short shotgun for ex1r at DVinfo.net

Jim Stamos · March 11th, 2014, 10:25 PM

my on cam mic is horrible . any good short shotgun mics, I have the audio technica 875, buts its longer than I want on there, have tried it. any good quality ones that are shorter?

Les Wilson · March 12th, 2014, 07:25 AM

Hey. I just ordered an AT875 on your recommendation here:
http://www.dvinfo.net/forum/sony-xdc...ml#post1800310

You are not allowed to back off it. :-)

I actually got it for the exact same reason of wanting something shorter (than the NTG-1 I've now moved to my boom). The AT875 is in fact the shortest one I found in this price range. The issue I think is the shorter you go, the less rejection. Ergo the closer you get to what the built-in mics do.

One thing I did that improved the issue of shotgun length on the EX1r was to replace the built-in holder with the shoe mount from DMaccessories. That does three things:

1) Makes the mic holder removable for smaller packing and for when you don't need a shotgun
2) moves the mic further away from the handle for getting your hand in there to carry the camera
3) moves the mic and deadcat that much further away from the lens to keep the hairs out of frame on wide angle

I assume you have a right angle XLR connector to help on the back end side of things. If not, a nice coiled one keeps things tidy. I love the removable shotgun mount as it makes the camera much shorter in all my cases (both around town and travel).

Jim Stamos · March 12th, 2014, 10:44 AM

Les did u get the dm accessories adaptor that is a shoe?
Don't remember if the Mic comes with a shoemount to slide the Mic on

Les Wilson · March 12th, 2014, 12:29 PM

Yes I got the shoe. I adapted and old Lightwave mic mount from my XL1s. You need to add a mount of your own choosing.

Jim Stamos · March 12th, 2014, 05:31 PM

Problem with my on cam Mic was if I was doin a play,the audio would b inconsistent
It wouldn't sound same

Jim Stamos · March 12th, 2014, 05:43 PM

Problem with my on cam Mic was if I was doin a play,the audio would b inconsistent
It wouldn't sound same

Les Wilson · March 12th, 2014, 09:08 PM

When you say on camera mic do you mean a the AT897 mounted on the camera or the built-in mics of the EX1R?

The builtin mics used in a play from the back of the room will capture a lot of air and room noise. The sound will have a lot of reverb. Been that way forever.

Using a shotgun on the camera from the back of the room will help a little. The AT897 is probably the worst that way. Generally, the longer the shotgun the more rejection. A shorter shotgun is going the wrong direction.

The right way to record a play is to use a feed from the mixer and add your own mics as needed up close for things not mic'd (like the orchestra). It's not easy and takes effort in post.

Jim Stamos · March 12th, 2014, 10:54 PM

Yes the built-in mics.I had a feed to the board as is standard when I shoot plays,
But they had a problem with my feed,I was getting the music fine
But wasn't getting the actors that were mined.
I had no choice but to use the built in Mic in post,
Its not that great.thus was a new digital board,their old Mackie
I had zero problems with.

Malcolm Hamilton · March 13th, 2014, 05:04 PM

I got the Sanken CS-2 partly because I've had good luck with Sanken for other mics, and partly because it's a shotgun that's nice and short:

SANKEN MICROPHONE CO .,LTD. | Product [ CS-2 ]

Here's a shot of my PMW-200 with the Sanken CS2 attached:

Regards, Malcolm

Kevin Spahr · March 19th, 2014, 05:38 AM

Try a wireless mic. I put an Omni lab on a small plastic stick - reminds me of a lolly pop stick - tape that to front center stage and put the lav on this "tiny mic stand". It isn't noticeable by the audience and you'll get the dialog. You may have to try other placement options if the play has loud foot noise or if the actors are using the front of house and might stomp on the mic. I have seen others use a boundary mic center stage.

You may pick up noise from the air handlers so remember to record some of the room and you can remove some of this noise in post - if that is an issue.

I wouldn't even consider a shotgun mic because they are not designed for this type of use.

Les Wilson · March 23rd, 2014, 03:08 PM

There are other threads for mic'ing plays. To put this one back on topic:

I shot some corporate video on a factory floor. I was very pleased to not see the mic in any shot, K-Tek deadcat and all even tho I used the Sony wide angle converter for the EX1. The sound was great too.

March 11th, 2014, 10:25 PM	#1
Jim Stamos Major Player Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Houston, TX Posts: 563	short shotgun for ex1r my on cam mic is horrible . any good short shotgun mics, I have the audio technica 875, buts its longer than I want on there, have tried it. any good quality ones that are shorter?

