Hi guys,

Being half-deaf audio has never exactly been one of my strong points, but as I'm in the process of putting together my own production kit for the first time (camera, lights, support and audio) I need to organise the sound recording side of things.

For starters I figured a basic shotgun/boom kit would suffice (I'll probably add a lav and wireless lav down the track), but I wanted to run this kit past you guys and check whether it's got everything I'll need (and whether it'll suffice for interviews, commercials and corporate videos).

My plan was to record directly into a Sound Devices PIX240. Will the controls/inputs on that suffice? Or is a separate mixer/pre-amp necessary?

Any thoughts, opinions or suggestions would be much appreciated.

I would forget the Røde shockmount and get the Rycote Universal Camera Kit (http://www.rycote.com/products/universal_camera_kit/) instead.

The shockmount is vastly superior, it does not droop or bounce, a mini basket windshield and Windjammer is included in the kit as well.

The Rycote Boom Poles (http://www.rycote.com/products/boom_pole/) are also pretty good at the price and there is a choice of aluminium or carbon fibre ones. The aluminium one is £77,80 +VAT and the carbon fibre one is £150.00 +VAT in the UK.

I've not heard many good things about the ntg2 mic. I'd look at the AT mics like the AT897 in that price range. I'm really happy with my Gitzo carbon fiber GB1540 boompole in the same price range.

The Pearstone isolation mount with the molded rubber parts holds mics much more securely than the rubber-band based ones like that Rode, for about $50. But if you're eventually going to get a blimp, go directly to the Rycote S-series which includes a much better lyre suspension that can be used without the blimp (as well as a handle and pigtail) for $300, and skip the cheaper suspensions.

Thanks guys, I'll look into all those parts.

I've not heard many good things about the ntg2 mic. ....

I have an NTG-1 (same as NTG-2 except no battery compartment). I find it a great mic as do a number of people that post here... for it's price range .... For a nice review of a bunch of shotguns:
http://www.dvinfo.net/forum/sony-xdcam-ex-cinealta/506018-new-mic-my-ex-2.html#post1725699

Also, there's a good article on kenstone.com coparing shotguns.

we bought just about the same kit at amazon. i would have to say its a great setup and sounds great. check amazon for a deal though for a kit, its a little more inexpensive.

Well I picked up my basic kit this afternoon. I actually managed to find it cheaper here in Australia than I could get it from B&H (even before including shipping!). I went for the Rode NTG-3 shotgun, with the Rode Blimp, windjammer, 10' boom and a Hosa XLR cable (it all came together in a kit).

Initial tests with the PIX240 I also picked up today seem really promising.

Thanks again for all the advice and suggestions guys.

Sounds like the same kit I've got Mark - NTG-3, Rode Blip (with dead wombat), Rode Boom. Should treat you well - we've had no issues with any of it, great gear!

What do you do about storage? Blip is too long for just about anything I can find except the bigger Pelican cases and the cardboard box it came in!

Allan Black made his own: http://www.dvinfo.net/forum/all-things-audio/239479-carry-case-rode-blimp.html

Thanks Colin. I did see that, probably will go that way if I can't find any alternative.

I have slightly different requirements when travelling though. I don't need to be able to pull my blimp out already setup and go and shoot like Allan. If I did, I'd definitely go with his setup.

Typically my sound gear when I travel is 4 mics, 3 mic stands w/mounts, a medium sized mixer, and associated XLR and power cables. The NTG-3, shock mount and headphones fit into the Pelican case with the camera.

I'd like to pack the blimp in with this setup. I've worked out that the Pelican that the camera is stored in is big enough to store the blimp (if the camera wasn't present) if I took the end caps off and inverted them, which may be a good option.

I made a crude holder similar to Alan Black's. I don't transport it with any mic's in the blimp but the solid rigid walls give me the peace of mind that it won't get crushed or damaged when traveling to a location.

-Garrett

Sounds like the same kit I've got Mark - NTG-3, Rode Blip (with dead wombat), Rode Boom. Should treat you well - we've had no issues with any of it, great gear!

What do you do about storage? Blip is too long for just about anything I can find except the bigger Pelican cases and the cardboard box it came in!

I hadn't really given it much thought yet, but thanks to Colin posting the link to Allan's design:

Allan Black made his own: http://www.dvinfo.net/forum/all-things-audio/239479-carry-case-rode-blimp.html

I reckon I'll try my hand at putting something similar together.

Also, there's a good article on kenstone.com coparing shotguns.

I went there to have a look and just found a domain landing page.

http://www.kenstone.net/fcp_homepage/right_mic_brockett.html
(the shoot-out was done by our friend Dan Brockett )

I would expect near-perfect audio performance for any product from Sound Devices. IMHO, audio performance is one of the main features that sets the PIX recorders apart from the competition.