Using 2 Wireless Lav Mic's/EX3
 

Hey Kids,

Thanks to the rebate I picked up the Sony UWPV1/4244 Wireless Mic unit (supposed to be here tomorrow). Though I already have a Sennheiser G2 unit I figured a backup would be wise.

Coincidentally I just got a gig where I'll have two interview subjects on camera. It's a longish shot so a boom mic is not right for the shot so I thought great...no worries now that i have 2 wireless mics.

Then it occurred to me...how do I deal with freq's on each mic. Can they be on the same freq or do I have to set them up on different freq's? I've always had the Sennheiser on the out of the box setting...what do I do with the Sony? Never had to deal with this before.

Happy to repost this over in the sound section but I thought I'd ask you EX3 mavens first.

Not sure this is really and EX discussion but the answer is they do need to be on two different frequencies. More than likely they will be bt ddefault but if they are not, changing the frequency on one or the other is not hard. I keep photocopies of the changing frequencies part of the manual for all my wireless mics in my camera bag. You never know when you will pick up interference and it's handy to have a reference on short notice if you do.

Most modern wireless mics scan the frequency spectrum and automatically pick an open frequency. But if that's not the case with your equipment, simply turn on the receiver first (without turning on the transmitter), listen through your headphones to make sure it's not picking up any interference. Then try turning on/off one and then the other receiver. You shouldn't hear the G3 transmitter in the Sony receiver. If you do, you have a problem and need to manually change frequencies. Read the manual, it's normally really easy to change frequencies.

Now....where the heck are you going to mount two wireless transmitters on the camera? (that's the issue I'm trying to sort out)

But yeah, this thread needs to be in the Audio section.

Here's how I mount two receivers...

see How I use my Sony EX1 Part 1 on Vimeo

No you do not want the same frequency for both wireless mics. You don't want both receivers receiving both voices. You want to keep the two voices separate, one in channel 1 and the other in channel 2, whether or not you are using a mixer or going directly into the camera. It would become a nightmare in editing if you had one very low voice and one very high voice, and equalizing and sweetening the different voices would be a nightmare ....

So NO, do not use the same frequency for both mics, but rather have different frequencies so as to maintain control, both in production ans post production.

Thanks for all the responses confirming what I thought was the case.

Dude!! Looks like a great solution! Is the threaded mount a Sennheiser part or ?

I made this. Actually it was for one of my old SD cameras.

The Sennheisers have a mounting bracket to which the receiver snaps into. I bent a piece of steel, and used a bit of wood as a spacer and mounted the Sennheiser brackets with small screws. The threaded shoe adapter is easy to find at photo shops.

I think I could re-design one so the receivers would be closer to the camera for better center of gravity. Also by using the rear shoe you keep the weight more towards the rear of the camera.

Nice job!!

To or more mics
 

It would become a nightmare in editing if you had one very low voice and one very high voice, and equalizing and sweetening the different voices would be a nightmare ....
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Unfortunately, if you have two lavs in an interview, they will pick up the audio from the other interviewee even if you use different frequencies unless the interviewees are in different locations.

Sennheiser has three different frequency ranges for their mics (A, B and C). I use three mics with every shoot (classroom shoots). One is for the teacher, one is for the students (shotgun) and one is for the sound person to hear the audio off the camera. Each is a different frequency range so there is no possibility of confusing frequencies. I also color code them for easy handling (matching the transmitter to receiver).

I found a $10.00 solution at B&H to mount the three receivers/transmitter. It is a five inch hot shoe bar that you screw into the camera's hot shoe. Can't find it on the web site but if you call you can probably get an audio person to locate it for you.

How 'bout posting a photo Diana?

Hot shoe extension
 

B&H B&H Photo Video | Digital Cameras, Camcorders

Rycote 037303 Hot Shoe Extension Bar

* Mfr#
* 037303
* B&H# RYHSE

$27.95 I thought it was cheaper.

Diana Scalera

Hot shoe Extension bar....I own one, but be careful...as mine has come off several times due to vibration......but still a good buy.

Rycote 037303 Hot Shoe Extension Bar

You couldn't put them on the same frequency if you wanted to.

Different manufacturers don't share the same range of frequencies.