Microphones For XH-A1

[Matt OBrien]

Hey guys, what mics are you using with your cams? I'm worried about shotguns not fitting so well mounted to the camera. Correct me if I'm wrong, but my sentiments were always that the short shotguns were not nearly as good as the 12ish inch shotguns. Seems like they are the only option for on camera mounting. Does anyone know about the XL-H1 mics? Are those even available? I really don't want to spend more than 300 dollars. Thanks in advance for the help guys!

[Byron Huskey]

I'm curious about this as well. I have heard the AT-897 was pretty good for it's rpice and size, but I have no personal experience. Any thoughts guys?

[Chris Hurd]

Moved from Canon XH to Now Hear This.

[Tom Vandas]

Well, for OFF-camera use, I bought the AT897 a few years ago because I was going to spend a year in Mozambique and expected to destroy my main mic. I was very surprised by how well the mic did. There are better mics, but I still use this one when I don't have control of the environment. It's not a hot mic, but I like that because it's more forgiving. It sounds very natural for the price. And (don't tell anyone) I even use it indoors frequently.

I now treat my AT897 as if it were something between a hyper and a shotgun.

From time-to-time I put the 897 on camera and it does fine. However if I were forced to choose what kind of mic to leave on a camera full-time, I would get a hyper. But for $300? The AT897 is hard to beat.

[Anthony Leong]

I have the Sennheiser ME66/K6P on my Canon XH-A1 with a Rycote windscreen.

[Arthur Kay]

Hi,
I have several mics I use, depending on the situation.

- a wireless EW system by Sennheiser with a lapel mic. great for interviews in loud environments like convention halls etc.

- the venerable K6/ME series by Sennheiser, with different modules (ME64 and ME66)

- last week, I got myself a Rode NTG-2. Man this thing is great. It is less costly than the Senns and sounds nicely round and warm. A real tip!

Don't forget that the build-in mic is no slouch either. So depending on the situation I go with the following scenarios:

- internal stereo only
- Rode NTG-2 in XLR1 and Sennheiser wireless in XLR2 in interview situations

The possible combos are endless... Have fun. that is the main part!

Hope this helps a bit
Cheers
Arthur

[Nick Rothwell]

When you connect a shotgun mic such as the AT897 or the ME66 to the XH-A1 through XLR would this be stereo or mono? If mono, would you need two XLR mics to achieve stereo sound? (ps. not meaning to hi-jack this thread ) Also Interested in what mics are good for the XH-A1.

[Steve House]

Originally Posted by Nick Rothwell

When you connect a shotgun mic such as the AT897 or the ME66 to the XH-A1 through XLR would this be stereo or mono? If mono, would you need two XLR mics to achieve stereo sound? (ps. not meaning to hi-jack this thread ) Also Interested in what mics are good for the XH-A1.

Yes, those two mics are mono but when used for the purposes one usually employs a shotgun mic that's not an issue. A shotgun's piclup pattern is quite focused and directional while stereo recordings seek a broad soundstage and so need to pick up across a wide area. To get stereo, you do need two mics and they would almost never be shotguns - 99% of stereo is done with either a pair of cardioid or omni mics or a pair consisting of a cardioid and a type called a 'figure-8' pattern in a mic arrangement called 'mid/side recording.' You can get single unit stereo mics that have cables for both channels coming out but they're actually 2 cardioids or a mid/side pair mounted together in the same holder. So-called 'stereo shotguns' aren't really - they're switchable so you have a stereo mic or a shotgun mic pattern but they're not both at once. But about the only things you might record in stereo anyway would be a music performance or ambience. Most dialog, interviews, etc are recorded mono and positioned in the stereo soudtrack during mixing in post production.

[Larry Kamerman]

I have the Sennheiser 416 on the A1. Works well.

[Nick Rothwell]

Originally Posted by Steve House

Yes, those two mics are mono but when used for the purposes one usually employs a shotgun mic that's not an issue. A shotgun's piclup pattern is quite focused and directional while stereo recordings seek a broad soundstage and so need to pick up across a wide area. To get stereo, you do need two mics and they would almost never be shotguns - 99% of stereo is done with either a pair of cardioid or omni mics or a pair consisting of a cardioid and a type called a 'figure-8' pattern in a mic arrangement called 'mid/side recording.' You can get single unit stereo mics that have cables for both channels coming out but they're actually 2 cardioids or a mid/side pair mounted together in the same holder. So-called 'stereo shotguns' aren't really - they're switchable so you have a stereo mic or a shotgun mic pattern but they're not both at once. But about the only things you might record in stereo anyway would be a music performance or ambience. Most dialog, interviews, etc are recorded mono and positioned in the stereo soudtrack during mixing in post production.

If you were to capture the audio in mono, in post would you then be able to copy this track to the second channel to make it stereo?

[Steve House]

Originally Posted by Nick Rothwell

If you were to capture the audio in mono, in post would you then be able to copy this track to the second channel to make it stereo?

You wouldn't copy it - that's dual-mono, not stereo and can open up some headaches - but in your mixdown you use the pan controls to position it as desired in the stereo soundscape.

[Nick Rothwell]

Thanks, Steve.