VHF Lavs or Shotgun
 

I don't have the money to get UHF lav mics. I was thinking about getting two of these

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/cont...goryNavigation

Would it be smarter to get the azden $150 shotgun mic? I really don't have the money for the UHF systems so i was wondering if the shotgun would be a better choice. Does anyone have any feedback on these mics? are they good? crapy? could someone please direct me in the right direction...I am only 16.

When you buy too cheaply, you can see the teeth marks on you butt after every shoot.

Regards,

Ty Ford

My problem is that if im going the lav route, i have to have at least two channels. Would it be smarter to get the shotgun?

Brandon,
At 16, you're asking all the right questions. However, you're also getting tea room advice when you are working in a soda pop world. If you can afford the best gear, get it. But without it, look for the best bang for buck.
Azden doesn't deliver quality for cost at any level. For the same amount, you can get used 897's, Rode Videomic's, or other quality used mic. If you've got this low a budget, while you really should try to save up more, you should equally consider used gear. Even now, with literally more than a million bucks in 3 studio rooms, we still snap up good used gear when we find it, there is no shame in used if it's good stuff.
For a low-cost, high performance wireless, look at the AT Pro88W wireless. Not good for any sort of long distance, this wireless sounds better than most any wireless at most any price point. You just can't be farther than about 20' with it, and you have virtually no channel control. (only an A or B channel, on 4 separate channels) If they're good enough for Hollywood, they're good enough for you.
it's wise to start looking for good gear early on, because as Ty mentions, cheap gear (good gear can be inexpensive but never cheap) will leave teeth marks on your butt.

can i hide the mics good on that audio technica? they seem big. and that is my other question. how do you hide the mics.

Brandon, one simple bit of advice: wired first, wireless second.

Shhhh!

'nough said.

You took the words right out of my mouth Doug.

Go for a long audio cable run. Save your money and buy a better wireless when you can afford it. You don't need a wireless when a much less expensive LLOOONNNNNGGG audio cable will do the same job. Two mics? Two long cables!

You can even make them yourself! I do my own cables. Soldering is not as hard as you might think and, again, think of the money you are saving now so you can buy what you really need/want later on!

Best of luck!

p.s. For folks on a tight budget I too recommend the Sennheiser G2 system. I bought one when I added my DVX 100a to my camera collection thinking it would be a toy that wouldn't last. I was wrong. A fine piece of equipment for the money spent. It get a "worth it" from me.

FWIW...I bought my Sennheiser G2, receiver, lav w/trans and block/plug on cube trans for a hand mic for US$500 brand new. Not a bad price for all of those options AND it's frequency agile!

:) In my highschool, there were quite a few guys who owned their own cars. Many were Corvettes. I took the bus.

Ty Ford

Same in most of our teen worlds, :-) but there's a big difference between Daddy buying a car so he can live vicariously thru son, and buying son a high quality audio kit. :-)
I'll bet the 16 year olds you went to school with got that car from dear ole' Dad as a gift or hand-me-down.

I understand what you're saying, but the way the kids in my neighborhood get geared up for sports and music (guitars, amps,etc. ), cell phones and shoes, leads me to believe there isn't a lot of difference.

I made my first recordings with a dixie cup,a piece of string a bar of soap and a zinc coated wash tub full of kreosene. My first "professional" recording was with a Lafayette reel-to-reel quarter track deck and the two little salt shaker mics that came with it. We recorded a piano as the music for a local theater performance of "The Fantastiks." I was very pleased when someone came to me after the show to ask how we had managed to squeeze a piano into the 2-foot space behind the backdrop and the back wall.

Regards,

Ty Ford

I don't think that i can go the wired lav way. I have too many walk n talks and i just don't see it working. :( how would a shotgun work out? what kind should I invest in? my worry ALWAYS is that the volume of the speaker is not loud enough, and there will be no way to bring up the volume in post. I would rather have loud volume and bring it down in post. And my other problem with wired lavs is that you might see the wires.

Sorry to be annoying but I am shooting a feature film and i want everything to be just perfect.

Thanks

When a budget is tight, you have to make compromises. The trick is to make the best kind of compromises (the ones that leave you with the best results). People are trying to give you good advice. Try to listen, and open your mind to different possibilities.

If you could get great sound with cheap shotguns and cheap wireless rigs, then everybody would be using them.

Wired lavs will give you the best sound for the money. Sure, running cables is no fun for walk and talks, but that's why you have a person act as a "cable wrangler". You have to watch your angles a bit more so as not to get the cables in the shot, but that's not that hard to do. If you want wide shots, then you shoot the scene again without the cables. These are the types of compromises that must be made to work within a tight budget.

$200 can get you two decent lavs and cables that you can use for years to come, but is money wasted on any shotgun.

I see. That sounds good to me. Now can you direct me to two good lav mics?

here is the cheapest one on b+h. the price is 54.95. next is $100.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/cont...goryNavigation

you tell me.

On a budget, I'd recommend the AT 831b mics. I've won major awards for projects using those mics, and although they're not the absolute best, they're very, very good.
You also might want to check out Giant Squid mics. Google for them. Low cost, made by a young guy just starting out...they sound wonderful, especially considering the cost.

Ok, so here is what i have found for +- $100...

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/cont...goryNavigation

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/cont...goryNavigation

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/cont...goryNavigation

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/cont...goryNavigation

Any good? I hate to keep asking the same questions but there is really no budget...it's more of money ourt of my friend and I's pocket.