Replacing PD150 Mic
 

In am trying to find a decent replacement for my very poor quality PD150 standard shotgun mic.

As I mainly film functions, weddings etc I find that my situation requires me to have both directional and wide angle audio reception on demand from the cameras mic. I notice that most good quality mics are either one or the other.

Can anyone recommend a good quality combo mic that will meet this requirement? On the web I have seen ATR 55 from Audio Technica but I'm not sure how to rate its quality to other directional mics that have been recommended, ie AT897 and the Senn ME66.

ANY ADVICE WOULD HELP!

The 897 or ME 66 are both very good mics, midline price points with very, very good performance. I really like the 897, some folks here really love the ME 66.

The ATR 55 is a fairly low end, sub-entry level mic that isn't going to be much better than your on-camera mic. It might sound slightly more robust, but not much. The place that mic shines is in the live taping/concert world or in very controlled areas.
Look at the 897, IMO.

Since you stated you need directional and wide angle pickup you might also consider the ME64 rather than the ME66 or AT. The 64 is a cartoid pattern and picks up a wider pattern of sound than the other 2 but still rejects rear sounds and the mike is quite short so it won't get in the way of the lense.

A comment + a few questions
 

Comment: If the AT897 and the Senn ME66/K6 are roughly comparable, then it boils down to price. I just bought the ME66/K6 from EVS for around $400 incl shipping. The AT897 is $279 + shipping from Zotz Digital.

Question: Having bought the ME66/K6 combo, I find that I still need more accessories, namely a windscreen, an XLR cable and a mount.

1. Mount - I'm leaning towards the Lightwave and my choice is between the MM-25, which replaces the existing PD150 mount, or the MM-USC, which mounts in the hotshoe. For the ME66/K6, which method is preferred? Note that I'm also shopping around for onboard lighting (Sony HVL-20DW2), so the hotshoe will eventually be used for that too.

2. Windscreen - Again leaning towards Lightwave. My choice is between the EQ-106 Equalizer or the MS-106 miniscreen with MSC-106 minisock.

My primary concern is whether or not the Equalizer will be in-frame at wide angles. The windscreen choice may also affect the mounting method, since the Equalizer is bushy like the Rycote and might be in-frame using WA.

Comments/suggestions are appreciated.

I use ME66 with LW -EQ and LW Minimount on the VX2000 hot shoe and a canon .7 wa lens and will not get any fur in the shot.

Thanks for the reply. I called Redding Audio, the US distributor for Lightwave. When I told the person I had a PD150, she said that she's had similar complaints from other PD150 owners. Perhaps the VX2000 is fine, but I'm more interested in hearing from other PD150 owners, as the problem may be specific to that particular model.

For a camera mounted roaming room mic, I second the me64 recommendation. Great sound, good ambient sound pickup.

Some test reports rate the Rycote softie much higher that the Lightwave equalizer, I wonder if any of y'all have any direct experience with these two in comparison.

While the 66 should be OK with the standard lens, when you put a WA adapter on, you will find it is in the frame. A mount that moves the microphone further away from the camera is needed.

I use a Sony CAC-12 mount which is an accessory for the pro cameras but it happens to be a direct bolt-in replacement to the 150's native mount. A bit pricey at $180 new, $80 used, it has a ball joint that allows the microphone to be reversed which is a great help in stowing the camera.

BTW, an alternative to the longer shotguns is the microphone (no model number on it) that comes with the DSR300 series cameras. Not as directional but a very good microphone with a lot of high-level sound capacity.

<<<-- Originally posted by Mike Butler : Some test reports rate the Rycote softie much higher that the Lightwave equalizer, I wonder if any of y'all have any direct experience with these two in comparison. -->>>

They're both owned by the same company. Kinda funny isn't it.
i'm partial to the rycote stuff but that may change.

If you decide to look at the ME64, Sennhieser put out a combo called the E664 which consists of the ME64 + K6P. It usually retails for quite a bit less than buying individually. Might be worth hunting one down.

http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/apr02/articles/sennheisere664.asp