Question about microphones

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dvdguy

Hi!

Well I gathered some money to buy myself a nice quality mic, I'm thinking about buying an NTG-2 which is, from what I heard, rather good! :D I'm not sure though if this is the right mic for my camcorder, or will any mic do for a camcorder? The thing is...I dont have a mic input so I have to buy a Sound Recorder or something to record to. What would you guys recommend? I have a Sony DCR-SR57E. Thanks :)
 
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The NTG-2 is a decent budget mic; I wouldn't go so far as to call it quality except in regards to its bang-for-the-buck.

Everyone will recommend the Zoom H4n. I've found the mic pres to be quite noisy, so I would recommend a good mixer to go with it. You could consider the Sound Devices MP-1 or MM-1 as your mixer and they will always be useful as your audio kit grows.
 
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Ok, how do you combine a mixer with the digital sound recorder (Zoom H4n)? What do you mean noisy? :) And about the NTG-2, I dont know, it should offer quality as many productions use it. Or was it NTG-3.hmm. nevermind. Ok, and what other mic would you recommend or will NTG-2 do just fine? :)
 
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DvdGuy,
Going external audio is a big deal! I want to go that route too, but I'm going to put more time behind the viewfinder first. Maybe I don't need LIVE sounds in my films just yet. Your camera looks like it might sound OK for starting out. Im sure its not as noisy as my camera (I have a Tape Machine in mine, so its always making noise)

Im going to make something this week and next with what I have..

See ya
 
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dvdguy said:
Ok, how do you combine a mixer with the digital sound recorder (Zoom H4n)?
Click to expand...

You take the audio output of the mixer and plug it into the line in of the digital recorder. Be sure that the digital recorder is set to LINE IN and not set to mic. When you connect two devices together you have to play with the settings to find the best gain levels for each device to get a balance between the best signal level and the best signal-to-noise ratio.

dvdguy said:
What do you mean noisy?
Click to expand...

All audio devices create "self-noise". If you dive into the specs of audio gear you will see a spec called "signal-to-noise ratio"; in very simple terms this is the amount of self generated noise created by the device in relation to the amount of signal received. A recorder or mixer has several components that can be the culprit. Microphone preamps are the usual cause. The cheaper the mic pre the more noise it will generate. The same applies to the AD (analog-to-digital) converters. It's the old "cost vs. quality" issue. A Yugo and a Lexus both have four wheels, an engine, a suspension, steering and burn the same type of fuel, but which would you rather drive? The devil is in the details...

To get back the Zoom products - they use cheap mic pres which generate more self-noise than higher priced recorders.

BTW, don't rely exclusively on the manufacturers specs; they of course want their own specs to look great.

dvdguy said:
And about the NTG-2, I dont know, it should offer quality as many productions use it. Or was it NTG-3.hmm. nevermind. Ok, and what other mic would you recommend or will NTG-2 do just fine? :)
Click to expand...

The NTG-2 is just fine. As I mentioned before, it offers great bang-for-the-buck which is why many low budget indie filmmakers use it. But you have to keep in mind that there is a reason that the real professional use very expensive mics like the Schoeps CMIT5U ($2,200) and the Sennheiser MKH-70 ($1,800); they sound great, generate very little self noise and are extremely durable.
 
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Ok, so what youre sayin its a pretty good mic for a good price right? And do you know how long the NTG-2 might last? :) I heard mics last preeetty long :D and what does a mixer actually offer a microphone? And anything else I need besides the mixer and the microphone? Something to guarantee no break-ups while recording?
 
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For the money it's fine, is what he is saying. Last? Don't abuse it. There are pros and cons with every mic of every budget, and different colorations, etc. You really don't even want to get into looking at specs or reviews of mics it will drive you crazy. Especially if you don't know the tech talk. Trust recommendations, and test them out for yourself.
 
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re

I have the ntg2 and although i can hook it up to my hv30, ive learned enoug to know your situation.

Youll definielty want and xlr male to female cable( just a regular xlr cable,). This will be your main cable, and youll want it to be as long as you think you might need (i have 25 ft.)

If you get a recorder, see if it has xlr outputs, if it does, you can just go from mic to recorder. Otherwise you need a converter cable from xlr to whatever type of jack your recorder has.( The ntg2 has an xlr input, so that end of the cable is set)


I was able to get my mic and cables from a store, but by luck the mic was on clearance and even available in my area. I reccommend bandh, as its most recommended and thats the soursce of my camera. Like they all say, get good xlr cables. I have mogami, but theres monster, pro co, etc.

I dont know your uses, but for filmmaking it may be helpful to use a boom pole. (the mic comes with a clip to attach to one if wanted)

hope it helped a little

the mic,
recorder,
xlr cable,
converter if neccesary
boom pole or some holder if neccessary
 
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