I'm looking at purchasing this unit for wireless use. I'd like to be able to use this unit as a wireless lavalier mic, also to be able to connect to a mixer so I can get a feed from it to the camera. Would I be able to do this with this unit? Are all the necessary cables included or do I need to get something else? Also, if this unit is not particularly suited for what I'm intended its use for, what would you suggest I get?


http://www.evsonline.com/merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=EW100ENGG2

Paul,

Here's a direct link to the ENG's product info page, as well as a couple of recent threads on the ENG.

http://www.sennheiser.com/sennheiser/icm_eng.nsf/root/21418

http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?s=&threadid=31301

http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?s=&threadid=34159

The short answer is that this kit is purpose built to do just what you describe. It comes with two cables to connect the receiver to other equipment: an XLR and a standard mini-jack. So you can connect the receiver to any camcorder or a mixer.

In the "for what its worth" department:
I was doing a shoot at a local orthodontist's office the other day with the ENG receiver mounted on my XL2. Oddly enough, the office staff oooh'ed and ahhh'ed over the tiny little wireless boxes rather than the big, fancy XL2! I guess the wireless was what gave them the "professional TV show set" impression.

You'll enjoy your ENG!

Pete,

Thanks for the info! I've found that very informative especially about the frequency issue. I live in Hawaii and I'm not sure about what I need to do about that. What is your opinion? "C" range?

Also when I said I wanted to hook up to a mixer I want to hook up the transmitter to a mixer and my receiver would be connected to my PD170 via the XLR connector. My question is will the transmitter be able to connect to the mixer via a XLR or 1/4" cable? If so, would a generic cable do this or is this some proprietary Sennheiser cable? Does the unit have a mic/line input switch so you can use it with a mic or mixer?

I also noticed that the photo at the Sennheiser site included a camera mount for the hotshoe. Is this included in the kit?

How do you like your unit? If you had to do it over again would you buy it or some other unit? Thanks for you input.

For the LA area which range would you use, A, B or C? If someon doesn't have the answer to this, what is the best way to find out?

The transmitter will take a standard mini-jack (3.5mm) cable. The connector cables and ME2 mic that come with the system have a knurled screw-lock to keep them from getting pulled out of the jack (I think there is a special designation for that kind of connector, but it escapes me right now), but I just tried plugging in a cheap mini-jack microphone into the transmitter and it showed signal just fine. So you could connect your mixer with a cable that has XLR at one end, and mini-jack at the other.

The kit did come with a hotshoe bracket as shown on the Senn site. I personally haven't tried it, but it looks simple enough to be at least almost Pete-proof.

As far as which freq range, that's a personal call you'll have to make based on the frequencies used in your area. Looks to me like you could pick any of the ranges:

http://www.sennheiserusa.com/newsite/mat_dev/frequencyfinder/PDFs/HAWAIIew.PDF

I ended up with the C range since in general it is the least used in the US. I feel pretty confident that I can use it most anywhere and find a clear channel...and that's about all I can say. My actual use and experience is pretty limited.

So far, I'm happy with it and would buy it again. I suppose the first time I run into trouble, I'll retract that! ;-)

Pete,

Where did you buy your kit from? The B&H site shows the kit but doesn't show that it comes with the bracket. If I get the kit, does it come with the bracket even if it doesn't show it?

I'm sure if you ask B&H they'll verify all the parts will be in the box. As an aside, a lot of the big mail order places sell both "gray market" and "US" equipment...the grey market stuff is usually SLIGHTLY cheaper, but may not have a valid warranty in the US. Personally, I'd always get the US version from an authorized dealer to assure a valid warranty.

I actually got my G2 ENG from Zotz Digital in Oregon. They are a small outfit that provides the kind of personal service that in this day and age is absolutely unparalleled. When I call, we have a friendly chat about what I'm buying and what's goin' on, I don't just place an impersonal order! But being a small operation, they MAY not have a low-volume item in stock so they'll have it drop-shipped from a distributor. That can cause add some time to the shipping, but in the course of the conversation with Brian or Tom there at Zotz, you'll know what the scoop is. They've always been as honest as the day is long in dealing with me.

In any case, the kit comes in a shrink-wrapped retail box, so all the parts should be there. If not, the vendor would have some explaining to do!

I too just purchased mine from Zotz. When I was looking at the B&H site I saw a bunch of the G2 100s for sale but I did not see the G2 100 ENG. The ENG kit makes all the difference.

They actually had to drop ship directly from Sennheiser because Zotz didn't have any in stock (as of yesterday) but they made it happen very easily.

What is the difference between the ENG kit and any other? Or is there a difference?