Bought a RODE videomic!

[D.J. Ammons]

Michael, the Rode Videomic is an amazing tool but does have its limits. For weddings I use the following audio setup;

1. 1 Rode NTG-2 shotgun mic on the handheld / steadicam camera (this camera is up front near the bride & groom for the vows so if the wireless audio has issues it usually has good audio)

2. 1 Rode Videomic on my B roll camera wihich is set up as a fixed wide shot at rear of venue.

3. UHF wireless mic(s). Usually one on the officiant or one on the officiant & one on the groom or one on the officiant and one placed near the PA system loudspeaker.

I just bought a little Kodak Zi8 pocket cam to use as a second 'B" cam. I plan on hooking the Rode Videomic up to it with the camera at the front on a tripod facing the audience and the Rode mounted backwards facing where the bridal party will be. This will be used if we need to intercut an audience shot and for yet another audio source. I will be buying the new Rode Videomic Pro to go on my other B roll camera.

If the venue has a good PA system the Rode Video mic can do an amazing job of catpuring the audio. I had an outdoor wedding where the music was recordered music played by the DJ from the reception building a good 75 feet away. He had his speaker(s) pointed toward the ceremony. I thought the sound would be terrible but the Videomic mounted on my B cam well at the back of the audience and about 90 degrees from the speakers picked up the audio great. We then intercut to the audio from the Rode NTG-2 shotgun mic on our handheld for the vows as the minister kept touching the wireless lav and causingt horrible noise.

Love the Rode Videomic! Great investment.

[Dale Guthormsen]

Good Morning,

Yes, the rode mic is an amazing value for the investment.

I use one on my B roll camera, I use an AT 897 on my xlh1 or xl2. I use a wireless on the groom.

If the sound mixer at the church is a good one, you can run from that directly into a camera or a recorder.

Another option would be to use a zoom h1 up at he front for the vows, they cost all of 100 dolalrs.

The kodak has questionable quality in my book, so much of the video looks burnt from them and the flip. With some color correction and very short clips you might get away with it.

Back to the rode video mic, it gives better sound than some other much more expensive mics!!


enjoy,

[Michael Connor]

i wanted 2 mics... and couldnt afford the rode! After much thought i went for the much cheaper audio technica versions.. a shotgun and a stereo. The stereo was hopeless.. ive sent it back and am probably gonna get another matching one... see my review...
i think its prob just as good as rode.. but a lot cheaper! Only thing is the rode now comes with an isolating shoe! Very nice!

YouTube - ‪Audio Technica ATR 6250 & ATR62600 videomike review‬‏

[Ty Ford]

which AT stereo mic and why was it hopeless?

Regards,

Ty Ford

[Michael Connor]

YouTube - ‪Audio Technica ATR 6250 & ATR62600 videomike review‬‏

see vid above... the atr6250... actually it sounds lot better after uploading to u tube... bt was basically no better than my onboard... the mic is supposed to be dual cardioid.. but it basically picks up everything.. possibly because the 2 speakers are on the side of the mic.. with an extra 'vent' on the front between the 2 side mics. I think they have used slightly lower quality mics than the atr 6550... or it may just be the fact that the 6550 is a shotgun... ive now at last realised the lack of necessity for a stereo mic.... (der!) id rather have 2 mono shotguns any day.

[Ty Ford]

Well you get what you pay for and if you choose poorly there, that's all you get.:)

AT makes better stereo mics, if, in fact, that's the best array for the job,

I think you mean diaphragms, not "speaker" in the mic itself.

What were your expectations of this mic? What were you trying to do?

Regards,

Ty Ford

[Michael Connor]

im just after better sound options than my onboard! I believe i have chosen wisely not poorly?! I sent the stereo mic back.. so i have a credit waiting, im looking at getting an identical shotgun to the one i have. Pound for pound i see no better alternative.... i believe the audo seems just as good as the rode reviews ive seen....
Id love to see more simple reviews about..
I think the limitation is the sweet spot.. im supposing more expensive mics.. ie 1000 plus.. have a larger 'sweet' spot, and a lot more sound rejection.

[Chad Johnson]

The larger the "sweet spot" the more unwanted sound you get. If you are just doing home movies then that 50.00 shotgun will be good for better dialogue pickup than your on-board mics. Dialogue should be recorded in mono. Stereo is good for music and ambient stuff like a city street sounds, or out in nature etc. If people talking is the focus, then a mono mic is the way. But really you need to be in the 250.00 and above range if you are the slightest bit serious. Rode NTG-2 is an amazing starter shotgun.

