Photorec.tv

View Original

DSLR Audio Options - Shotgun mic vs Lav mic vs more

You want to look good and SOUND good when making videos. Learn from my experience (and mistakes) and spend money on the type of device that is going to work best for you. Links and mini review of each device below. Audio-Technica ATR-3350 Lavalier Omnidirectional Condenser Microphone | Buy from B&H $2220' of wired cable connects a small lav mic with a standard mono plug. Powered by a small LR44 watch battery. The long wire is great and gives you plenty of flexibility to setup but also gets amazingly tangled often and there is no battery life indicator. I suggest you always carry spare LR44 (buy from Amazon). Quality is decent but you do need to do a little post processing to remove the hiss present.Shure VP83F LensHopper Camera-Mounted Condenser Microphone with Integrated Flash Recording | Buy from B&H $299Lovely sound from this shotgun mic that offers headphone monitoring, audio out(to DSLR) and independent recording to microSD card. Mount in hotshoe or on a tripod. Great battery life and LCD screen display with battery indicator, recording time and more. Don't need the microSD card recording or the LCD display? Go for their cheaper Shure VP83 for $189.  An additional budget shotgun option is the Rode VMGO for $99.Zoom H4N Handy Portable Digital Recorder $270Feature rich with integrated stereo mics and two XLR ports that are powered. Tripod mount on bottom. Records to standard SD cards. When Phantom power is on battery life isn't great - good rechargeables will last just a few hours. With Phantom power off you get a few more hours. You are able to record with internal mics and externally attached mics. Headphone monitoring or record directly into a DSLR with the line out.UPDATE: The Zoom H6 is better for spoken word capture - Buy it from B&H $399Shure SM93 XLR Lavalier Mic | Buy from B&H $135So how does a lav mic that cost $100 more than the Audio-Technica sound AND needs an XLR input which will cost more? Very good. Very, Very good. Sound is full and rich with no hiss or any issues that need to be removed in post. With careful placement the isolating capabilities of this mic are excellent.On camera audio - Can actually be quite useable in some situations(indoors in quiet room. Want to hear how a few Canon cameras sounds? Watch my 70D vs 6D video - I have a short section in there where the audio from each is compared.