Best Boom/Shotgun Mic for around £200?

[C_Dixon-Roxburgh]

Hey guys, my fellow producers and I are in need of a new mic for shooting since we've only ever been limited to the sound recorded on-camera so far and have about £200 to spend on something better. I know this is super-low budget, but it really is all we've got. I remember Film Riot suggesting the Audio-Technica AT897 in the past, but I'm not sure whether there is anything better out there or not? I would really appreciate some help here if possible...

By the way, we shoot with the Canon 600D (Rebel t3i).

Thanks!

 

[Alcove Audio]

The Audio Technica AT875 is a very nice mic for the price, and is very, very similar to the AT897. The only substantial difference is that the AT875 requires external phantom power, whereas the AT897 can supply its own phantom power via an internal battery.

And, no, the T3i WILL NOT be able to supply phantom power to any mic.

I know that you are on a severely restricted budget, but better sound requires a lot more than a "better" mic. It requires you to stop camera-mounting the mic and putting it on the end of a boom-pole, and, hopefully, getting that boom-pole into the hands of someone who has at least some idea of how to swing a boom on a film set.

With that in mind, you may also want to consider the Rode Videomic. An RVM kit including a 7 foot boom-pole (although I would suggest at least twelve [12] feet) and wind protection is within your budget.

BTW, recording the audio to a DSLR camera is going to compromise the audio. At the very least be sure to turn off the AGC as leaving the AGC on will substantially increase your noise problems. And there will be no way to be sure that you are actually recording audio or as to the quality of the audio as there is no way to monitor the audio while it is being recorded.

You may find these threads to be of interest:


http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?t=49443&highlight=$1,200

http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?t=49544&highlight=$1,200

 

[C_Dixon-Roxburgh]

Ah, thanks, this is great help to us! So would you say that, especially with our budget limits, we're best off going with the AT897 or even possibly considering the Rode Videomic?
I think we'll be going "boom operational" with the mic from now on anyway.

Again, this is great, thanks!

 

[Alcove Audio]

There are drawbacks and benefits to each mic.

Rode Video Mic

On the positive side - The RVM can be used as an on-camera mic in the future as a safety and for a better quality sync track than the camera mic can provide.
On the negative side - it is heavy on the end of a boom-pole and is really a consumer device.


Audio Technica AT897

On the positive side - It has better off-axis rejection than the RVM and will be less prone to RF and other forms of interference.
On the negative side - The AT897 has a lower output level than mics that get their phantom power from an external source should you decide to go with an external audio recorder in the future. It is less forgiving to poor aiming by the boom-op due to its narrow pick-up pattern.