wireless lapel on a budget--is it real

[Dan Brown]

Yes, I am very, very impressed with the M012's. But, I am no audio expert. Mostly I used them for voice, but I did mess around with my acoustic guitar and the Oktavas. I think they are perfect. The sound is rich and full bodied. In fact, they need a bit of base roll-off sometimes. They are also very compact (20mm x 110mm) and light weight (maybe 4 oz)

On the down side, the M012's have no handling noise protection whatsoever. If you touch them, you will hear it. They also have no breath or wind protection. If air moves, you will hear it.

I bought mine at Guitar Center. The everyday price is $99 for the mic with cardioid capsule, and a 10 dB pad. It comes iin a cheesy plasticbox.

[Dave Largent]

Marcia,
No, you do not *need* line of sight with the
Airline. That 50 foot indoor distance I mentioned
was with the person wearing the transmitter
in another room (that is, through a wall).
I use the MiniRover. I put the shotgun on the
cam's shoe and the light goes on the Rover.
The Airline receiver I attach to any flat surface on
the cam with padded (about 1/16" thick) double-
sided tape, with the size of the tape being about the size of a nickel.
The way I'd mic that situation with the kids
is have an Airline on each of the "speakers"
going into the left and right DVX XLRs.
Here's what I might do for the ME66 audio.
I don't know if you're aware of the new
iRiver ifp-500 series compact flash recorders. I've
posted previously about them. I almost
went with one, but I chose minidisc instead
because I liked having a hard copy right away
(i.e. the minidisc). The thing that's nice about
iRiver for a situation like yours is that the
recorder is about the size and weight of the
Airline receiver so you could attach it to
your cam the same as the receivers. You do have
the ME66 AA battery powering option, right?
Run a $10 XLR-to-miniplug cable from the
ME to the iRiver.
Questions?
http://www.iriveramerica.com/products/iFP-595T.asp

[Dave Largent]

Dan,

Sounds like you're gonna need a lot more wind
protecion than just the foam ones.

How about something like this for your lav? Or is small
size essential (so as to hide the lav from the camera)?

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/cont...=253751&is=REG

[Marty Wein]

A smaller version of the windjammers are available.


http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/cont...&shs=micro-cat

http://www.remoteaudio.com/pdfs/cats-all.pdf

[Marcia Janine Galles]

Dave, thought of another airline/wireless question that will really show off my ignorance...

When going to order at B&H I noticed that it lists the same product 6 times, with the only variation being, for ex. Ch U1/801.375 MHz, or Ch U2, U3, etc. If I want to buy 2, say two of the same model, or even 1 of the models we discussed and 1 of the models that comes with the handheld option, do I need to get both with the same channel designation or do they need to be different (one Ch U1 and the other Ch U2) to use them at the same time?

[Barry Rivadue]

(from the bleachers) Dave! Over here!

With the imminent arrival of the new Senn G2s, how would that work with the iRiver ifp-500 you mentioned? I have a DVX100 too, mostly used with ME66/64 capsules.

Decisions, decisions.

[Marcia Janine Galles]

Barry, you crack me up. Question about your ME 64. I'm looking at it to use for indoor interviews, keeping the 66 more for outdoor work or larger rooms. Seems like you were happy with your 64 on a post some time back. You still happy with it?

I don't like how the 66 sounds in some indoor settings, like a kitchen table interview and rooms without much carpeting, curtains, etc., like a classroom. Got horrible sound with it in a classroom, actually. And since I already have the power module, my thinking is that while there are a lot of other options out there, the 64 just seems like the best (maybe not?) and most economical (probably) way to go. Comments? (It's OK to come down off the bleachers now...)

[Dave Largent]

Marcia,
They need to be different. Each transmitter needs
its own receiver. And the systems need to be on
seperate channels. I don't know that it matters,
but if I were getting two systems, I'd have the
channels seperated as much as possible (i.e. U1 and
U6 together).
By the "handheld option" are you referring to the
plug-in transmitter. I have that also. Tried it with
a dynamic handheld. Gives same range and
performance as the bodypack transmitter.
Make sure to read the manual regarding the
plug-in as there is a way to adjust the sensitivity
of this transmitter also, which is not real obvious.
I just set it to max sensitivity, myself.
For your planned usage, what about getting three
systems? Two lavs for the speakers, and a plug-in
attached to an omnidirectional handheld mic
for the kids to pass around?

