ATR-25 Mic Question at DVinfo.net

Earon Kavanagh · July 20th, 2004, 06:04 PM

Hi all,
I'm about to purchase an ATR-25 as a beginner mic for use with my Xi. I have some questions:

(1) How far in front of the camera does the ATR-25 pick up voices and how well, when sitting on top of the Xi?
(2) Is an audio adapter such as a Beachtek DXA-2 required?

Mucho Thanks,
Earon
Vancouver, BC

Dave Perry · July 20th, 2004, 06:26 PM

Earon,

I use the ATR 25 with my XI and it does a pretty good job for the price, much better than the onboard mic. If you would like to see and hear a sample go to http://www.indecisionthemovie.com/me..._check_2.shtml. I'm using it on a boom however, not on the camera.

At the end of the clip there is a shot of an interview with a TV station. When I'm out in the crowd trying to record the interview I had to stay out of the view of their camera and the sound gets lost.

Earon Kavanagh · July 20th, 2004, 08:35 PM

<<<-- Originally posted by Dave Perry : Earon,

I use the ATR 25 with my XI and it does a pretty good job for the price, much better than the onboard mic. If you would like to see and hear a sample go to http://www.indecisionthemovie.com/me..._check_2.shtml. I'm using it on a boom however, not on the camera.

At the end of the clip there is a shot of an interview with a TV station. When I'm out in the crowd trying to record the interview I had to stay out of the view of their camera and the sound gets lost. -->>>

Hi Dave, Thanks - I haven't been able to see the movie "Indecision" because of current technical problems with my computer.

But I saw your photos of the ATR-25 mounted on your camera. Have you ever used it on the camera, and if so, with what results?
Thanks,
Earon

Dave Perry · July 20th, 2004, 10:25 PM

Earon,

I use it on camera a lot and it is much better than the built in mic but it's not a shotgun mic so you still pick uo surrounding sounds.

Earon Kavanagh · July 21st, 2004, 03:08 PM

<<<-- Originally posted by Dave Perry : Earon,

I use it on camera a lot and it is much better than the built in mic but it's not a shotgun mic so you still pick uo surrounding sounds. -->>>

Hi again, Dave
As a scenario, if mounted on the Xi, would the ATR-25 do a decent job of picking up the voices of two people sitting and talking 8 -10 feet in front of the camera and would those voices be reasonably clear if the room was reasonably quiet?

That's the first thing I'm going to be doing with the camera - record some conversations/ interviews.
Any more insight you can provide is appreciated.
Thanks,
Earon

Michael Wisniewski · July 22nd, 2004, 09:53 AM

Earon if possible you might also try the ATR35s dynamic wired lav. It's inexpensive and will probably isolate the voices better than the ATR-25. Though in a quiet room, the ATR-25 should work just as well.

The ATR35s cost about US$35 each.

If I can get away with them, I prefer the wired lavs. Even with one ATR35s you can pick up the voices of two people sitting next to each other in a crowded StarBucks fairly well and they do a nice job of rejecting ambient noise.

My current sound setup on the Xi is an NT3 Rode as my all-around mic with a couple of ATR35s', when I can use them. The ATR35s is better for getting dialogue from far away* or slightly off center subjects, mainly because it isolates the voices much better. Noisy environments require the ATR35s. When I use both the NT3 and the ATR35s together, I get, what I feel, is good audio.

* far away for me is 3+ feet in a noisy environment or 6+ feet in an environment with "normal" noise. Your room sounds like it would be considered a quiet environment

Robert Kamrowski · July 22nd, 2004, 02:31 PM

I have a ATR-25 that I purchased to see if it would do a good job for a inexpensive stereo mic. I found it to be a good mic for the price. The only problem with this mic camera mounted on the camcorder is handling noise, I would recommend getting a shock mount for using it camcorder mounted. See this thread for more info, where I compared it to the Optura 10 internal camcorder mic, and a Audio Techica AT822 stereo mic.
http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.phps=&threadid=26557&highlight=ATR25

Earon Kavanagh · July 22nd, 2004, 10:31 PM

<<<-- Originally posted by Robert Kamrowski : I have a ATR-25 that I purchased to see if it would do a good job for a inexpensive stereo mic. I found it to be a good mic for the price. The only problem with this mic camera mounted on the camcorder is handling noise, I would recommend getting a shock mount for using it camcorder mounted. See this thread for more info, where I compared it to the Optura 10 internal camcorder mic, and a Audio Techica AT822 stereo mic.
http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.phps=&threadid=26557&highlight=ATR25 -->>>

Thanks, Robert
I found your test review and found it very interesting. I'm gonna test something called a "sound grabber" (by Crown) tomorrow. It's set up at my employer's training room and someone told me today that it recorded an excellent sound in the middle of a group of people conversing. It is handing from a wire in the ceiling.

