# DSLR Microphones, suggestions please :) !



## KO (Nov 18, 2013)

Hello!
I just bought the canon 70D and i really want to upgrade the audio, as with any DSLR the audio is more or less "really bad". 
So looking into mic, i would like to get some advice from you people here at canonrumors ! I have a budget of about 250 dollars and my questions remains: What kind of mic would you suggest in that price range and why? 

I looked into the RHODE stereo videomic Pro (http://www.rodemic.com/mics/stereovideomicpro) and it seems pretty dammed good. The mic will be used for interviews (in quiet rooms) aswell as landscape audio sampling.
But before i make my final decision, i would like some advice from you people!

Thank you very much in advance!


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## eli452 (Nov 18, 2013)

The RHODE stereo videomic Pro IS pretty dammed good.


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## NYCPHOTO (Nov 18, 2013)

I've been very happy with the rhode also

here is a link of a video i did with it plugged into my 5D mark III

Moot court? Karl Okamoto wants law students practicing moot deals

good luck...Arnie


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## paul13walnut5 (Nov 18, 2013)

I have the Rode NTG-2 but cannot vouch for the video mic pro. Any other rodes I've used have been bang on for the money.

I have an old old old Sennheiser MKE-300 which I use for camera top stuff, the most recent equivalents would be the MKE-400D or the MKE-600D.

I prefer to use balanced mic cable runs, and this requires an interface device such as a beachtek or juiced link.

Others prefer to record onto a seperate device and synch up in post. 

You are going to face a few problems:

Problem 1
camera top is the worst position for a mic. camera handling noise. AF (although you should use MF for video IMHO) iris stepping up and down. IS in the lens. Your breathing noise right behind the camera (cardiod and supercardiods have this little rear lobe of sensitivity which pics up the air from your nostrils beautifully!

Problem 2
A directional mic, in fact most mics, pick up sound totally differently from what you hear. A directional mic such as these supercardiod and hypercardiod video mics need to be pointed straight at the source, even slightly off axis will give you poor primary subject recording, and lovely clean recording of whatever the mic is actually pointing at. So you need to monitor off camera during recording, to make sure that a) the mic is actually switched on, b) connected properly and c) directed properly. Your 70D does not have a monitor headphone jack, so I would consider either a beachtek/juiced link at the camera, or something like a tascam or zoom.

Problem 3
Postioning. For great interview sound you need the mic to be close to the subject, but not in shot. The convention is to have a subjects eyes at 2/3rd screen height, so it is easier to mic from above, just out of shot, you'll need a stand or a boom pole (and thus a boom operator) and a long cable.

In short, I think these video mics are waste of money unless you buy balanced, mic close to camera, and can monitor.

Your budget is quite modest. You are not going to get a balanced mic and balanced run and balanced camera interface for your cash.

With your intended spend I would look at a stand alone recorder with XY type built mics that can be adjusted and configured to suit different applications. Zoom H4N I am looking at you. A Tascam DR-40 might do the same job for less. You can place the zoom near your subject, monitor sound. It just means file synching, an extra device to carry and have charged up, switched on etc. It's not the best way, and it's certainly not the way I practise, but for your cash it is probably the most effective way.

The camera top video mics (which hypocritically I own and use occassionally) are fine for ambient, run and gun type stuff. They aren't serious tools despite suffixes such as 'pro'.

Audio is a minefield, and you have to spend a lot more money to get sound like the professionals get it (my main work mic is a sennheiser mk66 + K6 on a rycote mount and softee. About £500 worth. My headphones are about £150 worth. This is basic standard kit for video) 

I don't want to come across as negaitve, just that $250 spent on a video mic is probably a false economy. I suggest you spend more, but if you cannot I've given you one option which may fit the bill within buddget.

Sound will ruin a production more effectively than video.


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## awinphoto (Nov 18, 2013)

I've got the rode pro mic... They are good and has a nice mounting system.


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## Viggo (Nov 18, 2013)

I shoot only a very few clips, but I have tried the usual suspects for on cam use and they all sucked so bad I thought they were unusable, but it's not the mic, but the input.

Now I use a Olympus LS-3 voice recorder (still no sync in post, sound live in the video file) and the sound quality is killer.


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## syder (Nov 18, 2013)

Basically Paul's advice is pretty much spot on. 

Putting a mic on your camera is like putting a flash on top of your camera (and non being able to bounce it). While it's almost certainly better than something built into the camera body but doesn't come close to realising the potential of the accessory.

There's a good reason that sound recording is generally done separately to video - and its because your audio recordist wants to be standing somewhere else,and probably holding a boom. If you absolutely have to do everything by yourself, look at getting a mic stand for your interviews so you can set the mic up just out of frame. 

