Whats the best Shotgun Mic for Weddings and Interviews?

[Kevin Lepp]

I've just tested the me66 and wasnt as impressed as I thought I'd be.

Now I need to know whats the best kind of all around shotgun mic I should get.

I'll be using it for weddings and for interviews.

It needs to atleast be under $600.

What do you all use?


thanks

[Bruce S. Yarock]

I'm using an AT 897, which you can get for $275. I also use a k-tech mount ($90). You'll probably need a decent wireless lav- I bought the sennheiser g2, and it works well ( after some tweaking).I also have a Lightwave Audio 'Equalizer", which works well in wind( I got to try it in one of the recent hurricanes down here in Fl.)
I have a Canon gl1, so I have to use the Beachtek box, which allows 2 xlr inputs ( in either stereo or mono).You can keep the shotgun on one side stero, and the lav on the other, and edit in post. That way both sorces are seperated for later editing.
Bruce Yarock

[Troy Tiscareno]

I wouldn't use a shotgun for a wedding or for interviews.

For weddings, we put a lapel mic on the groom, and this does a fine job of capturing the vows and such without a lot of ambient noise. If you have a second lapel mic, it should go on the officiate (priest/reverend) to better capture that part of the ceremony. You could also use a wired vocal mic in many instances (if a good portion of the ceremony is from a fixed pulpit), but it depends on how the ceremony is set up.

For interviews, a handheld vocal mic is definitely the way to go.

We use the Sennheiser G2 ENG kit ($600), which gives you a great wireless lapel mic plus a plug-on mic adapter for a handheld mic. We use the plug-on on either a Shure SM58 or a Sennheiser 835, both dynamic cardioid vocal mics. This allows you to pass around the mic as you do the interviews, and this actually helps the interview process, as folks will actually get ready to say something when they see the mic working their way around the table.

I've yet to be at a wedding where any shotgun mic would get anywhere near as good of audio as this setup does, and I've been to (and worked) a LOT of weddings.

-Troy

[Douglas Spotted Eagle]

If you want the profile of a shotgun, but want performance, check out the AT 4053.
Shotguns don't often work well on interiors unless you know exactly what you're doing and have time to make some tests before an event. Lavs are almost always first choice in any situation, keep that in mind.

[Alessandro Machi]

<<<-- Originally posted by Kevin Lepp : I've just tested the me66 and wasnt as impressed as I thought I'd be.

Now I need to know whats the best kind of all around shotgun mic I should get.

thanks -->>>

I think those two statements are in opposition to each other.

The ME-66 does not require any outside power source, which makes it very handy, aka all around shotgun mic. However, it is not the best shotgun mike you can get.

If you feel you can access phantom power for your video shoots without it interfering with your set-up time needed to handle other camera acquistion issues, than a phantom power shotgun microphone makes more sense.

Azden has a shotgun microphone that can use either phantom power or internal battery power, but I don't know anything else about it. (I recently skimmed an ad for the microphone)