4000 dollar Field audio kit what would you buy? feedback
 

hi,

Next winter I will be in Cambodia for 6 months and I am planning to do a documentary.
I will be working with a canon xh A1 and the format will be HDV. I am not sure yet if I will have all the time a sound/boomoperator. I have a collegue coming over and the rest of the time I am hoping that me girlfriend can sometimes fall in. It will happen that I will have to shoot alone.
I expect to shoot in many different circumstances: inside/outside/nature/city/...

I was thinking of following gear:

- an edirol 44 recorder
(dont want the compressed audio and perfer 4 tracks..)
: 900
- an NTG3 shotgun kit with boom/rycotewindshield/etc : 1800
- an AKG SE300B/ ck 93 mic as a mount on camera mic : 480
- Sennheiser Evolution G2 100 Series : 550
- a TRAM TR50 : 315


what do you think of this setup? any pointers and tips welcome...

humidity
 

since you are going to Cambodia make sure you spec whatever mic you bring for how it will react to high humidity/moisture...and be sure to bring a backup microphone...
there is a lot of good info on this very issue over on the nature recordists list:
http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/naturerecordists/

a quick search there should yield some answers
hope this helps
KC

Dear Terwingen,

I think you are on the right track in getting a better lavaliere than the supplied ME2 lavaliere with the Sennheiser G2.

A better lavaliere, such as the Tram TR50, is a substantial improvement.

I have been very pleased with the TR-50's, but some like other brands / models better.

Search for the Lavaliere Shootout by Dan Brockett on DVInfo.net. It is a very good resourse.

I tested the Tram TR-50, versus the Sanken Cos-11, and personally, I liked the Tram better. The TR-50 comes with some very handy accessories, but you can always buy the accessories separately.

Dear Terwingen,

Humidity is a concern for many mics.

Keep your ME2 in a sealed plastic bag, such as a good ZipLoc freezer bag, along with some silica gel to keep the humidity low.

If your primary mic starts to fail due to very high humidity, switch to the backup mic, then dry out the main mic.

I bought the Countryman EMW (shelved) for my G2 and LOVE it.

The NTG-3 is now the only shotgun I'd take on that (or any) trip. Great sound and it's 'designed to withstand adverse environmental conditions' and comes with a weather resistant aluminium storage cylinder. It's very RF resistant too, not that you'd get much in the jungle, but you never know these days.

You need to take a shock mount for your boom and to fit the A1s extension mic holder and a very short XLR cable for it.

As well take a small table tripod, the type that has bendable legs, very handy if you're solo.

Cheers.

R44?
 

hi,

should the edirol 44 (small version from the R4) be suited for documentary use? didnt work with it yet..

Alan,

In that the NTG-3 is just out, have you really had enough hours on the NTG-3 to say it's the ONLY shotgun you'd take on a trip. That seems extreme.

Thanks,

Ty Ford

Is the 416 shotgun somewhat weather resistant?

If so, it seems to be an industry standard and fairly compact.

Is there any downside to taking the 416 on the Cambodia trip the OP is planning?

Hi Jeff,

The Sennheiser 416 is quite resistant to the environment. Its use of an internal RF circuit separates it from that of other mics.

I don't know if the NTG-3 uses similar circuitry or not. The 416 has been in use for many years and has earned a top shelf position in the Pantheon of shotgun mics.

Time and technology changes everything -- sometimes for the better, sometimes not. It will be very interesting to see how well the Rode NTG-3 performs.

Schoeps was opposed to making a shotgun mic until a few years ago. They finally came out with the CMIT, which has been successful for them. It's a great sounding mic.

I reviewed it when it came out and have comparison files with it and the 416, NTG-1 and AT 4073 on my online archive.

I'm told an NTG-3 is on the way here.

Regards,

Ty Ford

Looks to me like Rode copied the MKH416...... looks identical and specs very closely.
Countryman EMW shelved is a good choice.... they are water resistant to the point of being waterproof.
Good luck with the project!