Help with shotgun mic
 

Hey all.

I'm purchasing a DVX-100 and am looking for a good all-around shotgun mic. Since I know relatively little about audio, is there any particular model that you would recommend? I've been looking at the Audio Technica 835b, and wanted to know what people thought of it, etc.

Also, I've been scouring Froogle and have found that mic available from Canada for $199.00. That's the lowest price I've found; is it a good one? Where would you recommend buying something like this from?

Thanks!

P.S.- After many months of reading from the background, I've finally posted! Yay for me. :0)

That depends on how much money you want to spend, but off the top of my head I'd say the newer AT897 for around $280USD would be an appropriate choice. The AT835b is a solid mic, but the 897 is a newer design in a shorter configuration.
There are lots of pro dealers and internet sellers that carry this mic.
Search the threads here for lots of discussions about shotgun mics, including the AT4073a if you have the money to spend.
As well as topics such as the horror of keeping your mic on the camera if there is any alternative available and various boompole, shockmount and windscreen information.

Thank you for the info. I probably should have metioned that I'm a college student, so naturally my filmmaking budget is tighter than a dolphin's butt (wait for it...)-water tight.

Ideally I'm looking to buy the greatest shotgun mic ever for as little $$ as possible. I'm willing to part with $250, so naturally that $199 price tag brought a smile to my face. If I absolutely have to spend $300, I guess I could, but as the majority of cash is going to the DVX right now, I'd like to not spend a lot on the mic.

However, if that price range (300) is fairly common, then I'll suck it up & whip out the visa. God bless plastic.

P.S.- My boom pole will most likely be made from an extendable painting pole, a trick I learned from a crafty OU filmmaker.

Depending on the type of projects you're doing, there are other high quality mics available that aren't shotguns. Because of the greater difficulty in manufacture, shotguns are more expensive than other types of mics of equal quality. In other words, you could get a very good boom mic for certain types of work for less than a comparable shotgun.
I have to run right this second, but if you let us know the circumstances you're most likely to work in, there may be suitable alternatives to a shotgun.

Patrick
Where in Canada have you seen an AT shotgun for under $200?

Bryan- I originally ran a froogle search via google, and sorted the prices of the results from low to high. Vistek (www.vistek.ca) was the company that advertised the mic for $199 USD/$419 Canadian. However, feeling that that just didn't jive, I ran a currency conversion through CNN/Money and found the actual price to be closer to $329 USD, instead of the $199 initially advertised. I did check to make sure that it wasn't just for an accessory, and it was supposed to be for the mic. Stupid froogle...

Jay- The work that I'll be doing is primarily single-cam narrative indie films, so essentially not a lot of talking-head news stuff. I'll need something that's fairly versatile, and had good results using the 835b on a friend's shoot. I'm not really sure if that answers your question, though.

Like Jay mentioned, there are a multitude of mics and the DVX will allow you to use a greater range because it has a clean preamp and phantom power.

For indoor dialog an Oktava hypercardoid or Rode NT3 would be a thought. Outdoor, the cheapest decent shotgun would be the AT 835 or 897. We don't have any of the lower priced AT's up yet but we do have the Oktava and NT3. Have a listen at here or here

Bryan- Thank you for the links! The Sennheiser sounds very nice. The dialog I'll be recording will be both indoor and out, so I think I'm still leaning toward the AT 835, but thanks again for the Oktava/NT3 suggestions.