I prefer the tascam DR100 to the zoom H4N because the levels aren't done with clicky buttons that make it very hard to adjust levels during recording, but thats just me. There's also the DR60 which I haven't used but is specficially designed for DSLR audio and may be worth a look - unlike the zoom/dr100 you dont need a rig to mount it too which may be a bonus.

Basically the pre-amps on DSLRs are shit. Really really shockingly bad. If you want to record anything onto camera set your camera preamps to one step above zero to minimise the horrible noise they introduce into anything. A better option is to use the camera audio to sync material using pluraleyes.


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## Skywise (Nov 18, 2013)

The Rode Stereo Videomic IS good. But I wouldn't use it for interviews. It's great for recording of ambient sounds or music but voices of people in front of me aren't as clear as using a shotgun mic would provide. (But I got fantastic sound from a musical fireworks show... enough that my subwoofer was shaking the house with each explosion where I'd get basically white noise from the regular camera mic before.)

Also, what Syder said.


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## Don Haines (Nov 18, 2013)

Viggo said:


> I shoot only a very few clips, but I have tried the usual suspects for on cam use and they all sucked so bad I thought they were unusable, but it's not the mic, but the input.
> 
> Now I use a Olympus LS-3 voice recorder (still no sync in post, sound live in the video file) and the sound quality is killer.


I have some musician friends who have an Olympus voice recorder (not sure which model, but it does have an external mic jack) and they love it.

I tried an iPod with it's internal mic as an external sound recorder.... it was terrible!!!!!! don't even waste your time thinking about that route.... I'll have to figure out how to connect an external mic and try that...

Watch the professionals.... they all have the microphones near the sound source and for good reason.... the sound is cleanest and strongest at the source, and if you are recording far away, there is delay between the sound and video... about a millisecond per foot.... odds are you won't notice it until afterwards when the lips and voice don't line up...

I have 2 mic's ... one is a Rode Videomic.... very directional and very nice.... the mount isolates it from camera noises and it picks up what you aim it at... my other mic is a JVC M-212 stereo mic... nowhere near the quality of the Rode, but it is an Omni... You really need at least 2 mics.... without a variety it's like trying to shoot landsacpes, weddings, wildlife, and Macro all on the same fixed lens.... you need choice..


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## marcel (Nov 18, 2013)

I use the Audio Technica ATR3350 on aZoom H1 or plugged directly into the camera.
In this video the mic is plugged into a Eos 550D with Magic Lantern:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-Vv7Di_aQs


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## Viggo (Nov 18, 2013)

Here's a shot of what it looks like. (excuse the poor iPhone5 photo quality)

I bought a hot-shoe to 3/4" on ebay, tripod mount threads under the LS. And the cable I made myself to make it short, and nice quality.


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## paul13walnut5 (Nov 18, 2013)

Just to pick up on Syders recommendation of the Tascam DR-60, this is a great product thoughtfully designed, has the bonus of bolting onto your DSLR, and you can record similtaneously in the DR60 and on the camera, for security, or ease of synching.

The downside is that there is no built in mic, it's more of an interface, but yeah, the pre-amps are far better than any DSLR.


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## Don Haines (Nov 18, 2013)

In looking for ipod to microphone cables I found this...

http://www.rodemic.com/mics/smartlav

It's lets you use an ipod as a remote audio recorder with a decent lapel microphone.....


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## mgkaplan (Nov 19, 2013)

Rode is a great choice. Either the Stereo Video Mic Pro or the Video Mic Pro (which has a narrower angle of coverage). You will not be unhappy.


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## mustafa (Nov 19, 2013)

I have the Røde Video Mic Pro. But I've gone back to my Audio-Technica Pro 24.

I also use an Olympus digital recorder separately if circumstances permit.


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## cayenne (Nov 19, 2013)

I've got the Rode videomic, before the 'pro' came out...good little shotgun mic.

I also have a newer Rode Stereo Videomic pro...I bought it last year to take advantage of getting it on sale plus a free copy of Pluraleyes3 with it.
I've not unpacked it yet, but I'm planning for one of my upcoming shoots, to set it up on a stand (the stereo videomic) hooked to my old zoom X2...and I'll have the mono videomic on the camera....and will blend the sounds of the two as needed. I also got the rode lav mike that runs off and iPhone/ipod touch...I may throw that into the mix too to see how I like all that sound. I figure it will be pretty easy to sync it all up with pluraleyes....

But even running the older Rode videomic attached to the camera, I have gotten quite good sound for my little cooking videos I do ...

cayenne


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