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Wireless shotgun mic?

Hi all,

As I retire my consumer camcorder to upgrade to better equipment, I have a lot to lean about different gear and what it can do. I was reading up on a shotgun mic that said "Use an XLRF "plug-in" transmitter to make a wireless shotgun microphone!".

Can someone explain (or confirm what I think) exactly what that means? Does it mean if I had that XLRF plug-in attached to my camera, I could disconnect the shotgun mic and move it closer to the audio I want to capture without any wires (kind of like a mini foot long boom mic if I wanted)?

Thanks for the help.
 
It's a shotgun mic can run without a physical wire. You plug a transmitter into the microphone and a receiver into the camera/mixer/audio recorder. So what? It may be convenient, but if you use a bargain basement trans/rec system you will expose yourself to all sorts of potential problems.

Serious wireless systems start at about $700 (the Sennehieser G3 system). Truly professional wireless (Lectrosonics) starts at about $1,400. Professional implies frequency agility, small & light-weight + water/sweat-proof transmitters, a very solid build, excellent vendor support, flexibility.

Great production sound is all about SKILL first, then the gear. If you don't have the skill-set no amount of gear is going to make your sound better. A solid skill-set, practical experience and technical knowledge can get the best out of even the most basic prosumer production sound kit. Skillfully swinging a boom is one of the most difficult of all audio jobs - it's 80% of the battle when it comes to great production sound.

This thread may be of interest:

http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?t=47032
 
Yeah, unless you can afford a system like Alcove lists, only use wireless as a last resort. I have a Sennheiser XLR plug-in transmitter/receiver system - though not a high-end model - and it works great...right up until that once-in-a-lifetime moment of truth, when a huge burst of interference blows out the audio. :angry:
 
There's also the issue that many plug-on transmitters do not provide 48v phantom to the shotgun so you'll still need a separate battery powered phantom supply. You could use something like the SD MM1 which would also provide headphone monitoring which is a must for boom op anyway.
 
Thanks all for the replies.

I won't be starting with skill OR a serious wireless system, so I will need something pretty basic for now. I'll initially begin capturing sound to the camera while I learn more. I was really just making sure I understood its function too.

Another reason I was asking is because I wasn't sure how long cords are for typical camera mountable mics for times when I do want to try and capture audio from a little further out than the mic might pick up normally.
 
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