Xm2/GL2 on board Microphone choice...?

[Nick Underwood]

Hi guys.....

Am about to buy A Gl2/XM2 as a second camera and I think it will fit the bill with the type of shoots I generally do...(weddings & some promo work)

I've read, and read and read posts in this forum and in the audio forum regarding micrphone choices, but can anyone suggest a good replacement to the on board mic that is already on the Xm2?


The only real choice I have so far is the Sennheiser Mke-300.....

I need a mic that is stereo and will not obscure the shot when recording when placed onto the camera body.....


Suggestions very gratefully received...!!!

[Ken Tanaka]

If you want a stereo mic why do you not want to use the onboard GL2 mic?

[Kris Verstappen]

Wouldn't the Canon DM-50 be something for you then? I'm also planning on buying that one. It's not a Sennheiser, but I think it should be a noticable improvement over the onboard mic.

[Nick Underwood]

well....point taken about the on board mike, but I've seen much talked about the zoom/motor noise filtering through to the on board mike, and I want to minimise that if at all possible.

Plus, attaching another mike makes the camera look a little more professional looking imho !!!!

;)

[Ken Tanaka]

Attaching another stereo mic won't eliminate zoom hum (which is actually pretty faint). Stereo mics are actually two mics, one for each channel. They also tend to be fairly wide field mics, nearly by definition.

I highly recommend spending time, study and money on improving your audio capabilities. But if you're going to spend money on gear, do so for performance not looks. Nobody watching your movies sees the camera.

Look into getting a good directional shotgun mic if you want to upgrade your audio acquisition.

[Nick Underwood]

Thanks Ken....

My tongue was firmly placed in my cheek on my last post about things looking good, but I have had no experience with XM2 and mikes to know any different.

I was indeed thinking of a good shotgun type mike for this camera (me-62?!), but I don't know which ones would obscure the picture in shot and which wouldn't......has anyone had any experience with any mikes on the XM2?!

To be honest, I am really quite happy with the mike on my Xl1s, but I think the XM2 could do with a helping hand with a better mike.

By the way, why is the mke-300 thought of so highly when it is only a mono device.....??
Do people just copy the audio track in post and "make" a stereo audio signal, or do people use a splitter/mixer into the camera, or am I just missing something?!!!!

Many thanks !!

[Ken Tanaka]

The MKE-300 is a good value for an onboard directional mic. No, it won't creep into the frame.

In general, you're fine with short shotgun mics. The MKE-300 has the advantage of featuring a built-in shoe mount.

Hint: Nearly all professional mics are mono (single-channel). Yes, you can us a splitter to record two channels simultaneously. But it's far more common to pan channels in post production, thereby affording greater flexibility in an audio mix. Using a splitter does offer you the opportunity of recording a single channel at two separate levels.

[Michael Connor]

Interesting. It does seem a shame to waste a channel if your using a mono mic. I like this idea, and may even do this now just as a safeguard with my onboard mic, i do not trust the auto level setting, does strange things if the volume level increases suddenly. Does a signal splitter come in the form of a little adapter? Also whats the main differences i will notice should i upgrade to the sten 300 mic on my gm2 in comparison to my existing on board sound?

[David Ho]

I use the DM-50. It's cheap and better than the onboard mic. I just wanted to spend something around $150... but if you have a bigger budget, the Sennheisers, from what I've heard, are one of the top best.

[Bill Hardy]

The onboard mic has a zoom setting if I am not mistaken.

[Chris Wright]

I am also looking for a good directional mic. I originally planned on buying the DM-50, but I now think I will buy the MKE-300 instead since it's only $30 more at Adorama ($170)

I do have some questions though...

1. this mic has a shoe mount for the GL2 (which I will be using) but is that considered a shock mount? Will I hear camea noise?

2. I will be using this mic to pick up vows at weddings (and other projects) until I can afford a wireless mic system. Will this mic pick up wedding vows at an audible level? What is the farthest distance you can use it from?

I think thats it for now. I am open to suggests for different mics if anyone thinks there is a better value out there

Thanks!

[Alan Craven]

Chris,

The shoe mount on the MKE300 does not provide any form of shock mount. I have used the MKE with a Beyer EA86 shock mount by fitting a short length of plastic tube onto the rear of the MKE. As far as I can recall I used black electric conduit tube around 20mm outside diameter. I had to use abrasive paper to increase the inside diameter a little to get a good tight fit.

I use the mic for wildlife and find that it has rather too low a sensitivity. I have now got a Sennheiser K6/ME67 combination which has far higher sensitivity and much tighter directionality.

[Ken Tanaka]

Alan is spot-on with his remarks on the MKE-300 and ME-67 (I also have both). One point I will add, however, is that the ME-67/K6 unit is -much- longer than the MKE-300. In fact, without checking, I'd say it's 2/3rds the length of the GL2. I've never used it on-camera, but think it would represent a bit of a challenge. Alan, how do you do it?

[Alan Craven]

Ken,

I use the Manfrotto sliding plate between the camera and tripod head and screw a hot shoe adaptor into one of the threaded holes. The Sennheiser is then mounted on a modified flash bracket fitted to this!

A bit of judicious bending of the flash bracket places the ME67 just off-stage top right!