[Dave Largent]

Barry,
I didn't quite get your question. Are you wondering
about using a G2 with an iRiver? Or how
were you considering using the iRiver?
And about your Senns, I have an ME64 myself.
What differences do you notice between the
64 and the 66?

[Barry Rivadue]

Of course keep in mind I am speaking from a generally ignorant perspective, despite my growing collection of sparkling toys:

Dave: Put it this way, I do alot of interviewing in people's houses, and so far the ME66 has done a decent enough job in that I don't find much to fault (I have it on a boom stand). But the idea of a lav wireless sounds very good because I also like to walk around a person's house as they speak, and if the subject walks far afield, well, wireless looks increasingly attractive an option. I imagine a G2 (300 model) would be good, but I'm a bit fuzzy how an i River could work with it, though I assume ease of portability might have something to do with it. By the way, I too have been monitoring all posts on the Octava 012s, but figure a wireless setup might be a more versatile option first, before considering another boom microphone.

Marcia-- I have used the ME64 sparingly so far, indoors, and other than it getting a bit overwhelmed by a very loud band once (however, I was whipping the DVX100 around mercilessly, and I had the ME64 mounted on-camera), it seems perfectly ok--though I haven't used it enough to compare it to the ME66, which I use more often as a one-to-one interview microphone). I also am filing away all info on the Octava, though I read it's very sensitive to noise. Which is why I'm now also following further findings on T.H.E microphones. I'd like to build up the audio equivalent of an artist's oil paint box! Different sounds, different brushes. ;)

[Dave Largent]

Barry,
I thought the Senn 100 and 500 systems were more
for camera mounting than the 300.
I only suggested the iRiver to Marcia because she
wanted a way to run three mics at once, so the
iRiver would handle the "overflow" seeing as
her two DVX XLRs would be taken.
You could plug the G2 into the iRiver, I would
think, but in your situation why not record direct
to tape so you don't have to sync sound later.
One possible area of concern with going
from G2 to iRiver is that the iRiver does provide
a few volts of "plug in power" at the mic input
for running electret condenser mics. Now,
with powered mics such as the Senn MEs,
you can get an XLR-to-3.5mm mini that has a
"voltage blocking capacitor" in the line to
prevent hum. I would imagine a company
like Trew audio could make a cable with a
capacitor so that the G2 could go into the
iRiver, without the hum.
I have also run into distortion when using the
ME64 around loud bands, but I found out
that it was the camera's mic preamp that
was being overwhelmed, rather than
the mic capsule. Use of an inline attenuator
takes care of the problem.

[Barry Rivadue]

Thanks for the input, Dave--now I have a possibly redundant question. For a basic, one-man setup, would you recommend the Senn 100 Evolution, or now the G2 100, as the best intro into the world of wireless? All I'm looking for is some mobile freedom with my DVX100 when a subject wanders in or outdoors and I don't have to worry about depending on a shotgun's reach. I assume the 500 would be a bit of overkill.

[Dave Largent]

Generally, Barry, I would say the G2, but with one
consideration. Who are your subjects? One of the
reasons I kept the Airline is for if I want to put a lav
on a woman or child. The Airline is much smaller and
lighter in weight than the G2. With a guy, you'd
normally clip the G2 transmitter to the belt,
or if he's wearing a sport coat, in the inside
pocket of the coat. Will your subjects be women
wearing dresses/lblouses? Is it important that
the transmitter is more concealed? A woman
with long hair could wear the Airline transmitter
clipped to the top of her blouse in the back,
under her hair. The G2 would probably be too
big and heavy for this. If a woman or kid had
a front T-shirt pocket, you could just slip the Airline
in there, whereas the G2 would tend to pull the
shirt down at the pocket due to the weight, and
create more of a buldge.

[Barry Rivadue]

Excellent point, since many of my subjects are women. Thanks--I will now go to a shadowy corner and mull things over.

[Dave Largent]

Barry,
What's the greatest distance that your subjects
will be from you? Perhaps the Airline is the
right thing for you.