Need a good shotgun for high noise ENG environment
 

Looking to upgrade the AG-MC700P Panasonic short shotgun I have on my Sony PXW-X180, with something that can cut down the rumble, and pick out human voice from a distance surrounded by noise better. I put a link below to a few clips that demonstrate the typical environment I deal with. Lots of idling car engines, fire trucks, freeway background noise etc. Off camera micing is not really an option, and there are way to many times when I really need to turn up the audio level to hear someone talking across the street, and cannot approach.

The MKH8060 looks to be just about right. It's very expensive (for me!), but is the right size for on camera mounting. Length is a concern, because my LED light is mounted on the rear of my camera for balance, so if the shotgun is too long, it will cast a shadow. I've got a Rode NGT2 on it for testing, it sticks about 170mm forward from the mount, and doesn't cast a noticeable shadow. Wouldn't want to go longer with windscreen.

My X180 and the Panny mic don't get along well. If I turn the base level down (that -40/-50/-60db selector) I get a noticeable hiss if I turn up the rec level. Also, the Panny mic just always wants to be pegging my VU meter in camera at the same level as the vocals I want to hear. Really hoping for some suggestions for really good shotguns for the exact type of work I am doing, and the demanding background noise issues I cannot escape. My priority is pulling human voice audio out of the mud, and am less concerned about how things sound when indoors.

Thanks!

Paul

Re: Need a good shotgun for high noise ENG environment
 

Wow, I think your expectations may be unrealistic to expect to get anything resembling decent dialog capture from a little "shotgun" mic mounted on your camera. Or even a "full-size" microphone mounted on your camera. Shotgun microphones are NOT "zoom lenses" for audio. At best they narrow the angle of acceptance for sound (dialog PLUS ambient noise). And on top of the camera is just about the WORST place for a microphone.

And when you have several people talking and facing different angles, even if you had an experienced crew member to operate the boom-pole, it would be something even professionals wouldn't attempt.

If I were facing a similar situation, I would try using a few inexpensive Bluetooth wireless mics that you can clip-on or put in a pocket of the police/fire people. Something like the Sony ECMAW4 ($170 at B&H0

Re: Need a good shotgun for high noise ENG environment
 

I think you missed the point of the post, or misunderstood what I meant. Looking for the BEST option for this type of uncontrollable audio source. There must be a way to improve the audio, as the mic I am using is the stock shotgun that came on an old Panasonic DVCPRO camera 15-20 years ago. That is why I specified a shotgun that would "prefer" voice, not "enhance" it. :)

Taking a Rode NTG2 into the field tonight for evaluation. It's too back heavy because of the battery housing, it's pointing upward a bit....heh.

Paul

Re: Need a good shotgun for high noise ENG environment
 

And on my old X70, I actually had one of those little Sony Bluetooth kits. Audio sounded tinny and hollow, like a phone call, and audio was way too hot, overmodulated, and the things allow no audio level adjustments. Convenient in a pinch though for ENG, just clip the damn thing on their shirt and step back tos hoot. :)

Re: Need a good shotgun for high noise ENG environment
 

Sorry, a camera mounted mic will not bring voices out front or give them a close proximity sound .. no matter how much you spend. Many folks put wireless lavalieres on the primary subjects and have an audio person with a boom. However, the camera mounted mic is usually good for nat sound, B-roll and such
Low frequency rumble can be controlled somewhat with a high-pass filter, either on the mic and/or a pro mixer. The digital HP filters in low budget gear don't really do much good IMO, beside adding noise, they are 'after the fact', not where they are needed most, to protect the input stage components from distorting.

Re: Need a good shotgun for high noise ENG environment
 

It's a necessary evil to have the mic on-camera, and hope for the best in very difficult audio situations.

First you need to make certain you are matching the output level of the mic you have to the sensitivity or attenuation level of the camera's mic input. Without having the camera manual, I can't say for sure, but turning the audio input setting to -60db may be making the input more sensitive. As in this setting is now expecting a very low output dynamic reporter's mic to be connected with it's output level of about -60db.

Camera brands and models have many differences in these controls, settings, how they are named and how they actually behave. Some camera mic inputs have sensitivity settings, some have attenuation settings. So studying the manual and experimenting when you have time to test in a more controlled setting can be helpful in getting the best performance.

You may also need to buy an external attenuator like the AT8202 or similar A15AS from Shure if you are using a hot mic with a sensitive input that doesn't have an internal attenuation setting.

