Best All-Purpose Mic

The place for questions about shooting with Blackmagic Cameras.
  • Author
  • Message
Offline

Max Normandin

  • Posts: 204
  • Joined: Fri Aug 02, 2013 7:07 pm

Best All-Purpose Mic

PostSun Aug 04, 2013 2:42 pm

Name your best all-purpose mic for independent filmmakers using the BMCC or Pocket Camera.

I'll mainly be shooting short films and documentaries and I'm looking for some good, crips dialogue recording capabilities as well as decent ambient sound.

Thanks to you all for taking the time to answer this post.
Offline

Felix Steinhardt

  • Posts: 205
  • Joined: Sat Aug 25, 2012 9:45 pm
  • Location: Karlsruhe / Germany

Re: Best All-Purpose Mic

PostSun Aug 04, 2013 3:24 pm

I use a Rode NT3 for indoor dialogue and a Rode Videomic Pro for outdoor dialogue stuff and as main mic on my future Pocket Cam.

For ambient sound recording I use the stereo mics of my Tascam DR100.

There just is no all-purpose mic
Offline
User avatar

Christian Schmeer

  • Posts: 904
  • Joined: Sat Sep 29, 2012 5:07 pm
  • Location: London, UK

Re: Best All-Purpose Mic

PostSun Aug 04, 2013 4:43 pm

Felix Steinhardt wrote:There just is no all-purpose mic


+1
Christian Schmeer - DP / Colourist
www.christianschmeer.com
www.vimeo.com/christianschmeer
Offline
User avatar

Abobakr M. Alshiblie

  • Posts: 104
  • Joined: Mon Oct 22, 2012 6:35 pm

Re: Best All-Purpose Mic

PostSun Aug 04, 2013 5:08 pm

It's true there is no All-Purpose Mic.. but if someone on a budget for one good mic only, I think a mic with hyper-cardioid pattern is what you are looking for.. it pretty much will cover your general audio recording needs.. a super-cardioid might trouble you in indoor shooting, so a hyper-cardioid mic i guess is what you are looking for.. Sanken and as well Schoeps mics are a favorite. Check them out
Offline
User avatar

Peter J. DeCrescenzo

  • Posts: 2426
  • Joined: Wed Aug 22, 2012 6:53 am
  • Location: Portland, Oregon USA

Re: Best All-Purpose Mic

PostSun Aug 04, 2013 7:45 pm

Max Normandin wrote:Name your best all-purpose mic for independent filmmakers using the BMCC or Pocket Camera.

I'll mainly be shooting short films and documentaries and I'm looking for some good, crips dialogue recording capabilities as well as decent ambient sound. Thanks to you all for taking the time to answer this post.


What's your microphone $ budget?

-
Offline

Max Normandin

  • Posts: 204
  • Joined: Fri Aug 02, 2013 7:07 pm

Re: Best All-Purpose Mic

PostSun Aug 04, 2013 7:47 pm

Peter J. DeCrescenzo wrote:
Max Normandin wrote:Name your best all-purpose mic for independent filmmakers using the BMCC or Pocket Camera.

I'll mainly be shooting short films and documentaries and I'm looking for some good, crips dialogue recording capabilities as well as decent ambient sound. Thanks to you all for taking the time to answer this post.


What's your microphone $ budget?

-



I'm looking at the rode ntg2. Since I won't be recording in camera, I'll connect to the zoom and that`s roughly 500$.

NTG2 to zoomhn4... sounds reasonable to you?
Offline
User avatar

Peter J. DeCrescenzo

  • Posts: 2426
  • Joined: Wed Aug 22, 2012 6:53 am
  • Location: Portland, Oregon USA

Re: Best All-Purpose Mic

PostSun Aug 04, 2013 8:11 pm

The NTG2 is certainly a popular mic.

Additional info here:
http://www.zacuto.com/tools-of-the-trade-part-2


-
Offline
User avatar

marktyers

  • Posts: 128
  • Joined: Wed Jul 31, 2013 4:03 pm

Re: Best All-Purpose Mic

PostSun Aug 04, 2013 9:07 pm

Max Normandin wrote:Name your best all-purpose mic for independent filmmakers using the BMCC or Pocket Camera.

I'll mainly be shooting short films and documentaries and I'm looking for some good, crips dialogue recording capabilities as well as decent ambient sound.

Thanks to you all for taking the time to answer this post.


Depends on what you are doing. For external boom pole work I use a Rode NTG1. For inside work I use a Rode NT5. For ENG-style reporting I use a Sennheiser MD46. All these are XLR and I either connect to a Tascam DR40 or a DR60-D.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 4

F.K.

Re: Best All-Purpose Mic

PostSun Aug 04, 2013 9:54 pm

Hi,
you should also consider the Sennheiser MKH416, you should be able to get an used one for as little as $400-450. However this Microphone will need +48V Phantom power. The 416 is delivering consistent quality and build rock-solid (a lot of Rentalhouses carry them). If you want to film outside you probably should also consider buying a deadcat or a blimp + deadcat. If you know that you will be filming in very noisy situations you might want to invest in a longer microphone however it will be a more expensive route to go and it might be tricky to find a blimp for it especially when you are on a budget, in those occasions it might be cheaper to rent a microphone for the special occasion.

Return to Cinematography

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: joe12south and 134 guests