March 12th, 2014, 07:25 AM	#2
Les Wilson Inner Circle Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Boca Raton, FL Posts: 3,014	Re: short shotgun for ex1r Hey. I just ordered an AT875 on your recommendation here: http://www.dvinfo.net/forum/sony-xdc...ml#post1800310 You are not allowed to back off it. :-) I actually got it for the exact same reason of wanting something shorter (than the NTG-1 I've now moved to my boom). The AT875 is in fact the shortest one I found in this price range. The issue I think is the shorter you go, the less rejection. Ergo the closer you get to what the built-in mics do. One thing I did that improved the issue of shotgun length on the EX1r was to replace the built-in holder with the shoe mount from DMaccessories. That does three things: 1) Makes the mic holder removable for smaller packing and for when you don't need a shotgun 2) moves the mic further away from the handle for getting your hand in there to carry the camera 3) moves the mic and deadcat that much further away from the lens to keep the hairs out of frame on wide angle I assume you have a right angle XLR connector to help on the back end side of things. If not, a nice coiled one keeps things tidy. I love the removable shotgun mount as it makes the camera much shorter in all my cases (both around town and travel).

March 12th, 2014, 10:44 AM	#3
Jim Stamos Major Player Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Houston, TX Posts: 563	Re: short shotgun for ex1r Les did u get the dm accessories adaptor that is a shoe? Don't remember if the Mic comes with a shoemount to slide the Mic on

March 12th, 2014, 12:29 PM	#4
Les Wilson Inner Circle Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Boca Raton, FL Posts: 3,014	Re: short shotgun for ex1r Yes I got the shoe. I adapted and old Lightwave mic mount from my XL1s. You need to add a mount of your own choosing.

March 12th, 2014, 05:31 PM	#5
Jim Stamos Major Player Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Houston, TX Posts: 563	Re: short shotgun for ex1r Problem with my on cam Mic was if I was doin a play,the audio would b inconsistent It wouldn't sound same

March 12th, 2014, 05:43 PM	#6
Jim Stamos Major Player Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Houston, TX Posts: 563	Re: short shotgun for ex1r Problem with my on cam Mic was if I was doin a play,the audio would b inconsistent It wouldn't sound same

March 12th, 2014, 09:08 PM	#7
Les Wilson Inner Circle Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Boca Raton, FL Posts: 3,014	Re: short shotgun for ex1r When you say on camera mic do you mean a the AT897 mounted on the camera or the built-in mics of the EX1R? The builtin mics used in a play from the back of the room will capture a lot of air and room noise. The sound will have a lot of reverb. Been that way forever. Using a shotgun on the camera from the back of the room will help a little. The AT897 is probably the worst that way. Generally, the longer the shotgun the more rejection. A shorter shotgun is going the wrong direction. The right way to record a play is to use a feed from the mixer and add your own mics as needed up close for things not mic'd (like the orchestra). It's not easy and takes effort in post.

March 12th, 2014, 10:54 PM	#8
Jim Stamos Major Player Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Houston, TX Posts: 563	Re: short shotgun for ex1r Yes the built-in mics.I had a feed to the board as is standard when I shoot plays, But they had a problem with my feed,I was getting the music fine But wasn't getting the actors that were mined. I had no choice but to use the built in Mic in post, Its not that great.thus was a new digital board,their old Mackie I had zero problems with.

March 13th, 2014, 05:04 PM	#9
Malcolm Hamilton Major Player Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Ottawa, Canada Posts: 844	Re: short shotgun for ex1r I got the Sanken CS-2 partly because I've had good luck with Sanken for other mics, and partly because it's a shotgun that's nice and short: SANKEN MICROPHONE CO .,LTD. \| Product [ CS-2 ] Here's a shot of my PMW-200 with the Sanken CS2 attached: Regards, Malcolm Attached Thumbnails

March 19th, 2014, 05:38 AM	#10
Kevin Spahr Major Player Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Carlisle, PA Posts: 451	Re: short shotgun for ex1r Try a wireless mic. I put an Omni lab on a small plastic stick - reminds me of a lolly pop stick - tape that to front center stage and put the lav on this "tiny mic stand". It isn't noticeable by the audience and you'll get the dialog. You may have to try other placement options if the play has loud foot noise or if the actors are using the front of house and might stomp on the mic. I have seen others use a boundary mic center stage. You may pick up noise from the air handlers so remember to record some of the room and you can remove some of this noise in post - if that is an issue. I wouldn't even consider a shotgun mic because they are not designed for this type of use.

March 23rd, 2014, 03:08 PM	#11
Les Wilson Inner Circle Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Boca Raton, FL Posts: 3,014	Re: short shotgun for ex1r There are other threads for mic'ing plays. To put this one back on topic: I shot some corporate video on a factory floor. I was very pleased to not see the mic in any shot, K-Tek deadcat and all even tho I used the Sony wide angle converter for the EX1. The sound was great too.