I would suggest the AT875 if you are only going to use the mic on-camera or with other phantom-power sources. It's also a very short mic.
Or the Sennheiser MKE 600 which can also run on a AA battery (and is about an inch shorter than the Rode NTG2). This would allow it to work with a wireless transmitter or a recorder that doesn't provide phantom if you ever move it off the camera.

In either case, these are hot mics and need to be matched to the mic input sensitivity or you won't have much success.

As already mentioned, on-camera mics are rarely in the best place for audio, but you try and capture what you can if you are working alone.

Re: Need a good shotgun for high noise ENG environment
 

Agreed not optimal, but that DUI driver being arrested video above made AIR in a reporter package, using that NAT sound. We use a lot of my NAT's of things like that on a daily basis, so whatever can be done to improve the voice clarity is a plus. Also use the mic to capture witnesses describing events to authorities, not specifically for air, but for broadcastable story info.

I plugged the Panny mic and the NTG2 in together. The Panny is hotter, and also brighter. Had to set the NTG2 to -50db to match the Panny at -40db. The Panny at -40db with the levels turned up has a too noticeable hiss to it. The NTG2 has a fuller deeper tone to it.

Paul

Re: Need a good shotgun for high noise ENG environment
 

IOW, it picks up low-frequency sounds better.
Typically that is a DIS-advantage, because low-frequency sounds are almost always NOISE and NOT dialog. Note well Mr. Reineke's statement about rolling-off the low-end with a high-pass filter.

Some of the comparison you are describing seem to indicate that understanding microphone self-noise, sensitivity, and gain-staging might be helpful to learn more about.

The first generation of those cheap bluetooth mics were indeed pretty terrible. But you would be surprised how much better the current generation are. The nice thing about them is that at that price, you won't have a heart-attack if one is lost or destroyed. They aren't quite "disposable", but they aren't hundreds (or thousands) of dollars, either.

Re: Need a good shotgun for high noise ENG environment
 

With the exception of the last clip, those appeared to be shot from fairly far away. I agree with the other posters that you certainly aren't going to get studio quality dialog in those situations. If you absolutely must use a camera mounted mic, the AT875 (already suggested) is pretty good for something that's physically short. The AT897 is a bit more directional, but is significantly longer and might get into your shot unless you can mount it a bit higher.

The final clip appeared to be shot fairly close and intimate, and I can't imagine why the voices were so weak, unless the mic was pointed in an entirely wrong direction.

In many of those clips, the background noise could have been reduced significantly with software in post, but perhaps you are unable to do that.

By all means, if you're going to start swapping around equipment and experimenting with different combinations, try to do some reading and familiarize yourself with the concept of gain staging, attenuating, correct levels, etc.

Re: Need a good shotgun for high noise ENG environment
 

All the forgoing is good info; that said, I did spot news with an Senny ME66K6 with some success, as it is more sensitive than the Rode or At897 mikes (at least is my experience) and I was able to pull out audio from some distance with it, if there were not overwhelming nearby sound to drown out what I was after. It is somewhat long --- I used a homebrew adapter similar to the Rode shockmount with tube, to move the Sennheiser, used on the XHa1 Canon, back far enough to be out of the picture.

BTW, I would not like to be the guy asking a cop on a breaking news scene to wire up with a radio mike. Just saying.....

Re: Need a good shotgun for high noise ENG environment
 

I'm very confused by the hiss? I've never come across any mic that hiss would be any issue with for any form of high noise environment. Self noise in mics is rarely an issue, and the hiss usually comes from mics with lower output that the camera noisy preamp then reveals in quiet environments. Used in noisy spaces, then the only real factor will be the length of the interference tube that sets the narrowness of the pattern. Different mics will have different tonal balance. Bottom end is wide anyway, so needs getting rid of to reveal a voice, which is a very narrow band of frequencies.

I suspect you are onto a hiding to nothing here. A shotgun on the camera sounds exactly like it is - the ultra compromise. If you could get good audio, then everybody would forget waving handhelds around in noisy spaces.