EDIT: I forgot to mention that the Rode VideoMic and VideoMic Pro are great consumer mics with the same capsule as it's professional sibling the NTG-2. All sound great and will beat the pants off of that ATR6550.

[Jim Andrada]

Michael,

You made a comment in an earlier post in this thread about wanting to "zoom" a shotgun.

Unfortunately, shotguns (nor any other mic) can zoom like a lens. Physics of sound is a different breed of cat. Mic has to be physically close to work well for dialogue.

Also, shotguns indoors can be a less than great solution if they are not right up close to what you're recording. They WILL pick up room reverb from the side. And if you get them too close they will over-emphasize lower frequencies. Great for male voices if you want them to sound like the guy is on steroids, but maybe less flattering for female voices.

Re expensive mics, I don't think "sweet spot" has much to do with price - each mic's maker usually provides a chart showing sensitivity as a function of angle and frequency - this is pretty much the whole story.and should tell you most of what you need to know.

Expensive mics are usually more accurate/consistent transducers, have lower noise and better controlled frequency response etc as well as often improved sensitivity. And better quality overall.

Dialogue does not usually put extreme technical demands on a microphone compared to something like a classical recording so you can usually find quite good mic's at quite reasonable prices - but you do have to pay attention to getting the right type of mic for the job.

[Michael Connor]

yea your right jim.. the 'zoom' function on the ATR 6550 is prettey pointless... yes it does what it says but just adds hiss.. and amplifies everything.. ie boosts the volume.
On its normal mode im happy with the mic.. notably the reduction in hiss/camera noise... and the clarity.

n chad.. By sweet spot.. what i mean is.. hear my voice over on the beginning of the vid i made.. my voice isnt the best but im happy with this. If you were to compare it to a recording with a normal mike.. my voice sounds a lot better!

But this sweet spot... its maybe 2 to 6 inches! 4 to 8 inches on tele mode!

Obviously your right.. you need different mics for different jobs... and lav mics.. mind i did hear that in a lot of hollywood stuff... they pull in the actors afterwards and get them to narate in a studio setting and re do all the audio!

n chad yea you got me thinkin about the stereo.. i do like to take a lot of outdoor shots etc, (building a library for future works) My main enemy is always... camera noise! (and hiss!) If im filming a building or a street or a reservoir/lake... etc... i dont want hiss and motor noise yet it aint always gonna be convinient to set up a mike stand and a mini disk for audio! I dont have phantom power/xlr either on the xm2.. so the choices are limited. I think the 6550 is the right one for now.. in the future id like a quality radio transmitter (the fm one i have.. adds hiss)... and to look at lav mikes.. there are so many available and i simply dont understand (or know wether to believe) the data the manufacturers provide. There was a particular senheiser mike.. bout 300 quid... didnt sound half as good as the one i have or the rode video mike.. i cant remember the specific comments but the reviewers were saying it was very dissapointing.

[Jim Andrada]

Hello again Michael

Aha - I think now I have better idea of what you're referring to. Let me guess - when you say the mic makes you sound better than your normal voice, do you mean that it makes it sound more full and resonant? If you step back a bit from the mic, does your voice sound thinner (or more normal)

If so this is the famous (or infamous, depending on your point of view) proximity effect - frequency response changing with distance from source and emphasizing lower frequencies up close. Works great for guys but maybe not so flattering for girls. At least it works great for guys when up close but if distance to mic changes much the quality of the voice will change as well, which can be a less than great thing.

[Michael Connor]

yip thats exactly it, thanks. I knew my voice was 'good enough' for voice overs after having a brief play at a studio (with a condenser mic) many years ago.. but on all my home recordings its been dreadfull! Even with a duvet over my head lol! Just as you say a lack of deep tones. And also various hiss. I have a couple of normal singing mics.. fine.. but you need em so close to mouth for the 'sweet' spot... probably because they are for singing not talking!

But with this mic im happy to use it for voice overs and without using a sound room or duvet over head!

And maybe your right about girls!.. i aint had it out much but filmed some girls singing... just a freebie... they sounded awfull although they did in real life, the pa system seemed to play their electronical music sounds really well just not the vocals. Unfortunately i botched the whole job.. didnt change the batteries on front camera stereo mic.. and managed to press STOP on my handheld camera right at beginning of their final and best song :-(
Im learning... never again! It was my first outdoor thing... people standing infront of cameras, big silly piece of metal down centre of stage. Ill always use a seperate sound souce on any live event and use onboard mic for back up. When theres a lot going on sound wise the motor noise etc is less noticeable.