Handheld voice mic?
 

Maybe this should be posted in the audio forums but I tend to value the opinions of XDCAM users here!

What handheld voice mics do people here use? Good general voice pickup with minimum handling noise. Can be wireless or wired - mono.

Thanks.

Looks a bit oldfashioned but I like the Sennheiser MD441 very much.

Wireless I like the Sennheiser ew series as well.

No, I am not a Sennheiser employee ;-)

ULI

Thanks Uli, The MD441 is quite pricey though.

Anyone know much about the Electro voice RE50N/D-B - looks interesting.

That is probably the most used ENG news mike. You could hammer nails in a concrete wall with it but it sounds awfull.

The Sennheisers (Evolution 800 series) sound better and also the frequently used Beyerdynamic M 58.

Thanks, I shall look at those...

I'm using a Beyer Dynamic M58c ($265CDN). It is a dynamic omni with a very long handle. It sounds fantastic from a speech intelligability perspective, and very natural off axis, due to it's omni pattern. The draw back of an omni mic is that it picks up room sound more than a cardiod, but in scrums it is great. It is also outstanding for not popping from breath blasts, which my last mic an EV767(super cardiod) was horrible for. The M58 is excellent for one on one interviews.

I use a Sennheiser ev500 butt plug transmitter and along with the ev500 receiver, which is a very dependable, cost effective system, that sounds good.

Hi Paul,
I would also highly recommend the Beyer M58 as a wired mic which you could make into a wireless one my adding a Sennheiser plug on transmitter like the SKP100 G2 assuming you already have a Sennheiser G2 receiver.

Cheers

Clive

Thanks Peter and Clive,

What's the M58 like with handling noise? It's also pretty inexpensive too :)

I don't have a G2 - I use the sony wireless system as a slot-in on-camera receiver and lav transmitter.

Oh, and what's the ideal distance from mic to mouth with these type of mics? I'm used to using a shotgun with full anti vibration mount/cage (when needed) and softie etc. The type of setup I'm specifically thinking about is a group of kids in a semi-circle responding to one interviewer.

The problem with the shotgun of course, is the very directional nature when moving very quickly between kids.

Paul, the M58 is impressive with respect to handling noise. For best sound, the closer the better, but it sounds good from a surprising distance. It really depends on how noisy the environment is, and whether having a mic in the shot is a problem.

In regards to your shoot, if I had a soundman then the cardiod or a shotgun from overhead head would be my choice, but if the circle of kids stays tight, the 58 will pick everyone up surprisingly well, and the tone won't change much as the reporter turns to the one speaking. It really depends on the level of background noise.

Peter,
I agree with you totallly but you beat me to it!!

Clive

Thanks guys - I'll add one to my arsenal then ;)