Lapel Mics...recommendation?

[Lisa Bennett]

I am looking for lapel mics for the host and the person we are interviewing. Will be on location. Any recommendations on what lapel mics work well with the JVC GY HD100U?

[Don Bloom]

I'm assuming that you're going direct to the camera and not thru a mixer of any kind?

In no particular order....

Tram50

Countryman B3...B6...EMW

Sanken COS11D

There are more but off the top of my head are these and I've used them so I can attest to the quality.

Believe it or not on the less expensive side the Azden503. Of course for that you'd need an adapter-mini up to XLR so by the time you buy those adapters you could get a pricier mic to start with that wouldn't need adapters plus the more connections in the stream the more that can go wrong.

I suggest you go to somewhere like the B&H site or the MArkertek site and peruse the various mics available in whatever price range you are working with.

[Lisa Bennett]

Hi Don,

Thank you. You always come thru with perfect info.

[John Nantz]

You’re right ….

Originally Posted by Lisa Bennett

Hi Don,
Thank you. You always come thru with perfect info.

… he does. And gets to the point.

Here’s another model by BOYA that one might consider depending of where you’re at in the kit buiding process:
http://www.dvinfo.net/forum/wedding-...adio-lav.html?

There are always lots of things to consider, such as quality, robustness, and of course, cost. If one is testing the water for using a lavalier system then this could be one way to go. If the job requires fail-proof equipment then perhaps not so much.
[Edit: Somehow I had my ‘wireless cap’ on because that’s what I’ve been looking for. After re-reading the post it appears that you’d be looking for wired. While the discussion in the link was about wireless, I just checked and they do make wired with XLR capability. Hopefully some of the discussion in the link is helpful. What Bruce wrote about the ‘bump’ is good to know. The ones I have are for on top of the fabric.]

Another consideration, especially with regard to any good name and expensive microphone is to be on the lookout for counterfeits. Anything with mics seem to be a lucrative area for the counterfeiters.

[Bruce Watson]

Originally Posted by Lisa Bennett

Hi Don,

Thank you. You always come thru with perfect info.

Well, he did leave out the Oscar SoundTech mics, and the DPA 4060/1 mics. So I'm not sure I can give him a "perfect" score. ;)

The OST 801/802 are Tram50 clones. Sound just like them, look pretty much like them. Cost a lot less. Buy them with the XLR power supply (converts phantom power to the mic's required plug-in power, and gives you a three pin XLR connector for your XLR cable) and run XLR cables to your camera. If you need to go wireless ever, get the mic terminated per your wireless requirements (OST are happy to custom wire their mics for Sennheiser, Lectrosonics, Zaxcom, etc.), and get this same adapter on your XLR adapter too, and you can easily switch back and forth as needed.

I've got a pair of 802s (for on top of clothes, visible to the camera, like on a local news TV set) for interview duty. They work and sound great. I use them with Sennheiser G3 wireless on occasion, but the XLR adapter sounds better than the wireless, so I work wired when I can.

If you're considering the COS-11D, you should check the response curve. It's been awhile since I did, but IIRC it's got a big bump in the HF because it's designed to be hidden under clothes and needs the bump to compensate for the transmission loss due to the clothes. If that's true, it might be problematic as a visible mic. But you could tone it down with some parametric EQ in post.

Same is true of the even more expensive DPA 4060, again IIRC. EDIT: looks like the 4060 has some level of adjustment. I'm not sure how it works, something to check on before you buy maybe.

There's no reason at all to believe me. The Internet is your friend. Search around. There's plenty of people, from Hollywood dialog pros to independent film makers to commercial video people singing the praises of these mics. IMHO they are very much the biggest bang for the buck in lavaliers.

[Lisa Bennett]

Thank you for all of the information. I will look up the models suggested.

We have a shoot at a ranch. I believe we will have power available. Going to visit the location next week. As mentioned shooting a 2 person interview and looking for some options to get good sound. I plan to buy 2 lav mics and everything that goes with them. Right now I only have one lav mic and it's not one that has a receiver to mount on the camera. I have to research the proper way to run 2 lav mics to camera xlr. Should I use a mixer? The hd100u has 2 xlr ports. Audio not be forte.Thank you everyone.

[Bruce Watson]

Originally Posted by Lisa Bennett

I have to research the proper way to run 2 lav mics to camera xlr.

