shotgun mic for my a1...
 

I know this is a loaded question but need to ask anyway. I want to get away from my onboard mic on my a1. being a complete mic/audio noob, I'm not sure if a "shotgun" mic is what you would call an upgraded mic for the cam. but basically want to get a good mic that sits in that bracket and plugs into one of the xlr jacks. the cam is used mostly for weddings and other inside events. though we are filming a fishing tournament next month. I see some have said the AT897 is a good mic. Will it work on the a1? is that considered a "high quality mic" or is that average? anyway just looking for some suggestions from you guys on this. budget is around $500 for the mic btw... thanks,


Mark

Among the frequently cited moderate priced professional short shotgun mics are:
Sennheiser ME66/K6 combination
AT-897
Rode NGT1 (or NGT2)

There are plenty more, some better, and some not as good.

For weddings you really should look into a decent wireless system, including a lav to hang on the groom or officiant, and a handheld wireless for interviews if you do them. IMHO, they will be more valuable than a shotgun for most wedding situations, and you can use both.

Keep in mind that there are differnt mics and type mics optimized for different purposes. But shotguns mics look cool in the holder.

You could get the G2 Senn system with a Lavalier and a SKG100 and a Rode NT3 for approx $800, and you could add the Shotgun Rode NTG2 for another 250$.
Both Rode would work with the SKG100 as wireless.

thanks for the replies. I was going to get the edirol r9 with a lavalier to put on grooms for weddings. I was worried that if I connect a wireless mic to the groom to my a1 then I'd be missing some of the background noises/sounds/songs from the ceremonies that a shotgun would pick up.

Mark

Put the wireless in ch 1 and the shotgun in ch 2.

For weddings you have to have 2 cams also. So you can record ambient on the 2nd cam. Id never do a wedding with a single cam.

Hey Curt, do you always have a second videographer, or could you set up the second cam on a tripod in a central location and just let it roll?
Thanks,
Vlad

So far I have always had the 2nd cam manned. But, I have seen people setup an unmanned cam. It would be better than nothing. You get one lady with the big hat walk in front of the cam during the kiss, and you will wish you had a 2nd cam :)

Curt

yeah will be using 2 cams. so my a1 will record a wireless lavalier on one channel and a shotgun on the other?

And that is usually the photographer <g>

I've used a second, unmanned camera at a lot of weddings. Pick an opposite angle from where you are shooting. Put yourself in the better position, make the second camera a wide-ish view of the whole alter area if you can. Pick a location that is not likely to be obstructed when your view is obstructed.

Mark,

The onboard mic does an excellent job... Check out my post where I did some audio captures using the ME64 & 66 along with some other mics.

http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?t=87407

Tom

Yes it can. Make sure you enable XLR. Then set the switches for ch 1 to go to ch1 and ch 2 to ch 2.

You will have wireless on one cha and your shotgun on the other.

Curt

I use an AT897. quite happy with it actually.. used it for years at a couple different film schools and its quite versatile.. at first I was going to get a longer mic but then you can't really mount it on the camera because it'll get in the frame, especially if you're using a wideangle adapter.

I'd recomend getting some good suspension too though to cut out any sort of camera movement..

I use this:
http://www.samys.com/product_detail.php?item=9026

plus an adapter to mount it within the mounting bracket. also doubles as a handle if you want to do gun-grip style ENG interviews or similar.

also a good high-quality windscreen is a great investment. I was shooting today at a couple different locations with this setup, and the audio sounded really good for a camera mounted mic. shooting at the beach in high winds and then later in a noisy pub doing an interview.

again, a suprisingly good microphone IMO. I think its probabally the best bang for the buck, if you're going to spend more I'd get a $1k+ mic really.

I ordered the senn evolution 100 series g2 wireless with lavalier and a rode ntg2 kit for less than $900! So I'm guessing I plug the senn into one xlr and the rode into the other. They'll record audio to the hdv tape on 2 different channels? I've never used a setup like this so I'm not sure what how this works in post. I'll have 2 different audio files (one from each channel) with this setup? or will the 2 mix together and I'll just hear one audio feed from both mics?

btw, the salesman said that this will run great on my A1 so thanks for the advice guys, this is the greatest website on the net :).