Re: Need a good shotgun for high noise ENG environment
 

When I was shooting weddings on my Panny's I tried quite a few mics especially for doing on the run guest interviews during the rather noisy pre-dinner drinks session! The only one that cut right thru all the ambient noise for me was my Rode VideoMic ... OK they are a bit big with the mount but they have a fairly hot output of -39db with the attenuation switches at 0db ... Dunno why but those seemed to push thru ambient noise better than anything I had used ...fairly cheap too (about $149.00 here)

If I was doing industrial shoot in noisy environments they still would be my first choice even if they a heaps cheaper than the NG series!! The only drawback is that you need to unsolder the cable and 3.5mm plug and put in a decent cable and XLR plug

Re: Need a good shotgun for high noise ENG environment
 

The microphone picks up what ever sound reaches it according to its directional pattern, so sound coming from some directions is "heard" with more sensitivity than other directions. However, unlike the human ear-brain system the mic cannot discriminate among the sounds reaching it to provide separation between foreground and background, direct and reflected sound sources. Using directional mics, low frequency roll-off, and dead cats can help remove some unwanted sounds like wind noise. Note that different designs of shotgun mics have different patterns and side/back lobes that can influence your selection. And using camcorder audio AGC can help or hinder intelligibility depending on the environment.

The most effective way to remove background noise is to get the mic as close to the desire sound source as possible - there is not good substitute for that. It is a fact of acoustics. However, you may be able to use graphic equalizers, noise gating, and noise reduction processing at your audio work station to improve intelligibility in post - if you have time.

Lastly, microphone selection is a very personal thing - what the rest of us like may not fit you preference. I use NTG2 and AT875 shotguns when needed but I do not do your type ENG. For noisy event interviews (e.g., receptions) I use a handheld (e.g., SM58 cardioid) with a wireless transmitter. Far better than trying a shotgun from even just 6 feet away with the DJ's music flooding the room.

Re: Need a good shotgun for high noise ENG environment
 

Sadly, your priorities don't line up well with the laws of physics. And in any fight with the laws of physics, physics wins. Each and every time.

Yep, it's frustrating. But microphones aren't human ears, and they don't have the brain available to them to help them listen to just what you want, and ignore the rest. This is difficult for even the human brain/ear to accomplish, because the frequencies you are interested in are the same ones that the "mud" is using. Ask any audiologist.

What you are basically asking for is an increase in your signal to noise ratio. You want more human voice (signal) and less "mud" (noise). The only way to do that is to move the microphone closer to your signal source, and position it so that the signal source is in the microphone's pattern (point the mic at the speaker's mouth).

This is true of any mic, be it the Panasonic AG-MC700P you are trying to replace, or a Schoeps SuperCMIT, or anything in between. That said, the Sennheiser MKH 8060 is a heck of a mic, perhaps the best value for what you are trying to do. Just don't expect it to work miracles. It will give you somewhat better sound quality, but it won't pull "human voice audio out of the mud" unless you get it sufficiently close to, and pointed at, the human voice in question.

Re: Need a good shotgun for high noise ENG environment
 

Which is exactly why you see the "cop reality shows" using wireless clip-on mics on the officers.

I fear that Mr. Anderegg will have to learn the laws of acoustic physics the hard way.

Re: Need a good shotgun for high noise ENG environment
 

Sure, you won't be shooting a feature film with an on-camera mic, but for shooting news and documentaries, it can be a necessary evil. The sound quality might be poor, but if you catch a rare quote, it can get a lot of play. (Remember the hidden camera that caught Mitt Romney talking about the 47 percent? Quality didn't matter, but intelligibility did.)

The factors are:
* Size and weight - needs to be practical.
* Sensitivity - needs to avoid hiss for quiet, distant sounds.
* Pattern - needs to avoid off-axis sounds
* Cost - as always.

I recommend focusing on sensitivity and low noise for the money. Size (length) and pattern are opposing goals. Want a narrower pattern? The length increases. Want a small mic? The pattern gets wider.

Note that a narrow pattern isn't always good. With traditional shotguns, we get a narrow high frequency pattern. The low frequency pattern is often onmidirectional. This is fine when outdoors, but when in boomy environments (like the NAB show floor), you can end up with a deafening boomy rumble with a faint voice on top. It can sound quite unnatural. In that case, a wider pattern can sound more natural. The other option is a multi-capsule mic, which can focus low-frequencies as well as highs - but these are usually longer than you want on a camera. Another difficulty with a narrow pattern mic is that you might want to capture multiple people in the frame, close to the camera with a wide lens.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/explora/...gun-microphone

I think there are two approaches here. 1) Accept that on-camera mics will never be great and buy a small mic with good sensitivity for the money, or 2) Rig your camera for a longer mic, spend the money on a great shotgun, and use the mic on camera when necessary and on a boom when possible.

