Mic Recomendations Please
 

Hi Everyone,

Well it only takes one really bad experience with the stock mic before I realize I need to upgrade the mic, xlr adaptor and lav kit.

Can someone recomend an entire new system:
shotgun mic
xlr adaptor
lav mic set

My entire budget is $2000 give or take $200

I am using it for:
weddings
news reels
corprorate interviews and documents
special events
sports and other random stuff

I would like to be able to mix ambient with lav...and want the quietest set up.

Thanks
Jay

one other note
 

I think if possible, I would like the shotgun mic to double as a boom mic...is this common??

Wow, that's a lot of situations, and it all depends. Are you going to work with a crew, or by yourself. If you have a crew, a shotgun is enough, if you are by yourself, you should go for lav for interviews. The Sony-ECM44B is a good choise, it is fairly directional so that the sourrunding sound is limited, but has enough range so that the subject can move his head without loosing the signal. A lot of other lavs are either a very directional or omnidirectional. You can add a wireless system to it.

For a shotgun you can go for the Sennheiser ME-66 and / or ME-67, the 67 is a lobar and is very directional, for use in a stadium if you need some specific sound, the 66 is a lobar, but has a little of a omni directional character. These 2 microphones share the same powersupply and are interchangeable.

Jay,

Are you looking for a radio mic for the Lav or will you be using wired mics?

I use an Audio-Technica AT835b shotgun along with an A-T U100 wireless system and an AT899 lav mic. I added a plug-on transmitter for the wireless and this combination seems to cover all bases. Don't forget some good high quality mic cables and adapters including some short ones to connect the mics on the camera to the MA100 inputs.

These products are readily available from the big supply houses at resonable prices.

Hope this helps..
Cheers

For a wireless mic I always recommend the Sennheiser Evolution 100 series. They are the best deal at $450.

sound
 

if you have 2000 or so to spend....

I would get a sennheiser 66 w/ k6
or beyerdynamic mce-87

lectrosonics kit 190-195 used with ecm 77b and a cube

ev stick mic

with that set up you cant go wrong and you are presenting a mic set that networks use so...if you are freelancing

if you get a good deal on the lectro then get a boom and blimp :)
or a better sennheiser ....

A word about the ME66/K6 setup. The K6 is an extremely sensitive power supply and will not work well in loud situations such as live band receptions. Even with manual camera control and audio monitoring, you'll get distortion. This is a known issue with Sennheiser and they will make a warranty modification to cool off the K6. I wish we had known this before a live band wedding earlier this year.