I'm getting a 550d from canon soon and I need to know a good microphone for it. I'm on a sort of tight budget.
I'm getting a 550d from canon soon and I need to know a good microphone for it. I'm on a sort of tight budget.
Define "tight budget." Your tight budget is someone else's pocket change. And you will still need a shock mount, boom-pole, cables and basic wind protection no matter which mic you choose.
99.99% of prosumer camcorders have very limited audio implementation. A DSLR is a still camera with video implementation; audio implementation on DSLRs is next to nonexistent.
Your best bet is a separate audio recorder.
Your second best bet would be a juicedLink or BeachTek mixer/adapter; third choice would be a "rat-tail" adapter like the Pearstone. In both these cases you must make absolutely certain that you disable the AGC. No matter which option you choose the sound will still be noisier than a camcorder, which will be noisier than even mid/low-budget digital audio recorders.
Now, as to mic choices - are you shooting mostly indoors or outdoors? If you are shooting primarily indoors you will want a hyper-cardioid; of you are shooting outdoors you will want a shotgun. You also need to know if your mic will be self-powered or will need external phantom power; this will impact your decisions all the way through the purchase process.
Here's some mic basics:
http://www.kenstone.net/fcp_homepage/right_mic_brockett.html
Last bit of advice - the quality of the sound will be very dependent upon the person/people running the sound; a newb with the best gear in the world will still record crappy audio, an experienced pro with budget gear will record very passable production sound.
We should probably have an audio sticky or two that cover the basics.
Is there a such thing as a "general purposes mic"? Or better yet, is there a mic I can buy that I can add DIY modifications to work in a variety of situations?
I am looking to spend $100-$300 for the mic & recorder. I'll check out the above suggestions and see if I can find anything for cheap.
I just thought I would bump this thread so that I could discuss my own issue which is similar....
I need a mic for my 550D, it's a wasted venture without one. Ideally I would follow Cracker's suggestion of H4n and NTG-2 because that sounds like a darned sensible suggestion.
However- that is expensive. I'm haemorrhaging money at the moment, which is bad considering I earn precisely $0 per annum.
Is there a cheaper alternative? Especially for the sound recorder. I'm shooting a documentary rather than a narrative, so crystal clear sound is perhaps slightly less imperative. That said I would like something that can be re-used if I am suddenly struck by the desire to step behind the lens of a short or whatever.
In the words of The Beatles: Help!
Is there a cheaper alternative?
...third choice would be a "rat-tail" adapter like the Pearstone. ...you must make absolutely certain that you disable the AGC.
The trouble with sound is that, as Alcove likes to point out, when it's bad it's more distracting than when the film is bad.