shotgun or oktava

[Dan Park]

So I'm going to be travelling for a few weeks, and I will be shooting run'n'gun with a cameramounted microphone. Environments will be both indoor/outdoor... i know there is no best "all around" microphone, but i think i've narrowed it down to getting either the AT4073a or the Oktava mc012.

if i were to shoot in a quiet forest or park, with my subject speaking <4 or 5 feet away, and then i were to shoot in a crowded bar, subjects <3 feet away... which mic would hold up best? I probably won't need the reach of the shotgun, but would its off-axis rejection be better for the bar situation?

On another note, would a 12cm medium hole rycote windscreen fit both mics? and would the K-SMS mount fit both?

thanks,
dan

[Bryan Beasleigh]

Run and gun will need a short shotgun. the oktava is a great mic but not really built for run and gun.

The same wind protection definetly would not fit both mics. The Oktava has a belled end to it's capsule. it's 22mm tapering to 20mm, so a softie really won't work. So far as the 12 cm , that's almost thew length of the mic.

Matt Gettemeier and myself both use rycote baby ball gags on the Oktava. We slip a 20mm ball gag over the preamp and then screw the capsule on.

The KSSM with the soft rubber is the best shock mount and it will actually work for either mic. All you do is spread the bands apart for a kheavier mic. The K-Tek mounts all fit between 19 and 25mm mic barrels

The 4073 is a short shot so you'll need the medium 12 cm.

For a combined situation of close. crowded then outside the perfect choice would be the sanken CS1.

Listen to the CS-1 axis demo ,the mic acts as a hypercardoid and short shotgun with the rear lobe of a cardoid (actually lack of one)
The mic is around $700 but it does the job of several. there are three cuts and they all show the phenominal ability of the CS-1 to reject off axis sound. The CS--1 is one of the few mics to actually remain a hyper through all frequencies. At the lower frequencies many hypers and shotgun almost become omni.

For an inexpensive dialog mic for interiors , you can't beat the Oktava. It's so close to mics costing 10 times as much than it should be. There are some clips on the same link that i've included.

[Dan Park]

Thanks Bryan-- the CS-1 sounds great on the samples (thanks Bryan and Matt). I think I might go ahead and upgrade to the CS-1, seeing how it would last for a very long time anyway.

As for wind protection, the Rycote 12cm softie would probably fit the CS-1, but would a Lightwave Miniscreen+Lightwave Minisock offer better protection? Or even the miniscreen alone?

Thanks so much,
Dan

[Bryan Beasleigh]

Don't assume that the medium 12 cm will fit everything.The CS-1 is a small diameter mic. Check rycote's list and if you can't find it email them. I spoke with the owner of Rycote, she also owns Lightwave so her opinion was that the Rycote was better. The CS-1 comes with a foam windscreen. You could fit that with a Pole Cat or Rycote. Windjammer (fur cover fits over foam)