That one's easy -- XLR cable. For example, a pair of http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/68099-REG/Audio_Technica_AT8314_25_3_pin_XLR_Male_to.html in whatever lengths you think appropriate. Pan one full left, the other full right (you probably don't actually have to do anything to have this happen -- probably the default for your camera, but I've got no experience with JVCs). Pan them where you want them in post after you've cleaned up the individual tracks and made your edits.

Originally Posted by Lisa Bennett

Should I use a mixer?

You don't have to, but I do. If you don't want to you can record directly into your camera -- set your camera's XLR inputs to mic level, and turn on phantom power (if using phantom powered mics of course). OTOH, if you're using a mixer, you'll want to set the camera's XLRs to line level and no phantom power.

I use a mixer because mixers give you some things that are definite value-ads. For starters, you generally get much better mic preamps in mixers. The preamps in an http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/764543-REG/Sound_Devices_MIXPRE_D_MixPre_D_Compact_Field_Mixer.html are seriously excellent and you'll likely hear the improvement over your camera's micpres without much trouble. Better sound with less noise (hiss) is absolutely a good thing.

Also, a good mixer will have good limiters. This can keep your signal from clipping should the unexpected happen, like your interviewee suddenly laughs or shouts. Or drops and breaks a glass. Or as has happened to me with one particular talent, suddenly gesture in such a way as to swat the lavalier with a hand. I saw that one coming but the "whomp!" of it still made me jump. But the limiter saved it which is a good thing since that part of the interview made it to the DVD.

A good mixer will also give you good meters, so you can actually see what's going on with the audio, and good pots so you can make adjustments without fighting the equipment.

A good mixer will give you good phantom power also, which needs to hold 48VDC no matter how much current the mic wants to draw. This improves transient response. You wouldn't think it would matter much with dialog, but you can hear a weak phantom power supply.

I could go on, but I imagine you get it by now.

If you don't want to buy a mixer, you might be able to rent one. This would let you try it out and see how you like it before you commit. Or hold you over while you search the used markets (there's quite a few used MixPre-Ds on the used markets now because people have been trading up to SD's new 6xx mixers).

Or... you could hire all the audio out to a soundie. If you're going to do a lot of this you may find that trying to do it all means that things fall through the cracks. Just sayin' that operating, lighting, sound, etc. can end up being a lot to juggle.

[Don Bloom]

Lisa,
if your running as a 1 person crew, meaning you don't have a qualified sound tech with you, I would skip the mixer and run straight to the camera.
I've done that over the years with wired mics and especially with my HM700 and not had any problems. I'm pretty good with audio but if I'm the only one crewing I can't run the camera AND the mixer to any degree of proficiency in most cases. The JVC has good audio control but then I never ran it on AGC. I set my levels and kept my finger by the dials.
Now having said THAT....let me clearly state that that was MY way of doing it. Others will probably disagree. I'm suggesting you forgo the mixer because you said you're not all that good with audio and why chance it. Put the camera audio into AGC run a quality sound check and go for it.

[Don Bloom]

Lisa, I missed Bruces great explanation we must of been posting at the same time.

To run 2 mics to the HD100 decide which mic you want to channel 1 and which you want to channel 2. It doesn't make any difference but that way you'll know in your head which is which. I always use different color tape to mark everything. A small strip wrapped around the XLR connection on the wire or on the mic itself etc so it's an easy glance to see which is which. Yellow, red, green, blue even white if need be.

OK so now plug the mics into the xlr block on the camera. Now comes the hard part. The switches on the block. Set one to channel 1/2 and the other to channel 2. Put your headpohnes on and even watch the levels in the LCD. talk into the mics one at a time and one should be in your left ear and the other in your right ear with the appropriate bars moving in the LCD. If you're running AGC nothing more to do. IF you're running manual, then adjust the levels to taste but try to keep them out of the red on the LCD. You'll see it.

Most wired lavs have anywhere from 4 to 10 feet of cable to the connector. Get a couple of 20 foot XLR (3 pin) cables connect the mics and what I always did was put the connection either in the pants pocket or tucked into the belt to reduce tension. Plug the other end into the camera. Done!
I think that about covers it.

[Gabor Heeres]

Using the ElektroVoice RE-50 for years now. It's still the best I can get imho.

[Lisa Bennett]

Thank you Gabor.

[Paul R Johnson]

In Europe - the Beyer M58 is a good alternative to the EV. Very long handle.

[Lisa Bennett]

Thank you. I was able to locate a set of lapel mics.

[Andrew Smith]

So ... what kind were they?

Andrew

[Lisa Bennett]

Wow so sorry I missed your reply...

I bought MXL FR-366K

Nothing fancy and they work good.