What kind of wireless mics do i need?
 

I am new to the camera world and would like to have a set of wireless mics for my XHA1. I've been looking at the Sennheiser ew112. What is everyones opinion? I will be using it for outdoor use, hunting and fishing mostly.

Sennheiser
 

I've tried Azden and had many problems with audio interference, pops, and dropouts. I use the Sennheiser EW100 G2 series with much success... so much I'm about to buy a second kit for 2nd person audio.

what's your budget? There's Lectrosonics, Audio Technica, Sennheiser, Sony...They all have choices within their line. The AT1800 series and the Senn G2 or the new G3 are pretty similar in both quality and price but keep in mind that the stock lav mic that comes with most kits is not exactly top of the line so depending on your needs you might need need to step up the mic to a Countryman or a Tram or a Sanken COS11 all of which will add to the budget.

My first experience with wireless mics was a cautionary tale for me. I was enlisted at the 11th hour to coordinate a three camera shoot (not counting 5 in-car cameras) of the ACT Late Model companion race to the NASCAR weekend at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. It was recorded for later editing but we needed the track announcer's calling of the race. The show's producer said we'd use his Sony wireless setup. We checked out the rig on my camera in the trailer before the race and it was all tickety boo. But when we moved to the grandstand roof, the camera position was 200 feet from the announce booth with a bunch of the building in the way. The Sony didn't have the range. I ended up throwing an Olympus voice recorder and a lav mic on him and we got what we needed.

My point is, get the highest quality gear you can afford because you never know when challenging conditions will subvert lesser equipment.

My 3 pfennigs.

The Sony EW112 are OK, and the Sony EWP-V1 is better, but if you can afford it go for the higher quality units in the Sony range.

I've mainly been using Sony WRT & WRR units and have owned five different sets with no problems, even for long distance sound recording.
The latest new sets can be expensive, but you should be able to pick up the older used Sony Freedom WRT & WRR 805 or 810 units for a cheaper price - my favourite is the original 805 system with the ECM-77 clip mic.

Best I can say, Stay away from Audio Technica... I was working for a small program called HTC garage and we went to the local auto show when it rolled in town. I had set up the host with a wireless mic set up I got fro a great deal at only $150... That was the issue. We were going to shoot a section on a Rolls Royce and I was about 5 feet from the guy as he walked toward me. I could hear nothing in the headphone but static and popping. He had to almost stand next to me to get any audio in it.

10 minutes later, same set of batteries too, I was shooting some filler of an ATV, he was off in another section, Guess what I hear? him talking to a dealer about a Honda, 200 feet way!

Just like Tripp Woelfel said, Go for the best you can afford, If you go for one of those "Deals" you will end up sorry.

Now, since then, I have used one of the Sennheisers. I LOVED IT! I am going to get a set soon for an up coming gig, but it worked perfect. Light weight, easy to use, and small. Perfect for any application I can think of.

Thats like saying stay away from Cadillac because I had one once and I had problems with it. Really, which model did you have? Did you take care of it? Did you use it properly?

I've been using the AT1821 dual channel for over 2 years (and other named systems before that) and have had ZERO problems with it. AAMOF for the money IMO you can't beat it, dual reciever with lots of adjustments, body paks have lots of adjustments, long range and every bit as good as any Sennheiser I've ever used and frankly FOR ME, much more practical. Since it's a dual I can monitor both transmitters at once and adjust on the fly as needed.

If you're going to condenm a brand please be more specific about which model you are talking about.

I agree the Sennheisher is a good unit but it ain't the only one out there in that price range that's any good.

WHAT IS YOUR BUDGET?????????

People are going to suggest all kinds of solutions, many that your budget may not support.
So rather than wasting everyones time, why don't you tell us....

A: How much money do you realistically have to spend on wireless mics?

B: What do you consider a "Set of Wireless Mics"?

Sorry about that, I should be more specific...

It was the ATR 288W

ATR288W Audio-Technica VHF Twin Mic System with Hand Held, Lavalier & Battery-powered Receiver and Transmitter

It was a great deal, but not a good product, And being that I have not had any other use of the company other than this product, I should not be telling you not to get it. Just don't get that specific model, Its crap.

That out of the way, Yes, They may have good products at a higher price range, but the lower budget consumer stuff was not good for me.

The trouble with radio systems is that two things get in your way. Signal strength is the one most people think about, but the ability to reject strong signals on nearby frequencies is the other. The receivers in things like Sennheisers have the ability to reject adjacent channels to a better degree than cheap ones - filters being things that get cut to save money. Sometimes a perfectly clean and noise free link can be wiped out even at close distance by a more powerful transmitter on a nearby frequency. There's also another interference issue called intermodulation that allows other local frequencies to interact and do unpleasant things. If the receiver produced some clean audio when the transmitter was at a distance, then I'd suspect somebody else had a transmitter on the go in the locality, and it was this that was the issue. Would the same thing have happened with a Sennheiser? maybe, but perhaps not quite to the same degree. Radio systems are not really plug and play, although that is how most people expect them to work.