I couldn't actually find a brand name in that ad anywhere. That's kind of an odd omission.

RJSchwarz
San Diego, CA

You get what you pay for.

A mic without a name sold from Hong Kong is a risky choice - even if you only pay $34/45.

?URL? http://www.sennheiserusa.com/newsite/?/URL?
Sennheiser is the mic most used by professional sound recordists.
They are expensive and worth it. Check out the ME-66 and the ME-67.
The MKH60 is the best if you can afford it.

?url? http://www.audio-technica.com/?/url?
Audio-Technica is cheaper. Check out the AT835B. It?s a workable
mic, a little muddy and not as directional as it should be. The AT835ST
is a good mic for the price, but it, too, sounds a bit muddy - the
vocals don?t sound crisp enough for me.

?url? http://www.azdencorp.com/?/url?
I?ve never used Azden mic?s. They?re inexpensive and I don?t hear
too many good things about them, but if that's all you can afford
it's MUCH better than using the camera mic.

A good mic is an investment. It will last longer than your camera - why
skimp? A great place to check prices and purchase is B&H Photo
?url? http://www.bhphotovideo.com/?/url?

The further away the mic is from the actors, the higher the volume needs
to be. The higher the volume, the more ?noise? you get. Your goal is to
have a very high signal to noise ratio - more signal (the dialogue) less
noise (the background). Even a very good, expensive Sennheiser mounted
on the camera will pick up a lot of background ambiance because it?s far
away from the actors.

=============================================
The aim of an argument or discussion should not be victory, but progress.
Joseph Joubert, essayist (1754-1824)

Ok thanks. I think it s from Alpine Top the ebay ad I posted.

yeah i'd go with certified's choices i'm not liking that ebay one. fishy fishy.

"They say a picture is worth a thousand words. But a film? Well, thats worth a thousand pictures."

-(Own3d Studios)-

www.own3dstudios.com

I've pretty much exclusively used the MKH60. I can't really allow myself to go anywhere else. I've used Azden before, and hated them. Never again, I say.

Bregar,

I advise you to not skimp on sound. As I've said in other comments, sound is so, so, so important to an audience's overall opinion of a film. I know this stuff is pricey, but I can't say enough about how important it is to not cut corners where you will end up with something that is marginally better than the onboard mic you're already using. If you can't afford the equipment now - save until you can. That's by best advice. Trust me, you won't regret exercising patience.

If you need a solution right now, I'd think about renting from somewhere. I've rented from a rental house called Coffey Sound on every production I've done in the last 10 years, and they are fantastic. They have amazing service, excellent equipment and very, very good prices.

To add to the above suggestions for quality sound, I recommend reading a few books on quality sound capturing. It is an art all in itself. With a shotgun mic, you want to be sure you are pointing the mic at the person's mouth and are as close as possible. A lot of people make the mistake of imprecise aiming and end up catching a lot of reverb off of the floor, the walls or the ceiling. This will kill you in post.

Also, I find it most useful to invest in some wireless LAV mics as well. These are the type of mics that the actor actually wears on their person along with a transmitter that sends the audio to a receiver attached to a mixer. LAVs paired with a boom makes for many options and really clean sound. Of course, wireless LAVs range in quality and the lower-end ones don't perform very well at all. This is something I'd advise saving for.

quote:

---

Originally posted by BregarFilms

http://cgi.ebay.ca/14-37-Professional-Shotgun-Gun-Mic-Microphone-New_W0QQitemZ110314990454QQcmdZViewItemQQptZAU_Pro_Audio?hash=item110314990454&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=66%3A2?65%3A15?39%3A1?240%3A1318

I am new to sound and audio so I was wondering if this is a good microphone for sound. I really just want an affordable one that is better then the default ones that come out of a camcorder. Also any other recommendations would be good. Like for other mics or types of mics.

---

For advice from Sound professionals, check out these resources:

RAMPS, Sound Newsgroup http://www.coffeyinteractive.com/phpbb2/ramps.php?

Sound Forum http://www.coffeyinteractive.com/phpbb2/index.php?

Coffey Sound, http://www.coffeysound.com

And here are some books that may help you:

Film Sound: Theory and Practice (Hardcover)
by Elisabeth Weis (Editor), John Belton (Editor, Photographer)
Product Details
Hardcover: 462 pages
Publisher: Columbia University Press (June 1985)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0231056362
ISBN-13: 978-0231056366
?
Sound for Film and Television, Second Edition (Book & CD-ROM) (Paperback)
by Tomlinson Holman (Author)
Product Details
Paperback: 368 pages
Publisher: Focal Press; 2nd edition (December 2001)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0240804538
ISBN-13: 978-0240804538
?
Sound Theory, Sound Practice (AFI Film Readers) (Paperback)
by Rick Altman (Editor)
Product Details
Paperback: 256 pages
Publisher: Routledge (June 30, 1992)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0415904579
ISBN-13: 978-0415904575
?
Sound-On-Film: Interviews with Creators of Film Sound (Paperback)
by Vincent LoBrutto (Author)
Product Details
Paperback: 320 pages
Publisher: Praeger Paperback (August 30, 1994)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0275944433
ISBN-13: 978-0275944438
?
Practical Art of Motion Picture Sound, Second Edition (Paperback)
by David Lewis Yewdall (Author)
Product Details
Paperback: 424 pages
Publisher: Focal Press; Paperback and CD-ROM edition ( February 28, 2003 )
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0240805259
ISBN-13: 978-0240805252
?
Sound for Picture Edition: The Art of Sound Design in Film and Television (Mix Pro Audio Series) (Paperback)
by Tom Kenny (Author)
Product Details
Paperback: 264 pages
Publisher: MixBooks; 2 edition ( October 1, 2000 )
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0872887243
ISBN-13: 978-0872887244

Brian Dzyak
Cameraman/Author
IATSE Local 600, SOC
http://www.whatireallywanttodo.com