shotgun mike for xl-1
 

Anyone have recommendations for a moderately priced camera mounted shotgun mike for the xl-1? I really need one soon to cut all the unwanted audio being picked up behind and from the sides. Would like to hear from users that have tried various mikes. Do most of them need special jacks to connect them up? Thanks, Mike

There is a huge archive of info on this in some earlier strings -- try doing some searches on them. There's a wealth of information. A lot of folks seem to favor the various Senn combos.

Keep in mind that, no matter what you put on the camera, you'll still get a lot of stuff from other sources unless you're right on top of your subject. The closer you can get the mike to the talent, the better. Anything more than a few feet and audio degrades rapidly.

Hey Mike...

I use a Sennheiser ME66 with the K6 phantom power adapter. This mike uses an XLR type connector, but, at Radio Shack you can get an XLR to 1/8 miniplug, XLR to 1/4 jack, or XLR to RCA jack and adapt it to whatever plug you want. Keep in mind that you'll want to stick with the XLR connections if you're running a long cable, i.e. over 25 ft. This mike does not cancel sound coming from lateral direction, completely. It's a good general purpose mike for interviews and the like. Sennheiser makes several longer shotgun mikes with better side noise cancellation, perhaps you should look at them.

Regards,
Bill R

shotgun mic
 

Thanks for your replies guys- I'm looking at the "AA" battery powered ME66 and hoping to make a decision based on what other users tell me. I
want it for nature shooting, and really need pretty good rejection of audio to the rear and sides. Will keep you posted- Mike

Hello Mike,

I also use the Senn ME66/K6 medium shotgun, mainly on a boom/stand. For a more moderately-priced camera-mounted shotgun I often use a Senn MKE300 on my GL1 and sometimes on my XL1s with good results. It mounts to the cam's top shoe and has a mini-jack that you can plug into the same jack that the XL1's standard mic plugs into. It's a pretty good mic for the price! It's powered by an LR44 1.5v battery (coin/watch-style).

Note that, being a shotgun, it will only give you 1 channel of sound. On the XL1/XL1s it sends its output to the left channel.

Again, at Radio Shack, one can find a stereo/mono splitter that will feed a mono signal into the stereo mike jack if you want sound on both channels.

XLR to 1/8" question
 

Above, it was stated that you could use "This mike uses an XLR type connector, but, at Radio Shack you can get an XLR to 1/8 miniplug" to connect a microphone. Does this mean you can bypass the MA-100? And is this only good for shotgons (mono)?

What about the little black cable on the MA-100?


I have the Senn. ME66. Does this mean that purchasing my MA-100 was a waste of money? I hate this poorly designed accessorie anyway and would love to do away with it.

-Cody

The little black cable on the MA100 is a power supply for the MA100 only. No power to the mike. Yes, you can plug your ME66 straight into the 1/8 inch miniplug on the XL1s with an adapter from XLR. You will, however, be sacrificing the good noise rejection qualities of XLR, if you do this.

Senn ME67 shotgun
 

Well, I tried out a ME67 from a local rental outfit that rents professional gear. I was surprised to find that the noise cancelling laterally and from the rear was not even close to what I was expecting! I still picked up aircraft noise overhead, and lateral noise. Maybe I am expecting too much. It was better than the stock XL-1 mic, but not even close to cutting out all the lateral and rear noise. I really thought it wouldn't pick up aircraft- the one overhead was even behind the camera. I suppose I'll have to rely on grabbing clean audio whenever and wherever I can get it, and edit it into my nature stuff. Anyone have other suggestions? I've appreciated your input thus far. Mike

First read the specifications and check the pickup pattern at: http://www.sennheiser.com/sennheiser/icm_eng.nsf/frameset?OpenPage.

Most shotgun mics have on the order of 20 dB rejection of sounds from the back and back sides with lobes of possibly deeper and often less sound rejection. Aircraft are pretty loud and 20 dB may not be anywhere enough for the effect you are seeking. Also you may be picking up sound reflections (echos) from objects in front of the mic (e.g., buildings, the ground, people)

I use and Azden SGM-1X ($150 from B&H), and am quite satisfied with it's supercardiod polar pattern and rejection at the rear and sides. It's about eleven inches long, has an XLR connector, and comes with it's own, albeit somewhat useless shockmount. I use mine mounted on my XL-1, with a MM-XL1 minimount from Lightwave Systems, and is great for the documentary and event shooting I do. Azden also makes another model, the SGM-2X, which has two polar patterns, omni and supercardiod for $250. Talk about bang for the buck. It's a little bit longer than the 1X, but does have even more rejection in it's supercariod pattern than the 1X as well. Good luck to you....

Here's the best short shot-gun mic for the money. The Audio Technica 4073a. One of the Hollywood sound guys said it's the best 'dialog mic around.' Its numbers line up with (and surpass in certain areas) Sennheiser's MKH60, which costs almost 2 to 3 times as much. I run the 4073a to a Shure M367 field mixer or to a wireless Sennheiser plug-on transmitter for 48v phantom power - much quieter than the K6 module. If you are serious about sound - you can do a lot better than the ME66.

audio technica
 

ouch. list 850. street 600.