I am in the market for a mic to tie into my zoom h4. I will be shooting a lawyer interview with my canon 7d and will have the zoom h4 for the audio capture. What would be an ideal mic?

A decent quality omni-directional lavaliere hardwired to a XLR transformer/power module is a good place to start.
Specific makes and models is dependent on your budget , as would be alternate usage factors. Possibly an additional hyper-cardioid and shotgun mic for a boom or 'on camera' rig.

A lavaliere mic is not what i want because it's promo video for a web site. thinking more along the lines of a boom mic.

The "type" of video is largely irrelevant. What matters is the type of RESULTS you want.

The primary purpose of a boom mic is to record a voice IN THE CONTEXT of the natural sounds of the surrounding environment. If those environmental sounds are pleasing, if they're congruent with the location and look of what the audience is seeing - then a boom approach is great.

HOWEVER. If the location presents ANY sound issues - including, but CERTAINLY not limited to, HVAC noise, wind, RF interference, other people talking that you DO NOT wish to record, or even the spacial characteristics of the space itself (boomy, echos, splashy sound reflections from hard surfaces, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc) then a LAV placed properly will ISOLATE the sound of the person speaking from those unwanted sounds and create a MUCH more pleasing recording. Especially since you can always record "room tone" separately (even with the same lav!) and MIX the two together to create the proper sound balance in post.

With a boom approach - that's IT. You're stuck with the mix of sounds that reach the boom mic. Period. When it's great - it's great. When it's less than great - there's seldom anything you can do to make it any better.

This is precisely even in Hollywood, where budgets are not an issue, most dialog is recorded with BOTH boom AND lav. The two approaches help make sure that there's always the cleanest possible track available in order to make the sound track shine.

FWIW.

Hi Lalo - Are you concerned about a lav because it might show in the video - if not, what is the problem with a lav? I agree 200% with Bill.

Bill thank you so much for the insight and yes the reason for boom mic or other solution is because with the lav I don't want it showing up on the video.

I'm going to be testing out a Zoom H4n with a Rode NTG3 in the next week or two. I don't know when your shoot is, but if I get testing done before your shoot, I'd be happy to make a report about the setup.

Hi Lalo

There are a couple of excellent lavs that are so small you can hide them in a buttonhole or even in someone's hair - Countryman B6 for example (and they come in colors). I have one and it works very well, although I don't usually have to worry about hiding it. Being an omni it isn't too sensitive to position so it makes it easier to place "creatively"

B6 Omni .1" Diameter Lavalier - Countryman Associates, Inc. (http://www.countryman.com/store/product.asp?id=5&catid=10)

And the excellent, less expensive Countryman B3 is still very small and hardly noticeable.

Good point Jay - the B3 is about $100 cheaper than the B6. If you can't hide one of these two mics you aren't trying hard enough!

Andy that would be great. Won't be shooting for another few weeks at least. Jim I'll take a look at the lavs you recommended and see if they fit my need. Appreciate the info.

The NTG 3 is supposed to be here on Monday. I'm sure I'll be plugging it in and checking it out as soon as I tear open the package! I'll let you know when I get some stuff together. How would I post clips on this site? Or should I just post them elsewhere and link to that?

I got the NTG 3 today as expected (sounds great, I can understand the comparisons to the MKH416 now). I also got a Manfrotto Super Clamp to attach my Zoom H4n to my boom pole. Makes for a nice little self-contained setup. I haven't done any recordings yet, but maybe later tonight or tomorrow, when my resident voice talent is here. In the meantime I'll see if I can figure out how to post a pic of the setup...

Here's a link to the Zoom on the boom, with the NTG 3...
newmicsetup001.jpg picture by audioboyscout - Photobucket (http://s1088.photobucket.com/albums/i329/audioboyscout/?action=view&current=newmicsetup001.jpg)

I've got some quick recordings of my housemate in the kitchen, one with an AT815b into the Zoom H4n, and another with the brand new Rode NTG3 into the same Zoom. Recorded in the same room, same settings on the Zoom. Unfortunately, I'll have to wait until tomorrow to post a link. Off the bat, I notice that the AT815b sounds hollow, and a bit weak, with a pretty pronounced high-end "spitty" kind of sound. In contrast, the Rode NTG3 sounds much fuller and warmer. The consonant sounds come through without being over emphasized.
Overall, there's really no contest here. The NTG3 was well worth the money, to me. I'll keep the AT as a backup mic, but I doubt it will see much use anymore. Might use it in a situation where the mic might be in danger of damage.I long to hear what the very top of the shotguns sound like compared to the Rode. If this mic sounds this good, I can't imagine how good something like a Shoepps or Neumann shotgun sounds. I'll post a link to clips tomorrow, when I'm not so tired!

While you're drooling over Schoeps and Neumann, take a look at the Sanken CS-3e. I think that's where I would go if I really wanted to spend the money. But for now the NTG-2 is good enough for my needs. I thought about an NTG-3, but I don't really have enough use for a shotgun to justify it.

I've also got an AT815b. You're right about it being thin. The off axis sounds can be very colored too as the fall off is far from smooth. Your evaluation of the NTG-3 is spot on with my experience. It's much fuller than the AT815b. You should hear less phasing and a more consistent sound as the mic moves around too. The only real downside is that the off axis stuff can be boomy with the NTG-3. An overall low cut (live or in post) can help. This usually isn't a problem outdoors but can be if near a construction site or around a large mumbling crowd like on a convention floor. As long as you're not near too much off-axis low frequency stuff, the NTG-3 should sound great!

Well, I get to try the NTG 3 out the next few days running sound for a SWAT team training video. I'm stoked about it! The video will illustrate how a SWAT team deals with a hostage situation at a school. Only thing I'm concerned about is that they will be using flash/bang grenades at one point. Limiter on the mixer WILL be engaged, and I will be riding gain when the time comes. Honestly, I may put up my AT 815b for the grenade sequence, only because I don't want to hurt my brand new NTG 3!

And I'm still not sure, but what is the best way to post audio clips here? I'd love to post the comparison between the AT 815b and Rode NTG 3, but I don't know the best way to go about it. Just trying to bring this thread back into focus!

I'd have a low-sensitivity dynamic mic on a separate track for the grenade segment and I don't think I'd expose my brand-new NTG-3 directly to it either. I'd shield it somehow for those few seconds, perhaps under your coat or something similar until the grenades had fired.