Need recommendations for a good ENG Handheld mic

[Steve Oakley]

RE50 has a nice sound for the price. Its a great news mic for interviews and that sort of stuff.

Talent is also used to handling it, which is a big plus.

When you are doing interviews and the talent is handling the mic, and omni / mild cardiod will work in your favor for getting best pickup.

My G3 B plug doesn't quite totally lock on either, but good enough and so far never fallen off. its not a lectro :/

[Tony Koretz]

Hard to go wrong with the EV RE50 as others have said, and also the 635a is as rugged as, but is quite small and thin for holding onto. Both mics sound good for handheld use in interviews though, and neither will break the bank to buy them.

[David Cleverly]

What about the Sennheiser e835 with a butt plug or cable into a bodypack transmitter?

I gather it's the same head as the SKM 100-835 in the wireless G3 kits and they are a solid beast and sound great, in my opinion.

Would be great if they are suitable - able to pick those babies up for around $90 here in Aus.

DC

[Paul R Johnson]

To fix the sliding off problem is two minutes with a dremmel and small cutter, to put back in the missing, or rounded over notch!

[Seth Bloombaum]

Originally Posted by David Cleverly

What about the Sennheiser e835 with a butt plug or cable into a bodypack transmitter?...

The e835 is an inexpensive stage vocals mic, Sennheiser's answer to the Shure SM58, sort of.

Both of those mics *do* sound great, and produce a vocal sound familiar to viewers/listeners.

Neither is a typical choice as a video hand mic; they can work quite well for a presenter (no interview) who is familiar with them, but, with a cardoid pattern, are not typically used for interviews. Omnidirectional has become the pattern of choice for broadcast hand mics, because when you're moving the mic between the interviewer and interviewee an omni pattern works better when the person who is off mic starts speaking.

Every mic mentioned earlier in this thread is an omni, except the Senn 421 and 441, which were mentioned as radio announce/interview mics. In a studio interview everyone gets their own mic.

But, if you need a cheap mic for the presenter only, an e835 will give good, even very good results.

Note to thread readers: The Electrovoice 635a is the same capsule and electronics as the EV RE50. The RE50 places these in a body with an internal shock mount and windscreen, which are largely responsible for its legendary reputation as a potential hammer. Proven upon release, it was the Viet Nam war mic of choice. 50 years later, it looks dated to some, but is still a leading performer.

[John Willett]

Originally Posted by David Cleverly

What about the Sennheiser e835 with a butt plug or cable into a bodypack transmitter?

Good idea - but the mic to use would be the MD42 or MD46 as these are reporter mics, not the e835 which is really a stage vocal mic.

[John Willett]

Originally Posted by Seth Bloombaum

The e835 is an inexpensive stage vocals mic, Sennheiser's answer to the Shure SM58, sort of.

Not really - the e840 and e935 are Sennheiser's answer to the SM58.

The SM58 has a frequency resoponse designed to cut-through a backing band, which bot the 840 and 935 have.

The 835 is a good vocal mic,, but does not have teh cut-though of the above.