Lav mic set up help

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dr stilly

hi all,

can somebody give me some advise on a lav set up, including the recievers. I have a budget of around 200 which isnt much I know but its all i got atm. i would like a set of two but can live with one so any help is much apreciated as i am very new to the lav mic area.

many thanks.
 
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The absolute minimum I would ever consider is a Sennheiser G3 system at $600 each, and I would probably replace the lavs with the CountryMan B-6 lavs, another $300.

There's plenty of cheap stuff out there and in the $100 to $200 range it's mostly VHF, which is very prone to interference and drop-outs. You may want to check out the Audio Technica Pro 88 series.

Hiding lavs AND getting good sound is difficult even under the best of circumstances with decent gear; be prepared to do A LOT of experimenting and have A LOT of patience.
 
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The cheap Wireless setups I have bought and used were a joke. More trouble than they were worth. Static city, buzzing and more of a novelty than a useful tool is what I found. I tried the Audio Technica Pro 88 and they were a waste IMO, anytime they got near lights I would get a lot of static and sometimes just bursts of pure static over the dialog.

My solution to keep it cheap was to use a pocket digital recorder ( Olympus VN8100PC ) and a lav mic, One hurdle, you can only monitor before and after each take, but it is better than the low budget wireless units I have tried.








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well this is mocumentary so I allow room for imperfections on this one it could add to the authentisity, I just want something that is realiable, functional and clear. So VHF i can live with (have to live with on my budget). Thanks for the suggestion alcove it gives me a jump off point.

Indie budget your idea is something I was considering but with a variation given by Dslr noob on youtube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3fVhRwtWVSY). his suggestion is to add bluetooth stereo reciever and transmitters. Btw what lav mic would you suggest to go into the zoom?
 
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If you're truly on a small budget of $200, I'd go with IndieBudget's idea. He documented the results of the pocket recorders and they sound fine. Just test them out first to get proper levels.
 
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Audio-Technica ATR-3350 Lavalier Omnidirectional Condenser Microphone is what Im using along with a Radio Shack Lav, both are cheap and work OK. The AT lav has a long cord, so have to conceal and the Radio Shack one has a 3 foot cord. I take the time to tape the mic to the talent and cover w/ moleskin to try clothing noise. Still have to monitor the situation because hands rubbing on clothing will be picked up, so try to have dialog not happening when hands or whatever are brushing clothes near mic.
 
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dr stilly said:
THANKS! btw did you check out the bluetooth transmitter/reciever idea?
Click to expand...

Yes, looks interesting. Ya never know, Im not too bluetooth savy, Im wondering if distortion would be an issue. If you've got lights especially florescents, you might have issues.However one cannot have too many toys and that drawer we all have full of techno-junk always has room for more stuff. Try it and do a video.
 
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@Indie film

yes but i meant using the bluetooth for monitoring. like having the lav into say a zoom clipped onto the subject then a bluetooth transmitter connected to the zoom output and then recieved through an amp and headphones.
 
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dr stilly said:
@Indie film

yes but i meant using the bluetooth for monitoring. like having the lav into say a zoom clipped onto the subject then a bluetooth transmitter connected to the zoom output and then recieved through an amp and headphones.
Click to expand...

Ok..for monitoring, sounds good. YES might be worth looking into because that is one important thing. you do not want to only find your issues when editing
 
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ok, so the latest is I bought a system for cheap (100) i rushed the transaction because I saw it's average retail price is 190, it is the Audio Technica ATW-R700 reciever and the ATW-T701 UHF transmitter. Immediatly I realised a problem after purchase and that is the reciever needs a wall plug. so how can i shoot in the streets is what I'm asking myself...but it's managable I guess. Another thing is that I have the receiver hooked up to my zoom h1 and it only records onto the left channel of the zoom...am i missing something?? like i said im really new to wireless audio. another question that may be obvious but i assume now that i can buy various transmitters that will be picked up by this reciever simaltaniously?

thanks for you help if you have been bothered to even read this malarky (i know i ran before i walked on this one)
 
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You are only recording one channel, so that is correct. Watch out for lights, cellphones and stray electric emissions from Mars as they all will cause issues, test, test and test at the location with the lighting you are planning to use...ohh and monitor what you are getting.....good luck !
 
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well i've changed my mind again, I'm selling the wireless system and am going to purchase another zoom and a lav. I think the pro's of a lav into a recorder outweigh the cons, bottom line is the audio will be much better and more reliable plus with the bluetooth receivers i can get some sort of monitoring going with that system. meh...
 
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