Microphone for JVC GZ-HD7

H

hobyindie

My wife wants to learn filmmaking. We bought her a JVC GZ-HD7, and now we're looking for an onboard microphone (is that the right term?) that she can attach to it to get better sound quality. I've done some looking on this forum, but couldn't seem to find any specific recommendations for microphones. I looked at B&H Photo too, and found a lot of microphones that seemed to have good reviews, but I'm afraid I don't know enough to know which one to buy. We're looking to spend no more than $250. Any suggestions?

Thanks a lot in advance for your time.
 
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A lot is going to depend upon what she will be shooting. Is she looking to be a "real" filmmaker or is she just looking to have some fun? If she just wants to have fun the JVC MZ-V8U or something similar would be okay. Otherwise we would need a lot more detail.
 
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Try this thread: http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?t=15116&highlight=azden

Or this: http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?t=16121&highlight=Microphone

I have an azden shotgun microphone which I've used for quite a few years very happily. Audio Technica have good microphones, and you should be able to get a shotgun mic for anywhere from $50 to $250 without a problem. Of course like everything else in this business, you can spend a ton, but unless you are very particular about your audio, sometimes spending less you get good enough!

Chris

P.S. And Alcove is one of the better audio people on the site (among a bunch...not including me!) and he can help you with specifics too.
 
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Thanks to both of you for your replies. Chris, I'll definitely check out those threads you suggested, and look into those microphones. Alcove, I'm afraid that I don't know what sort of detail you need, but I'm happy to tell you what I know. I do know that she is hoping to be a "real" filmmaker. She plans to apply to film schools next fall. She hopes to use this camera to get some practice and (possibly, but only if it's good enough) something to send in to film schools with her application. She was also considering trying her hand at a documentary of some sort this summer. This would probably involve interviews, street filming, and things of that sort. Does that help? Please let me know if you need any other information.

Thanks again to both of you!

Oh, in thinking more, I should also say that she'll probably be doing most of her filming by herself, so she would need a setup that wouldn't require more than two hands to operate.
 
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If she's serious about becoming a filmmaker there's a lot of research and experimentation to do.

Here's some good "starter" info on mics:

http://www.kenstone.net/fcp_homepage/right_mic_brockett.html

By no means comprehensive it covers the basics fairly well.

Other good info can be found here:

http://www.equipmentemporium.com/Articles/Articles about Prod Sound.htm

She should also "lose" herself in http://filmsound.org.

Too many otherwise good or even possibly great projects fall short because the filmmaker ignored the production sound. Yes, it's possible to improve poor sound but it's a hell of a lot cheaper to get it right from the start. People never notice good/great sound, only bad sound.

"Sound is half of the experience"
 
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Non-shotgun cardioid condenser?

After looking into the suggested links and reading about things a bit, I'm leaning toward getting her a non-shotgun cardioid condenser mic that can be mounted on top of the JVC GZ-HD7. My reasons for this are as follows. I appreciate any comments about whether this is good or bad thinking.

1. She will be filming both indoors and outdoors. It seems to me that it would be better to have a cardioid condenser mic for outdoor filming (and pick up the extra noise) than to have a shotgun mic for indoor filming and get that "roomy" sound.
2. We don't have the money for more than one $250 microphone at the moment, but if she continues with the film thing, we will eventually. In the meantime, I'd rather buy one good microphone than two crappy ones.
3. She will be experimenting a lot this summer with filming different locations, etc, and most of this she'll do by herself. It won't be feasible for her to get a boom pole and someone to help her. (In other words, she's not there yet.) Hence getting something that can be camera-mounted.
4. If, at a later date, she wants to expand her collection, we can get a boom pole, shotgun mic, etc.

Again, I appreciate any advice, even if it's to say that I'm a total idiot and thinking about things completely wrong. Thanks a lot for all of the help so far.
 
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Hello.

You mentioned that one could get a shotgun mic for $250.00. Would that be considered a pretty decent one, or is that lower end?

I had a good one to use for our shoot, but it fell through at the last minute, and now I'm scrambling to get a good mic within a couple of days. Any advice? We're shooting fairly close to an airport, and I'm really concerned about sound. The only others I have are stage mics, and a condenser mic.

Thanks!!
 
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$250 is a pretty good one. Microphones can go from a little to a lot. Here's a search on Amazon (simply shotgun microphone)...http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw?url=search-alias=aps&field-keywords=microphone+shotgun&x=0&y=0

The AT-ATR-55 isn't a bad microphone and it's under $50. So for $250 you can get something pretty good. The thing is as I said, you can have bad audio, good audio or great audio. Good might be enough for 99% of the world. You just want to make sure you don't have bad audio. I use an AZDEN SGMX1 Shotgun Microphone, and it's going for $170 or thereabouts, and I've had nothing but great audio from it.

Good luck.

Chris
 
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