Oktava MK-012-01 Movie Set
 

Hi everybody after reading many raving reviews I am ready to pull the trigger on an Oktava MK-012.
When I went to the europe site they had this deal.

Does anyone have any experience with this set? Is it good value for money?
It goes for 169 euro.

These are great sounding mics for the money (I have 5 of them) but they are very susceptible to handling noise and very light breezes. A good shock mount and baby ball gag are necessities in my opinion. Quality control is an issue so I would buy from an authorized dealer. I have had a couple go down because the contact pin on one of the capsules was too long.
Once you add in the price of the BBG you are getting near the the cost of an AT4053a or a SCX-1HC which are better mics.

Thnx for the quick reply!
I am buying it on the Oktava shop.
What kind of shockmount would you recommend me for attachment on the front hotshoe of the Z5?

This is a very good one.

K-Tek | Camera Shoemounting Shockmount | K-CAM-SSM | B&H Photo

Thnx for the great tips. After some searching I have found a great deal on the Baby Ball Gag (78 Euro), The WindJammer (30 Euro) and the K-CAM-SSM (58 Euro).
So for the same price as the mic I got the whole mounting and windgear.
Pretty pleased with the deal to be honest.
For some reason Europe seems a little cheaper for audio then the US, while for video I have to pay alot more then the US.

I agree with Kevin. My Oktava sounds good, as long as it is working. The first one I bought died and by the time I got it repaired it cost me in more time and money than if I had bought a better quality mic like the AT4053 in the first place. I learned my lesson. It is a terrible feeling to go to all the time and expense to set up a shoot and then have your low quality microphone fail. I have no confidence in Oktava microphones.

There was a period of time in which the market was flooded with cheap chinese Oktava knock-offs. There is a way to tell the difference, but few folks knew it. I'm betting the failed mic was probably one of those. I have not heard of any reliability issues with genuine Oktava before.

No Chris, I bought mine from the Sound Room in NY. I even paid $100 extra to get a "carefully selected model "

Hmmm.. interesting. I stand corrected. Still, yours is the first mention I have heard about Oktava reliability, I wonder now - others have problems?

I mean I have heard of failures on just about every various brand of mic, but no one brand has ever stood out more than any other.

Might be an intersting thread - seeking comments on brand reliability and failures.

Chris

what does the low-cut pad do?

The same thing as a low cut filter - namely filters out frequencies lower than the stated limit of the low cut pad (usually 80 or 150 hz.) This often helps with windy conditions and reduces handling noise pickup.

As I mentioned above I have had two of mine fail, each with the same problem.
I just got one back from repair, the contact plunger had to be replaced. This may be a weak point on these mics, but I can't say for certain. I don't know anyone else that uses them.

can anyone recommend a particular low cut pad that is optimal for indoor narrative use? Namely to reduce handling noise?

thanks

I have had absolutely no problems with mine. You can tell the Chinese knockoffs by the serial number (I don't remember the details now). They were only out a couple of years, but on occasion somebody manages to get one.

No handling noise if used properly with a shock mount.

I have. The issue being piece to piece QC. The OP said "raving reviews." I haven't seen any. Where are these raving reviews?

Ty Ford