Anyone used stock Z7 Microphone on a boom?

[Paul Atherton]

I have done this, but indoors, in my studio, using a reflector holder arm as the boom with the reflector clamp holding the end of the Microphone. What I was really wanting to do however is buy a proper boom pole and affix the Sony Mic to the end of this with a deadcat or similar over the mic to stop wind - for outdoor use, with someone holding the pole. Any suggestions on how to affix the sony mic to a pole? Or is the sony stock Mic just not up to this job?

Thanks, Paul

[Gary Nattrass]

Hi Paul it should be fine and is virtually identical to the mic's I use on my boom and cameras the AT 875R.

I use Rode pistol grips and a WS-6 with my AT 875's and the sony mic is the same size so will be OK with them too, I use a Gitzo carbon fibre 3m pole as well.

Here is an e-bay link to the Rode kit:http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Rode-WS6-Winds...ht_2461wt_1141

And here is a clip using the AT875r on location, I chose them as my stock mics on the HPX301's I now have as I was very impressed with the sony stock mic on the Z7 and S270 I had last year, they sound pretty puch the same and give a good focused sound on a boom.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NbvCcjrAueI
And an indoor clip:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DH8mVouKkhg

[Paul Atherton]

Thanks for the response Gary. The issue I'm wondering about is the length of the Sony mic. It is just 160mm long (22mm dia) and of this length there is only 50mm to play with at the back of the mic for the support - this would just manage the grip you mention but having a wind shield also would obscure the vent slots along the side of the mic (apologies don't know correct name). Also there is no way of extending the length with an XLR extender as this model does not have an integrated XLR socket but instead has the cable coming directly out of the mic with XLR socket on the end of that. The ws6 wind shield is much longer also than the remaining length of my mic once the handle is fitted. With the handle fitted, I would only be left with 105mm of mic to cover up with the windshield. The ws6 windshield is designed to cover 160mm of mic length.

Maybe I could use this handle with a different windshield?

Cheers, Paul

[Neil Hurley]

Hi Paul,
I am not familiar with Z7 mic but I also own the AT 875r which seems to be similar in lenght .The 12cm version of this windshield (link) may help.It will be 15mm longer than the remaining part of the mic but I don't think that is a problem.
Regarding the slots do not allow the grip to cover them as this could interfere with the directional pickup pattern of the mic.However it is ok ,in fact neccessary for the windshield to cover the slots as they need to be protected from the wind. If you have any concerns give Rycote a ring, I have found the people there to be very helpful.
Best Regards,Neil

Softie Windshield » Rycote

[Gary Nattrass]

I cut off about an inch from my WS-6 for use on the camera and on the pistol grip I just left it the full length, both seem to work fine.

It is easy to cut the WS-6 and then re-glue the rubber end ring back onto the shorter piece, they are cheap as chips so its not like you are trashing a rycote.

The advantage of the 875r is that it has an XLR end so you would have to add an extension lead to the stock sony mic, it should be Ok though as I used to use the stock sony mic on my camera before I got the 875R.

One alternative would be to buy a 875R as a second mic that you can then use with the boom, it will match the stock camera mic very well.

Here is a pic of one of my 875R mic's in a Rode pistol grip, you can see the phase cancellation slots are clear of the rubber holding ring, the WS-6 next to it is the full length one and the one on the left is the cut down version from my camera mic: