We currently used cheap walkie-talkies with headsets for communication during weddings. We fumble around in our pockets to find the button, then whisper to the other shooter. It's a pain. If we could just have it on and whisper at will, we would not risk losing shots, and it would be far more fluid.

Our cell phones are Bluetooth enabled, so it hit me that we could just call each other before the ceremony and whisper positioning all the way through it. Then at other times we could just call each other. Since we are all on Verizon it would be free. Thoughts? Drawbacks?

Do you ever do weddings where you might not have cell coverage (like in the mountains, in certain buildings, etc.)? That's the first drawback I could think of.

Good thought. I guess that's reason enough to bring the walkies as backup.

I don't know about Bluetooth as a true option.

It may lead your client to think you're on the phone with someone more important than they are! See what I'm saying? I'd say look into a better walklie talkie solution. Motorola sells headsets for their talkies. ClearComm and other companies obviously sell the IFB systems. Do what fits your budget in the end!

Most the bluetooth units I've tried always seem like I have to speak quite loudly to be heard on the other end. But been a few months since I've tried a new set.

That and how would battery life go? Talk time should be a solid 90 minutes for any cell phone (better I'd hope). So ceremony would last, 45 mins on average? assuming you'd start shooting when family is being seated.

If you do try it out, let us know how it goes. Could be a simple solution to the problem.

Dana,

We tried the bluetooth option but found certain situations where it did not work. Mostly when there were other loud sounds, such as music being played, it would be difficult to hear. We film concerts and dance recitals as well, so loud music is a always an issue. We ended up going with the eartec units and for the most part I am very happy with them.

Jonathan Schwartz
CA Video Productions

And what about sound distortion in your recordings when you have a working cellphone in your pocket? The beeps you hear when a cellphone is looking for connection?

We simply use FRS radios. We have a headset with a push-to-talk button. However, it can also be set so that it automatically transmits when there's enough noise. We decided that was a BAD thing as there's OFTEN "enough noise" so we strictly use the PTT button.

I just bought three Motorola av1200s from B&H, and then got some VOX earbud/mics on ebay, that I was gonna try. The earbus havn't all come yet, so I havn't really tried it all to see how well it works. but that's a good point about extra noise. I might just have to use the PTT.

I believe the blue tooth phone devices are simplex devices. My concern would be that there wouold be enough noise (whatever) at one end that it would block the channel and not allow two way communication.

I know, I know, they work in our cars but how noisy, really are our cars? And on a constant basis. I have been at some really noisy ceremonies!

Yeah, we tried it. Didn't work. We couldn't hear anything but noise. Back to the walkie talkies.