Gear advice on the 150...

[Melisa Raney]

So I'm looking to purchase a shotgun mic (which can double as a mic for interviews when needed), a toplight and a mounting bracket for my Sennheiser EW100 wireless set. But being as I'm not totally informed on all this stuff I'd like some advice before I make the purchase.

Here's what I'm thinking....

Shotgun- Rode NTG 1
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/367746-REG/Rode_NTG_1_NTG_1_Condenser_Shotgun_Microphone.html
Toplight- LitePanels LED
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/542007-REG/Litepanels_LP_MICRO_Micro_LED_On_Camera_Light.html
Bracket- Bracket 1 ***Not 100% sure if this is compatible with the 150????
Bracket1 | HD Wireless Reciever Bracket | VISLBR1HD | B&H Photo


Just an FYI... this equipment will be used to shoot weddings

[Chris Harding]

Hi Melissa

For what it's worth, I found that at weddings (my living) the Rode VideoMic works a lot better than the NTG in the noisy environment of a reception. I have a Rode VideoMic on each of my HMC's and they are a lot more punchy than the NTG ....in a quiet environment the NTG will shine of course but I just found I needed the "hot" output of the VideoMic. You need a Mini Jack to XLR adapter if you use them (I just ripped the cable out and rewired them) I find they are brilliant for doing pre-dinner drink interviews!! However when the music is cranked up you do need to switch on your channel attentuation!!

Just my 2 cents

Chris

[Guy McLoughlin]

Hi Melissa,

Low cost shotgun mics are great outdoors with proper wind protection, and work well in large indoor spaces, but are terrible in smaller indoor spaces ( business offices, homes, etc... ) because they pic up almost as much sound from behind the mic as they do in front of the mic ( poor off-axis sound rejection ), which means you will end up recording a lot of reflected sound from the walls and ceiling of the room.

As a first mic, I would recommend that you buy something like the Panasonic AG-MC200G camera mic, which has very good off-axis sound rejection:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/462849-REG/Panasonic_AG_MC200G_AG_MC200G_Camera_Mountable_Shotgun.html

For general indoor recording mounted in a shockmount, the AudioTechnica 4041 cardioid condenser mic is great mic for just about any kind of audio work:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/574511-REG/Audio_Technica_AT4021_AT4021_Small_Diaphragm_Cardioid_Condenser.html

If you need better isolation of your subject from the rest of the room, the AKG Blue Line CK93 hypercardioid mic, is more directional than the AT 4041, but you might need boom operator if you are recording more than one person:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/349107-REG/AKG__Blue_Line_Series_Microphone.html

These small diaphragm condenser mics are much better than shotgun mics for smaller rooms because they have great off-axis sound rejection, and will mostly only pic up sound in front of the microphone, so the sound reflecting off the ceiling or walls won't be recorded. More expensive shotgun mics like the Sanken CS-1 / CS-3 or Rode NTG-3 also have very good off-axis sound rejection and work quite well when shooting indoors or outdoors, but cost upwards of $700.
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/632090-REG/Rode__NTG_3_RF_Biased_Condenser_Shotgun.html

[Melisa Raney]

Thanks for the advice...

The Rode VideoMic doesn't look like I could detach it and use it for interviews. I have a wireless plug on transmitter that I'd like to be able to plug a short shot gun mic into to do some interviews. I guess kind of like an interchangeable shotgun/handheld mic. I've seen people use them in news....??

[Richard Lacey]

Originally Posted by Chris Harding

For what it's worth, I found that at weddings (my living) the Rode VideoMic works a lot better than the NTG in the noisy environment of a reception.

I wish someone had told me that before I got the NTG2. Been pretty disappointed with it's performance at weddings. Picks up far too much sound from behind the mic.

[Dave Partington]

I have several Rode NTG mics, both NTG-1 and NTG-2. I like the NTG-2 because using the battery I can use it remotely hooked to my Zoom H4N recorder as well as to the HMC (when I use the phantom power).

For an on-camera light I have some Comer 1800 lights and would recommend them over the light-panels for anything other than close interview type shoots. The down side is that they cost more and use Sony batteries, but I think the performance difference is worth it.

Unless you want to buy something twice (because the first one didn't live up to expectations) buy the right one first time.

[Sherri Nestico]

Let me chime in here and say that I use the Rode Videomic on my HMC-40 and I absolutely love it. I do news videos and interviews, and 99.9 percent of the time I don't bother to break out my wireless mic. The Videomic handles interviews well, great sound rejection from sides and back.

I also second the vote for the Comer light. I have both the 900 and the 1800. The 900 is smaller and doesn't have a dimmer like the 1800, but if you're not going to be shooting in large, darkened rooms or outside at night, the 900 would probably suit you well.

[Guy McLoughlin]

Originally Posted by Melisa Raney

The Rode VideoMic doesn't look like I could detach it and use it for interviews. I have a wireless plug on transmitter that I'd like to be able to plug a short shot gun mic into to do some interviews. I guess kind of like an interchangeable shotgun/handheld mic. I've seen people use them in news....??

The industry standard for handheld ENG reporting is the Electro Voice RE50N/D-B - omni-directional mic. This mic has built-in shock mounting, so you won't hear any handling noise from the person doing the interviews, and works well in windy conditions with a "Fat Cat" furry windscreen.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/102900-REG/Electro_Voice_16502345_RE50N_D_B_N_DYM_Dynamic.html

If you want one mic to do it all, then you could buy a pistol-grip shockmount to hold the Panasonic AG-MC200G shotgun mic or the Audio-Technica AT4021 Small-Diaphragm Cardioid "pencil" mic, which would provide fairly good isolation from handling noise.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/577183-REG/Rode_PG_2_PG2_Pistol_Grip.html

[Melisa Raney]

Thanks again for the advice :)

I can only find Comer Lights on the LA Color Shop site. Are these guys good to work with?
Also on the Comer lights I noticed it runs off a Sony rechargeable battery... does that mean I would need a Sony battery CHARGER too?

Any opinions on this light... http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/589276-REG/Switronix__Dimmable_5600K_LED_Light.html

[Guy McLoughlin]

For on camera interview lights, I would look at the new ikan 155 LED light kit:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/683665-REG/Ikan_ILED155P_iLED_155_On_Camera_LED.html

...And if budget is an issue, then this non-dimmable Dot Line light :

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/650628-REG/Dot_Line_DL_DV60_DL_DV60_Video_DSLR.html

[Dave Partington]

Originally Posted by Melisa Raney

Thanks again for the advice :)
I can only find Comer Lights on the LA Color Shop site. Are these guys good to work with?

Yes - great customer service.

Also on the Comer lights I noticed it runs off a Sony rechargeable battery... does that mean I would need a Sony battery CHARGER too?

Yes. I bought NP-F970 compatible batteries for about $30 each and they last > 3 hours. Chargers are $20 or so.