The biggest problem we find in recording groups or conversations is always the sound.
Earon
Earon

July 20th, 2004, 06:04 PM	#1
Earon Kavanagh Regular Crew Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Vancouver, Canada Posts: 65	ATR-25 Mic Question Hi all, I'm about to purchase an ATR-25 as a beginner mic for use with my Xi. I have some questions: (1) How far in front of the camera does the ATR-25 pick up voices and how well, when sitting on top of the Xi? (2) Is an audio adapter such as a Beachtek DXA-2 required? Mucho Thanks, Earon Vancouver, BC

July 20th, 2004, 06:26 PM	#2
Dave Perry Major Player Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Roanoke, VA Posts: 796	Earon, I use the ATR 25 with my XI and it does a pretty good job for the price, much better than the onboard mic. If you would like to see and hear a sample go to http://www.indecisionthemovie.com/me..._check_2.shtml. I'm using it on a boom however, not on the camera. At the end of the clip there is a shot of an interview with a TV station. When I'm out in the crowd trying to record the interview I had to stay out of the view of their camera and the sound gets lost. __________________ Dave Perry Cinematographer LLC Director of Photography • Editor • Digital Film Production • 540.915.2752 • daveperry.net

July 20th, 2004, 10:25 PM	#4
Dave Perry Major Player Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Roanoke, VA Posts: 796	Earon, I use it on camera a lot and it is much better than the built in mic but it's not a shotgun mic so you still pick uo surrounding sounds. __________________ Dave Perry Cinematographer LLC Director of Photography • Editor • Digital Film Production • 540.915.2752 • daveperry.net

July 20th, 2004, 08:35 PM	#3
Earon Kavanagh Regular Crew Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Vancouver, Canada Posts: 65	<<<-- Originally posted by Dave Perry : Earon, I use the ATR 25 with my XI and it does a pretty good job for the price, much better than the onboard mic. If you would like to see and hear a sample go to http://www.indecisionthemovie.com/me..._check_2.shtml. I'm using it on a boom however, not on the camera. At the end of the clip there is a shot of an interview with a TV station. When I'm out in the crowd trying to record the interview I had to stay out of the view of their camera and the sound gets lost. -->>> Hi Dave, Thanks - I haven't been able to see the movie "Indecision" because of current technical problems with my computer. But I saw your photos of the ATR-25 mounted on your camera. Have you ever used it on the camera, and if so, with what results? Thanks, Earon

July 21st, 2004, 03:08 PM	#5
Earon Kavanagh Regular Crew Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Vancouver, Canada Posts: 65	<<<-- Originally posted by Dave Perry : Earon, I use it on camera a lot and it is much better than the built in mic but it's not a shotgun mic so you still pick uo surrounding sounds. -->>> Hi again, Dave As a scenario, if mounted on the Xi, would the ATR-25 do a decent job of picking up the voices of two people sitting and talking 8 -10 feet in front of the camera and would those voices be reasonably clear if the room was reasonably quiet? That's the first thing I'm going to be doing with the camera - record some conversations/ interviews. Any more insight you can provide is appreciated. Thanks, Earon

July 22nd, 2004, 09:53 AM	#6
Michael Wisniewski Wrangler Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Makati, Metro Manila Posts: 2,706 Images: 32	Earon if possible you might also try the ATR35s dynamic wired lav. It's inexpensive and will probably isolate the voices better than the ATR-25. Though in a quiet room, the ATR-25 should work just as well. The ATR35s cost about US$35 each. If I can get away with them, I prefer the wired lavs. Even with one ATR35s you can pick up the voices of two people sitting next to each other in a crowded StarBucks fairly well and they do a nice job of rejecting ambient noise. My current sound setup on the Xi is an NT3 Rode as my all-around mic with a couple of ATR35s', when I can use them. The ATR35s is better for getting dialogue from far away* or slightly off center subjects, mainly because it isolates the voices much better. Noisy environments require the ATR35s. When I use both the NT3 and the ATR35s together, I get, what I feel, is good audio. * far away for me is 3+ feet in a noisy environment or 6+ feet in an environment with "normal" noise. Your room sounds like it would be considered a quiet environment

July 22nd, 2004, 02:31 PM	#7
Robert Kamrowski New Boot Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Lake George, Minnasota Posts: 23	I have a ATR-25 that I purchased to see if it would do a good job for a inexpensive stereo mic. I found it to be a good mic for the price. The only problem with this mic camera mounted on the camcorder is handling noise, I would recommend getting a shock mount for using it camcorder mounted. See this thread for more info, where I compared it to the Optura 10 internal camcorder mic, and a Audio Techica AT822 stereo mic. http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.phps=&threadid=26557&highlight=ATR25

July 22nd, 2004, 10:31 PM	#8
Earon Kavanagh Regular Crew Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Vancouver, Canada Posts: 65	<<<-- Originally posted by Robert Kamrowski : I have a ATR-25 that I purchased to see if it would do a good job for a inexpensive stereo mic. I found it to be a good mic for the price. The only problem with this mic camera mounted on the camcorder is handling noise, I would recommend getting a shock mount for using it camcorder mounted. See this thread for more info, where I compared it to the Optura 10 internal camcorder mic, and a Audio Techica AT822 stereo mic. http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.phps=&threadid=26557&highlight=ATR25 -->>> Thanks, Robert I found your test review and found it very interesting. I'm gonna test something called a "sound grabber" (by Crown) tomorrow. It's set up at my employer's training room and someone told me today that it recorded an excellent sound in the middle of a group of people conversing. It is handing from a wire in the ceiling. The biggest problem we find in recording groups or conversations is always the sound. Earon Earon