In my case, I use a Video-Mic Pro on a DSLR. It's small, adequate, has an internal preamp for high sensitivity, and it was affordable. It's no substitute for a long shotgun on a boom with a great preamp, but it works great for solo shooting in the moment.

The AT875R is an excellent value with -30 dB sensitivity, which is quite good. You mentioned the MKH-8060, which has -24 dB sensitivity, which is excellent if not the best available. For less money, you can get the Sanken CS-1e, which has similar specs and is also -24 dB. Note that the Sanken and Sennheiser mics have 17mm diameters, while the AT875R is 21mm. All are roughly 7-inches long.

A friend of mine shot news for years. When shooting without an audio person, he'd control the ENG camera on his shoulder with his right hand, dismount the mic with his left hand, go wide with the lens, get close to the subject(s), and extend his hand until the mic is just out of the frame. This gets the mic nearly as close as would a boom and let him aim the mic at the person speaking, rather than at the center of the frame. This works well if you use a longer mic with a narrow pattern.

Re: Need a good shotgun for high noise ENG environment
 

I am a former Firefighter and have worked a thousand emergency scenes. This is what I would do.

Paul, I am guessing you are a stringer and do not have the advantage of being a fully credentialed member of the media?

I’m sure you know trying to get a clip on mic on a Cop is absolutely out of the question. Any police officer working an active scene does not want to be interrupted by anyone for any reason. And in today’s political environment cops know every time they step out of their vehicle some yahoo is pointing a cell phone at them hoping they will do something wrong or dramatic to get the yahoo fifteen minutes of YouTube fame. They are working under a microscope of public scrutiny. I’m betting Paul already knows as a stringer they will tolerate him but they do not have to cooperate with him. It is their scene not his and it sucks to be a cop right now. It is a tough job.

I know you are working in the ultimate run and gun style and moving fast and light is a priority. But, no audible vocals means no footage sold. No matter what I am shooting I don’t think of my two audio tracks as L/R audio. I am almost always feeding them from separate sources and use them as two independent tracks. In your case I would get a mic stand and put a second source on it. Preferably a shotgun mic with a wireless transmitter on it so I could monitor and adjust it at the camera. Now here is the kicker. Go to Home Depot and buy a roll of blank yellow tape that looks just like emergency scene tape without the writing on it. Tie a three or four foot piece of it to the mic stand so it blows around for easy visibility. You might think I am crazy but the yellow tape is the key. One, they won’t trip over it. Two, that tape has a physiological impact of implied “officialness” to it. And you want them to see the mic, you do not want them thinking you are being sneaky with a mic.

You probably like fire trucks and police cruisers in the background of your shots for compositional impact. Therefore your on camera mic is being pointed directly at the problem. Drop the mic stand off axis just out of your shot and you will be able to place it where you can take advantage of its pick up and rejection qualities. Also, you’re probably shooting from a place as close as they will allow. When you drop the mic you might be able to gain some closeness because you’re going to drop it and step back. Depending on the officers and the scene it might be a problem for them once in a while but I’m willing to bet you will get away with it most of the time and have greatly improved audio.

Steve

Re: Need a good shotgun for high noise ENG environment
 

Steven,

The stand, wireless transmitter, and tape idea is awesome.

I'd add that for this solution, you wouldn't want too narrow an pattern on the mic as you can't guarantee that people won't move about. A few years ago at NAB, the Sanken rep recommended the CS-3e for use by a pro boom operator as it requires good aim for pro use. while the CS-1e is more forgiving. It's not that you will lose the voice as it wanders out of the sweet spot; it's that the tone will change by losing the highs as you go off axis. You don't want the voice to sound like somebody is twiddling with an equalizer and you don't want to spend time in post fixing it.

Re: Need a good shotgun for high noise ENG environment
 

Just a suggestion to do a show of reasonable audio quality is put a recorder (not a radio mic) on each officer and put it into record for the entire shoot. A zoom H1 or similar could be used with a cable Lav mic. You may need 4-6 of these recorders for a shoot.

The camera mic would need to be a Rode NTG3 / 416 or above, sync the sources in post production, this will be about the only way you will get good results.

The reason not radio mics is they will use the tracks on the camera which you will need for Fx, the separate recorders will also eliminate RF dropouts.

Re: Need a good shotgun for high noise ENG environment
 

If I were a police officer on duty today, I most certainly would NOT want an audio recorder or wireless mic, belonging to a broadcaster or news stringer, on my person. (Of course a department-issued video recorder, for official documentation, would be different.)

