dave,

An outstanding internet discussion forum for "audio for video" is on DV Info:
http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/forumdisplay.php?f=53
I have learned so much from those guys over time, I definitely recommend you take a look at it.

As for microphones, here is a highly regarded review of some popular models that gives you an idea of what to expect from different manufacturers and in different price ranges:
http://www.kenstone.net/fcp_homepage/right_mic_brockett.html

You will notice that this review covers more than shotgun mics. And I wonder why you have chosen a shotgun for your first good mic. Shotguns can be very useful, but there are also common misconceptions about what shotgun mics do and how they can be used. For example, one thing s shotgun will NOT do is "reach out" for sound that further away. It would be a bad idea to mount any shotgun, even the best ones, on your camera and try to pick up sound from your subject that way. If you can share with us what types of recording you will make and how you intend to set things up, we can give you more specific recommendations.

Mark's advise to take into account other audio equipment (besides the microphone) is very important. To extend this thought, more important than the equipment are things such as mic placement and the characteristics of the room in which you record. Rule #1 is to get the mic as close as possible to your talent (or other sound source) as possible. Better to have a cheap mic close to the talent than a $2K mic that's ten feet away.

I highly recommend the books by Jay Rose as a good introduction to this topic, like "Producing Great Sound for Digital Video" or "Audio Postproduction for Digital Video". They explain the whole topic from start to finish. A good mic is an important part of the audio chain, but it's merely the beginning.

One more thing: unlike video cameras, high-end audio equipment retains its value very well or even goes up in price over time. Whether it's a good microphone, a field mixer, or monitor speakers: buying high-end equipment means many many years of joy from the use of your gear. Buying cheap audio equipment, sadly, often means upgrading to the high-end stuff a little down the road, making it the more expensive route in the long run.

Bottom line: I recommend saving for (or renting) a high-end mic. I also recommend that before you pick one, you think about what a complete audio setup should look like for your purposes, and then only buy gear that are part of this "big picture", so that you don't buy anything you'll have to throw away later.

Maybe it's time for an audio session during an IDFG meeting?

- Martin

[daveindezmenez]

I do have a Beachtek adapter but my particular model does not supply phantom power. I did do a little research and found out there is one that does but it is almost triple what I paid for mine. I looked around and found out that there are some boxes you can get to put in the line that will supply the phantom power, one of which I believe was made by a company named Rolls for around $38.

Thanks for letting me know about the compression done on the tape. I'll avoid buying too high end of a mic then. I can't afford a lot, so I'd rather find something that would simply do the job right now and that Rode NTG-1 looks like it might do the trick. Otherwise I should be looking into good way to record outboard sound so it will sync back up with the footage in editing.

The reason I'm considering a shotgun mic rather than some other type is more for flexibility than any other reason. I'm definitely not planning to mount it on the camera because I already know that is a recipe for bad sound. My plan is to have it held on a boompole just out of camera range, as close as I can get it so good sound can hopefully be recorded. I'm a little too poor right now to consider 2 lavaliers instead so I think one acceptable short shotgun will be good to start with. From what I can tell anyway, each lavalier is going to cost as much as that Rode or more and I can get going on a movie sooner this way.

I'm also checking on the rental option and seeing if there is another place to rent from, now that Cinequipt has skipped town. I'd prefer to actually own my own equipment because I'd always know it was available and I wouldn't have to worry about returning it within a certain limited time. I know the HV20 has it's own mic but I think the sound would be worthless for my application.

[MartinPauly]

My plan is to have it held on a boompole just out of camera range, as close as I can get it so good sound can hopefully be recorded.

That's a good plan. However, if you only buy one mic for this, I would recommend you look at a hypercardioid instead. The Oktava MK012 that Mark mentioned should be a decent choice if you have to work on a budget.

