Which directional microphone for my brand new HV20?

[Ole Åsheim]

I need a good directional microphone for indoor & outdoor use. What do you recommend for Canon HV20?

I have a Sennheiser MKE 300 which pick up speech very good, but with no bass.

I tried Røde Videomic which has more bass, but I don't find it very useful indoors. When I tested it I got a very hollow sound in small rooms. Outdoors I got a lot of wind noice. Much more than from my Sennheiser, even when using a "dead cat".

I would like to buy a professional directional microphone, that can be camera mounted (maybe with the Røde SM3 hotshoe mount). Because HV 20 is such a small camera the microphone can't be to long, and of course it must be battery powered and have a minijack connector.

What should I buy? Can you give me suggestions?

How is output level on battery powered pro microphones (like Sennheiser MKE 66) compared to my Sennheiser MKE 300?

[Steve House]

The ME66 output is about 3 times hotter than the MKE300, 50mv/Pa versus 16mv/Pa. Shotguns in general are not at their best in normal interiors - that "hollow cave" sound you note with the Rode is due to the way shotgun's off-axis response colours the reflections coming back to the mic. It's just the nature of the beast.

[Ben Syverson]

If you're just going to stick the mic on top of your camera, don't bother buying anything... Any money you spend will be wasted. Instead, buy a cheap mic and a boom pole, and get a friend to boom for you. You'll save hundreds, and your audio will sound 100 times better than if you had bought the world's best mic but kept it on the camera.

just my 2¢

[Ole Åsheim]

Close sound is best. I agree with you on that, but I'm alone and my "actors" are constantly moving.

[Ole Åsheim]

Originally Posted by Steve House

The ME66 output is about 3 times hotter than the MKE300, 50mv/Pa versus 16mv/Pa.

Will the high output be a problem for my amateur camera?

Originally Posted by Steve House

Shotguns in general are not at their best in normal interiors...

So how directional can a microphone be, without being too "hollow" indoors?

Maybe it's smart to buy a system with interchangeable capsules?
Any suggestions?

[Steve House]

Originally Posted by Ole Åsheim

Will the high output be a problem for my amateur camera?
...
So how directional can a microphone be, without being too "hollow" indoors?
...
Maybe it's smart to buy a system with interchangeable capsules?
Any suggestions?

I wouldn't expect the high output level to be a problem but I haven't worked with the HV20 so I can't say withl certainty.

The problem comes not so much from the directionality as it is the method that shotguns use to obtain it. Shotguns use a tuned interference tube to setup standing waves that interact with sounds arriving from off axis and cancel them out. This is more efficient at some frequencies than it is at others so a gun is very directional at voice frequencies but can slip into almost to an omni pattern at very low or very high frequencies. It also leads to a pattern that has distinctive lobes of increased sensitivity at around 120 and 240 degrees. A hypercardioid or supercardioid can be almost as directional as is a gun at the mid frequencies but since it doesn't use the same physical principle to achieve it, it doesn't introduce the same colouration of the highs and lows. Instead of the the multiple lobes pointing "aft of abeam" (nautical terms) of the gun, it has one smaller lobe pointing straight back at 180 degrees.

[Ole Åsheim]

Originally Posted by Steve House

A hypercardioid or supercardioid can be almost as directional as is a gun at the mid frequencies but since it doesn't use the same physical principle to achieve it, it doesn't introduce the same colouration of the highs and lows. Instead of the the multiple lobes pointing "aft of abeam" (nautical terms) of the gun, it has one smaller lobe pointing straight back at 180 degrees.

Hmmm, interessting! Well, do you have any special hypercardioid or supercardioid (brands/models) in mind which will be suitable as a multipurpose directional gun?

[Steve House]

Originally Posted by Ole Åsheim

Hmmm, interessting! Well, do you have any special hypercardioid or supercardioid (brands/models) in mind which will be suitable as a multipurpose directional gun?

It depends a lot on your budget. A lot of people like the Oktava M012 with a hyper cap as an entry mic. Then in order of ascending cost, the AKG Blueline S300/CK93 combo, AudioTechnica AT4053a, AKG ULS series 480/CK63, Sennheiser MKH50 or the new MKH8050, Neumann KM150, Schoeps CMC641. Note that the ratio of price between the last mic in the list and the first is about 10:1.

A general purpose shotgun that is better behaved indoors than most is the Sanken CS-3 but it also runs well over 10 times the cost of your Senn MKE300.

Ben's advice is right on - there is no mic at any price that is going to consistently give you good clean dialog recording if you go and mount it on the camera. All of those shotguns you see mounted on professional cameras used by newscrews and the like are NOT there so they can be used for dialog and interview recording! Mother Nature and the physical laws of acoustics are working against you. A hyper needs to be somewhere between about 18 to 24 inches from the talent, a short shotgun 24 to 48 inches for best results.