Suppose, for example, the officer gets into a police vehicle to exchange private information with dispatch, or to have a private conversation with another officer concerning policy. Having that officer miked by some unofficial commercial entity would be clearly improper. Exchanging personal information about a suspect, victim, or witness would most likely be a violation of some privacy rule.

Does anybody really think an officer on active duty would agree to wear a broadcaster's mic? Or would even be allowed to, based on proper departmental policy? It certainly sounds wrong to me.

Re: Need a good shotgun for high noise ENG environment
 

Mr. Anderegg has never actually revealed what is his arrangement (if any?) with the agencies. If he had an agreement with the police or fire agency, that would be a different matter than if he is a free-lance stringer out shooting on speculation. Consider the "police reality shows" where they clearly have working arrangements with the departments and the officers.

Re: Need a good shotgun for high noise ENG environment
 

True, there is a lot he has not revealed specifically.

However, he did say
which sounds as if this is not a dedicated project. He also said
which leads me to believe that he has not been given this option, even if he is working with the blessing of some local law enforcement agency.

Re: Need a good shotgun for high noise ENG environment
 

Police officers on duty frequently wear TV crew's mics, if their bosses sanction it - makes good TV, based on the number of these shows being made?

Re: Need a good shotgun for high noise ENG environment
 

If I were in that position, I certainly wouldn't want to, unless I were forced to by my commanding officer. I've never been one to enjoy people looking over my shoulder. IMHO it makes for a conflict of interest. Should I do my job in the best way possible (which might appear unclear or might be misinterpreted) or should I put on the best performance (which might not be the best or most efficient way of doing my job)? I should think this conflict would be especially troublesome or even dangerous in the case of an on-duty police officer. (Yes, all that in spite of the existence of any such TV reality shows. Who ever said reality shows made the world a better place?)

Re: Need a good shotgun for high noise ENG environment
 

If I were a policeman, I think the addition of the cameraman would be more of an intrusion than the mic? The mic is a package with the cameraman and camera. I'd suspect that very few policemen are forced to be part of these programmes, so not liking the mic and thinking it 'dangerous' is perhaps not as potentially dangerous as the images the camera shoots!

It's clear that good sound can only be got from proper audio capture, and on camera, with people yelling and cars going past isn't ever going to work in this scenario. Doing the same thing in a wood, with just a person speaking quietly and insect noises might work, but as was said above it is all about signal to noise.

Re: Need a good shotgun for high noise ENG environment
 

I agree with you, Mr. Johnson. However, if the camera (and the mic) are ten or twenty feet away from the action, at least it would be possible to turn one's back, lower one's voice, and speak to another officer with some hope of privacy. That's a lot less intrusive than wearing a body mic and knowing that every breath is being recorded clearly.

Of course as police departments begin requiring their officers to wear body cameras, all this will change. Then the outside news cameraman really will be at a disadvantage.

Actually these days, with the proliferation of cellphone cameras, maybe we all need to get in the habit of conducting ourselves as if every move is being captured on video. (Although audio recording, at least, requires permission in some states.) Welcome to 1984.

Re: Need a good shotgun for high noise ENG environment
 

The directivity of a gun (interference tube) mic. is in direct relation to the length of the tube.

The longer the tube, the more directional the mic. is - the shorter the tube, the less directional it is.

The best option actually *is* the MKH 8060 (or 8070 if you want it more directional) as this is the shortest microphone for the given tube length - you can even remove the XLR section from the mic. and connect via a short extension cable to make the mic. even shorter (but still retaining the full tube length).

As the XLR is just a connection adaptor on the MKH 8000 series, you can buy an extension cable, cut it to length and solder an XLR connector to the other end.

Oh - and a gun mic. at about 22-feet away from the source will sound about the same as an omni mic. at about 10-feet distance, or a cardioid at about 17-feet.

Re: Need a good shotgun for high noise ENG environment
 

The power of the audio from the subject is subject to the inverse square law (just saying it's distributed over an ever expanding spherical area) so audio at 32 feet is 1/8 the power that it is at 11 feet (using "f-stop feet" for convenience). Meanwhile the competing audio may contribute at somewhat the same power depending on your capability to reject it. I have an AT BP4071L which has an extremely narrow pattern. Indoors I can resolve a whisper at 50 feet. Outdoors with traffic noise coming somewhat orthogonally, normal speech becomes difficult to resolve at 30 feet. I can appreciate the need to improve the audio recorded where are unable to get closer, but I'm not convinced you'll get suitable results. Would you be able to rent a mic to test in your environment before spending the money?