Hypercardioids are usually preferred over shotguns for indoor dialog recording. That's because of the reverb that you'll hear indoors, which is difficult to impossible to capture well with a shotgun. The shotgun also needs to be aimed more precisely, so it requires a more experienced boom operator, whereas a hyper is a bit more forgiving. Shotguns really shine when recording dialog outdoors, so a shotgun mic is a good addition to a sound kit, but if you get only one mic, I'd get a hyper instead.

Oh, and you should be fine with your Bechtek and the additional phantom power supply.

- Martin

[daveindezmenez]

I thought I should let everyone know what I finally ended up getting. This might be of special interest to those who, like me, make films on a frayed thread from a shoestring budget (really, really low budget films).

As I mentioned in another post, I finally ended up with a Canon HV20 camcorder and was waiting to start making films with it until I had a good means of picking up sound. I had rented a Sennheiser ME66 shotgun mic from Cinequipt (started off as Lighthouse) in Des Moines for my earlier until they decided to pull their Des Moines location. So I did some research and came up with the following gear - the best quality to price ratio at my disposal:

BeachTek DXA-2 from two angles

BeachTek.jpg (55.48 KiB) Viewed 228 times

I had bought this BeachTek DXA-2 mic adapter earlier when I was still using a Canon Elura II mc camcorder and having so many sound problems with it. I recall that this adapter cost somewhere around $120 at the time. It allows me to use mics that use 3 pin XLR plugs with my camcorder. The only problem with the adapter is that it doesn't supply phantom power (where the mic gets its power through the mic cable), so my selection of mics was limited. I could have purchased one of their models which does supply phantom power but those models are at least $300 which was more that I felt I could afford.

Rode NTG-2 package from BH Photo plus Dead Cat accessory

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The mic I ended up purchasing was a Rode NTG-2 shotgun mic for $269. I had gone on some audio forums (mentioned in an earlier post) and at the price range I was looking at they all seemed to agree that the Rode NTG-1 was the best option. Unfortunately this model could only be powered with phantom power. I ran across this other model, the Rode NTG-2 with was dual-powered. You could use phantom power or you had the option on inserted a AA battery to operate it. From all I can tell (flying by the seat of my pants here, to use a cliche), it appears to be the same mic but with circuitry added to support the battery.

I needed a windscreen to go with it for windy days but I wasn't sure what was appropriate. There was one from Rycote for around $120 that slid over the mic and there was something from Rode itself called a "Dead Cat" that could be purchased for $42. The Rycote had foam inside the furry part. The Rode was just the furry part and was designed to slip over a foam mini-screen. Until the mic arrived I didn't know if it came with one. When I discovered it did, I went with the Dead Cat.

The mic (in the package that BH Photo sold) came with a short mic cable with a right angle end on one end of it and a shockmount. The shockmount was designed to slide into a shoe on the camera but I would probably never use it that way. I intended to use it on a boom pole. I wasn't sure if I'd have to buy another shockmount until the mic arrived. I found out that the shockmount has a 3/8" threaded socket in the bottom and can be used on a pole.

Here's what I ended up putting together for a boom pole:

8 foot aluminum painters pole from Ace hardware with modifications

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I bought a 4 to 8 feet adjustable aluminum painters pole from Ace hardware for around $20 and I added some handle bar tape ($10) to the grip section both to make it more comfortable to hold and to provide insulation as a safety measure should it accidently touch something live. I had to secure the ends of the tape with hockey stick tape which my friend Gene already had. (I suppose I could have saved money and done it all with hockey stick tape.) I also purchased some velcro to place in three strategic spots to keep the mic cable under control.

Boom pole adapter

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To be able to attach the shockmount to the painters pole, I found a boom pole adapter on eBay for around $12. Now that the thing has arrived, I think I can see how they made it. It looks like the handle from a paint roller with the roller part cut off. They either sawed the metal part off (if it was 3/8" thick) and threaded it with a die or they removed this metal part entirely and put in a piece of 3/8" threaded rod. The adapter can be used by itself as a pistol grip. If you didn't need or want this option, I was thinking you would maybe drill in on the top of the painters pole itself and set in with epoxy putty a 3/8" bolt.