Best mic for wedding reception?
 

I have a Sony HVR-Z7 video camera & I'm not happy with the sound using the mic that came with it. The only time I use the on-camera mic is for dancing. Any suggestion would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance,

Allen

Re: Best mic for wedding reception?
 

For wedding reception speeches I use a small Sony P50 recorder, put it on a mini tripod and place it in front of the person making the first speech. I get an usher to move it to the next person or do it myself etc, I tell the bride and groom how I will capture the speeches prior to the event, there has never been a problem with this and they appreciate a good clean sound track.

Other options include taking a live feed from any amplified audio - generally your camera will pick this up well enough from the speakers in the room.

Re: Best mic for wedding reception?
 

Are you wanting to capture general ambient sound of speeches? For ambient sound a decent stereo mic would work well. I use a Azden SMX-10 which is not junk but not top of the line. If I'm recording speech I generally use a recorder to get a line out feed from the mixer and sync it up in post. This takes a little extra time in post but works very well. You can look at a recorder like the Sony PCM-M10, Olympus LS-11, or Tascam DR-2d for this. The M10 is a bit over $200, has amazing battery life (~20 hours with regular alkalines), and also has decent quality built in mics you can use for interviews or live music.

I haven't used the M10 personally but I do have the PCM-D50 which is a step up and I love it to death. I also have the Tascam DR-2d. It has fixed cardioid mics built in and has a dual record feature which allows you to record a source at normal level and a lower level at the same time in case of clipping. You can also record line in + internal mics or external mics into the mic in jack and get a perfectly synced stereo recording of each source. The battery life on the Tascam is not as great though. Normal alkalines will last about 4-5 hours with good ones so if you're recording a long event you'll need lithiums, rechargeables, or an external power source. My complaints with the DR-2d are small. It didn't come with a power cord. You have to pay an extra $20 if so. It also takes a long time to format the memory card. I bought a 16GB card and it took ~45 minutes to format.

Re: Best mic for wedding reception?
 

It is the PCM D50 that I use and not the P50. The only problem with it is that the mikes are far too sensitive, move the recorder whilst it is recording and the sound track will sound like a blast of wind is crossing the mikes and no XLR input. Otherwise it is excellent, plenty of battery life and long recording times with uncompressed audio. It will play MP3 files but has no MP3 recording mode.

Re: Best mic for wedding reception?
 

Zoom H4n will be all you ever need! Get a Redhead windscreen for it (like $35 extra) plus its got two XLR inputs, can record in a wide variety of formats (including MP3), really hard to beat for the price...