Microphone

A

Ace Modder

Messages
41
Name
Lee
Edit My Images
Yes
Hi guys

I plan to do video reviews using my Nikon D5200 camera, but the built in mic is crap, what do you all recommend?
 
What microphone input does the camera have?

What do you mean by video reviews? Sitting somewhere talking or out an about and moving?
 
Have a look at the Rode VideoMic and VideoMic Pro, you can spend a lot on a decent setup but I have the former and found it to be reasonable, with a Dead cat.
 
Are you looking at dong 'piece to camera' type stuff (basically someone speaking into the camera)?

If so, you are better off going for a lapel mic, especially if the room you are filming in is not acoustically treated. If this is the case, even a good external mic fitted to the camera will sound awful!

With the lapel mic, you can record into a hand held recorder such as a Zoom, Tascam or Olympus.
 
The Rohde is a shotgun so if you plan to work indoors you'd need to be very careful. Poor acoustics and cancellation (a shotgun is an interference mic, walls, ceilings etc. change interference patterns).

Can the camera take the input from a Lavalier mic?
 
I use a Sennheiser MKE400 directional mike. This has a wind noise reduction and vol control.
 
MarcM said:
Are you looking at dong 'piece to camera' type stuff (basically someone speaking into the camera)?

If so, you are better off going for a lapel mic, especially if the room you are filming in is not acoustically treated. If this is the case, even a good external mic fitted to the camera will sound awful!

With the lapel mic, you can record into a hand held recorder such as a Zoom, Tascam or Olympus.
Click to expand...

What lapel mic could you recommend? Senhesser G wireless are a bit expensive for experimenting
 
If the person being filmed does not need to walk around, just go for a wired one. You'll get better quality from a cheap wired lav than you would from a cheap wireless system.

Have a look at an Audio Technica ATR-3350. About £23 and worth a fair bit more IMHO.
 
I wasn't aware that shotgun mics were not good for indoor stuff for interviews etc, I will have to look in to that early next year what would be recommended??

As for the video mics by rode, the reviews I have seen is it is highly worth spending the extra money and going for the pro as the videomic has a hissing background noise?

Getting my videomic pro end of this month
 
They require space around them. If you get one close to a wall or ceiling you change the interference pattern, you may get frequency dependant fades, off axis sound etc.
 
If you want a general purpose one that can do anything from directional stereo to surround sound, you might consider the Zoom H2n digital recorder, which is what I use with my D5100. A simple male-to-male 3mm jack cable connects the recorder to the camera, and a cheap flash mount attaches it to the top of the camera. For a few pounds more, you can get it with the accessory pack or buy that later. It's worth having the accessory pack for the mains lead, handle (to isolate the sound), windshield, and remote control.

The best thing about this arrangement, as I've found, is that if you can do audio recordings without needing the camera and without wasting video. For example, it can be great for grabbing some background sounds for atmosphere, or nature sounds for a nature video, and so on.

Having said all this, if you're doing interviews and you can afford it, get a shotgun mic as well; the Rode Videomic is a good one. And if you can afford it, get a lavalier mic as well - you never know when that's going to come in handy. I use this cheap stereo one but the mono Rode Smartlav is better. Oh, and if you're shooting/recording out and about, it's best to invest in a suitable 'dead cat'.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top