mounting small diameter microphones on Z1

[Carlos E. Martinez]

Originally Posted by Johan Bollen

carlos, I think that my test has shown me that the kind of materials used are more important than mic to camera distance when dealing with handling noise. That's why I think, when it comes to handling noise Bob Grant's solution could really work because he uses a good suspension although it is close to the camera.

Great. Get back to us and tell us how did it go.

[Johan Bollen]

For the time being I will stick to my own solution, realizing now that for handling noise there are better ones available. Thanks for the answers and the time Carlos.

[Bob Grant]

As promised here's a link to the bracket we've been using with all of our cameras when we need to add more bits than there's mounts for on the camera:

http://www.bracket1.com

Not exactly that cheap I guess but on the plus side you can fit your release plate to the bottom so it as easy as it get to go from tripod to hand held. Also there's plenty of space to mount lots of things on the side of the camera and enough clearance so you can still change tapes.

We've added a handle underneath at the front to the right to make it easier to hold, I guess there's a number of ways one could do this. The Bracket1 people have done all the hard work with the release plate mount etc.

[Craig Irving]

Originally Posted by Carlos E. Martinez

The support being plastic certainly doesn't help. The old support style, like on the PD170, PDX10 or V1, is much better.

I've been following this thread eagerly because I've often worried about snapping the mic holder on my V1U because of the weight of my Rode NT3 inside the SM5 shockmount.

Have I understood correctly now that the mic mount on the Z1U is worse than the V1U? Have anyone had problems with the mic mounts snapping off the V1U?

And if the PD170 does have a stronger mic mount, has anyone tried to see if it is possible just to order that part and put it on the Z1U & V1U?

Also, thanks for the pictures for mounting the SM5 directly to the camera by removing the mic-holder altogether. That's a brilliant idea, Bob. I just wish I had the handyman skills to follow your instructions and pull it off. :)

[Bob Grant]

Originally Posted by Craig Irving

I've been following this thread eagerly because I've often worried about snapping the mic holder on my V1U because of the weight of my Rode NT3 inside the SM5 shockmount.

Have I understood correctly now that the mic mount on the Z1U is worse than the V1U? Have anyone had problems with the mic mounts snapping off the V1U?

And if the PD170 does have a stronger mic mount, has anyone tried to see if it is possible just to order that part and put it on the Z1U & V1U?

Also, thanks for the pictures for mounting the SM5 directly to the camera by removing the mic-holder altogether. That's a brilliant idea, Bob. I just wish I had the handyman skills to follow your instructions and pull it off. :)

Haven't checked the mic mount on our V1P, we've only used the el cheapo Sony mic on that camera (it's the same one that comes with the PD170 setc). That's a pretty light mic so I doubt we'll have a problem.

Certainly the mic holder on the PD170 seems to be made of metal and the one on the Z1 is plastic. Where we struck a problem with the Z1 was using the SM5 Rode mount as it was originally intended. The metal tube gets clamped very tightly into the mic holder and it's heavy. Add in that the 416 etc are heavy mics and the additional turning moment it's no surprise that two of them had cracked. I doubt if the NT3 directly mounted in the original Z1 holder would cause you a problem though.
The other thing to watch out for is the two screws that hold the mic holder to the control console seem to work loose. If your mic feels floppy might pay to check if the screws are tight before the screws fall right out. Also the screws that hold the adaptor plate / additional shock mount can also work loose. Check all screws.

[Craig Irving]

I would put the NT3 right into the mic-mount if I could, but it's far too large so I opted to go with the SM5 option. I don't know why I didn't just get an SM3 and use the cold shoe though, I'm not really using it for anything else. I'm also considering just replacing the NT3 with the AT4053a since that would fit in the mic-mount.

If the PD150 mic-mount is that great though, what about just buying the part and putting that on a Z1U... is that possible?

And if the PD150 uses the same mic-mount as the V1U then I must just be extra-paranoid about it breaking. The NT3 is a fairly heavy mic though, especially bundled with the SM5.

[Mark Goldberg]

Keep it simple. Crumpled duct tape or chewin' gum does the trick.