Sanken CS3e?
 

Wow, lots of posts on this thread, DVinfo stopped sending me email alerts!

For the record, I am a photog/reporter for the ABC affiliate in San Diego. I work the overnight shift. I used to shot on a full size HPX2000 on tripod with a slot in Azden 1201 wireless system. It is a lot more practical to pull the lav transmitter out of my pocket, have the interviewee hold it while i clip the mic on, when the camera is holding it's own on top of a tripod.

I have since moved the the handheld form factor, which allows me to hit and run a story and be back on the road for the next one a lot faster than dealing with sticks. The ability to walk up to someone and get a SOT with a burning building in the background, or while stuff is still going down is important. Hence, the need for good on camera sound.

Please keep in mind, i have a firm grasp of physics. I am not trying to land a microphone on the moon, simply looking for the BEST currently available off the shelf shotgun that would improve the vocal clarity of clips similar to the YouTube series posted at the beginning. I think the Sanken CS3e would be the best. I have heard it's ability to reject off-axis and resist low rumble from many online postings and reviews. Some call it magic!

THE BANE OF MY EXISTENCE IS THE IDLING 4.6L FORD CROWN VICTORIA ENGINE WITH RADIATOR FAN ACTIVATED!!!!!!!

Paul

Re: Need a good shotgun for high noise ENG environment
 

Speaking of lavs........I want one of those new Senheisser AVX's!

Paul

Re: Need a good shotgun for high noise ENG environment
 

The Schoeps CMIT5U shotgun has about the best filters and off-axis noise cancelling. However it ain't magic.. especially camera mounted. It's not exactly low cost either, but networks have deep pockets.

Re: Need a good shotgun for high noise ENG environment
 

Hi Paul,

Perhaps post-processing might be the best option? I had a bit of a quick goof around with Izotope RX4 to reduce the background noise but keep the vocals ... hopefully giving them more legibility.


(video unlisted on YouTube to protect your footage)

Andrew

Re: Need a good shotgun for high noise ENG environment
 

Yeah, I use bass treble modification, as well as FCP X background noise filter. That robotic effect can get really bad. When you have a whooshing freeway or fire engines, it can clip so bad it sounds like a horrible bluetooth noise cancelation, lots of metallic ringing!

Better audio in, better audio out! :)

Re: Need a good shotgun for high noise ENG environment
 

Best accessory for getting better audio from a camera-mounted mic . . .

A wide-angle lens or adapter. Then get as close as possible.

(Shrug)

Re: Need a good shotgun for high noise ENG environment
 

Haha, I agree. My last camera was a Sony PXW-X180, with a 26mm equiv lens. I also had a 16x9 EXII 0.75x wide adaptor for that camera! Problem was, the damn camera had a 3 foot minimum focusing distance.

Again, the most damning thing I have to contend with is idling police cars next to me, off to the sides, which sends a rumbling whoosh into my current AG-MC8700P short shotgun.

Paul

Re: Need a good shotgun for high noise ENG environment
 

I will be very interested in hearing whether you are successful with this. Please post an update.

Re: Need a good shotgun for high noise ENG environment
 

I just snagged a CS3e on eBay for $1000. I plan to do some testing by strapping a Rode NTG2 on top of it with rubber bands, and running each mic to a separate channel. Best way of testing how much better the Sanken is vs a well respected budget shotgun!

Paul

Re: Need a good shotgun for high noise ENG environment
 

Tests will have to wait, the CS3e I received is defective, has a crackling audio buzz. SOOOOO disappointed. :(

Paul

Re: Need a good shotgun for high noise ENG environment
 

First night with my CS3e, this is a clip of specifically what I got the microphone for, picking out voice audio at a distance with background noise. This was shot with reference level -60db, and the record level turned all the way up to 10 on my XDCAM. That is how clean the mic is pumped to the highest levels I can crank in camera. The audio has not had levels adjusted or any other modifications done to it. It cleans up very well in post. Can anyone recommend a good hiss reducer filter for FCP X?

Like the dude said in Back To The Future, "Now listen to this!".

Re: Need a good shotgun for high noise ENG environment
 

Oh yeah, I mounted the microphone with the back 1/3 of the slots wrapped by the mic holder, covered completely, still works well. :)

Paul