Audio solutions (experiences)- Run n Gun, one man band - gx80

[tomastancredi]

Hey guys, I know there are infinite solutions for external audio recording but I wanted to hear some experiences from people who are working alone and have come with a good/smallest-quality  solutions.  

p.s: I am not by any means an audio guy, and will not be mixing it, but just want equipment tips to record it properly..

I have the gx85 in mind -for ultra small webjournalism package, and on its topic some ideas have come up: 

 

- Zoom h1. It can be an alternative for ambiance, but it does not satisfy interview needs, speech needs. 

 - L bracket + Juiced Link Little darling

                     + Lav's, it would be perfect for Wireless conections but I found ( on my few experiences) that even on interviews shotguns worked better and most of the time will not have time to mic up. 

                     +  Video micro on top. that's a cheap alternative. but is it good enough? from what distance can I still get acceptable sound?
                     

                     + Adding shot gun's  - a Senheiser MKE 600 - with an adapter* (or something else)  would turn water to wine quality (than the micro)? If so size would be rethought. 
                      * this http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/885062-REG/kopul_lmt_100_lo_to_hi_impedance.html 

 
   - Shure vp83 is another option but I hear frustrations having it intended as a directional mic and if so, a zoom h1 would do better ( smaller) 

 

what other solutions, experiences or ideas you have? 

Thanks in advance!


 

[Mattias Burling]

43 minutes ago, tomastancredi said:

- Zoom h1. It can be an alternative for ambiance, but it does not satisfy interview needs, speech needs. 

You can detach the zoom and use it closer for interviews, connect a lav to it and put it in the pocket, connect a wireless lav and leave it on the camera, connect any number of wired mics to it, mount it on a boom, etc, etc.

[Inazuma]

For run n gun interviews I use a Rode NTG4, which at £200 is fairly good value and gives great directional sound, which is what you will need! Do not get a zoom h1 for interviews. I have tried it before and it was awful. 

BTW the GX80 doesn't have a mic input. I hope you know that.

[sgreszcz]

7 minutes ago, Mattias Burling said:

You can detach the zoom and use it closer for interviews, connect a lav to it and put it in the pocket, connect a wireless lav and leave it on the camera, connect any number of wired mics to it, mount it on a boom, etc, etc.

I have the zoom h1, but have found it a bit large and suffers from handling noise. I tried mounting it to a rycote shock mount but since the zoom is so light it doesn't seem to dampen it. It is great for recordings when you can place it or mount it somewhere static.

I also have the discontinued Sony icd-sx1000 which is smaller than the zoom and has really good built in mics too and less handling noise. Built in battery and memory.

i have the shure vp83f and it is a nice sensitive compact mic with good audio, but it isn't that directional.

finally I really like using the video micro as it has a great deadcat and pics up pretty decent sound on my G7 (not so good on my EM5-II because of noisy preamps).

I'm looking for the gx80 too (although seems that the shipping date is slipping into June). I am considering the little darling too, and need to figure out an easy way to quickly mount it with the video micro. 

I've also helped fund the instamic and I'm anxiously waiting for delivery of that device, which if could be somewhat hidden could help get a good mic and recorder close to moving subjects.

Curses on Panasonic for no mic jack on the gx80 (and lx100).

[RobD]

Zoom H4n with lapel mics works well. I have one wireless mic and one wired mic for recording interviews.

[tomastancredi]

51 minutes ago, sgreszcz said:

i have the shure vp83f and it is a nice sensitive compact mic with good audio, but it isn't that directional.

finally I really like using the video micro as it has a great deadcat and pics up pretty decent sound on my G7 (not so good on my EM5-II because of noisy preamps).

Nice! how do you compare the two? is the micro more directional? Why not using the shure instead of Micro + Little darling? 
 

the micro boom pole can be an option for more formal - talking heads -  inverview. or even the zoom would suit in that case as matias point out, but not so good for run gun. 
 

Ntg 4 or 3 sound good enough, but it would need an XLR pream. I see the tascam DR10x  as an option or this new rode i-xlr rode

7 minutes ago, RobD said:

Zoom H4n with lapel mics works well. I have one wireless mic and one wired mic for recording interviews.

yes, thanks! I have had the zoom h4n and used it with wireless mic, the thing is it must be attached to the camera as I wont have time to install it, and most of the times will not be close enough to people to use an ambience recorder.... But since the gx80 does not have a mic jack we need a small, portable solution

[sgreszcz]

15 hours ago, tomastancredi said:

Nice! how do you compare the two? is the micro more directional? Why not using the shure instead of Micro + Little darling? 

I haven't done a direct comparison (I should), but I prefer the wind noise isolation (I live somewhere really windy) and the smaller size of the Rode Micro when using my G7/E-M5II cameras and I have the ability to record internally.  The Shure is an excellent solution (others have noted its sensitivity, but lack of directionality), and I can also connect the Shure output to a camera that has an input to give be a backup recording (on both the VP83F and camera).  It just has a few more steps involved (and to forget) then popping on the Rode Micro and plugging it in.

I was thinking of the getting a couple of the Little DARlings as I can use them with lav mics as well as use them to record from any other type of mic (on or off camera).  I use a couple of E-M5II due to the IBIS but I'm thinking of selling them (and my G7) for the GX80 so I will need some sort of external recording solution.  I'll be left with GX80 and LX100 as my two cameras and neither of them has a mic input.

I really want to focus on the smallest and quickest audio solution that will give me much better sound than the camera built-in mics.  That is why I'm patiently waiting for the Instamic to ship.

[User]

Each to their own, I only weigh in with my experience as a largely one-man-band run and gun doc maker. Sound is 70% of the film. People will watch a shitty picture with great sound but not the other way around. I would absolutely make sure I have a wireless attached to the people I am shooting. If this is not possible, you better have a sound man doing boom. If this isn't possible, and a camera mic is the only way, then I would be sure to use a decent mic with a more cardioid pick up pattern and then absolutely remember to stick close to your subjects. The Little Darling is a good idea but without being able to hear what is being captured you must make sure that there will be no clothing rustling (or anything else) against the mic when you mount it. And finally, the locations you shoot in will have a lot to do with the quality of audio you get, busy streets are always hard to capture reasonably clean discernible audio - whereas in quieter locations you will obviously pull in more clean stuff from further away. Good luck.

[jhnkng]

I have a Zoom H1 which I stick into a Rode shockmount, and that does a pretty good job to isolate handling noise. I also have a couple of VideoMic Micros which are great for getting very good reference audio, or ambiance, and possibly a viable backup if everything goes to hell. 

But really, you need to get a wireless lav system (I have the Rode wireless kit, it works great) if you're going to have people speaking in non-controlled situations. The H1 might be ok if you can put it on a stand and place it close to the subject, but unless you can stick close to the speaker every time they say something you're not going to get consistent sound. One thing I like to do is to run the wireless receiver into the H1, then the H1 into the camera, and just leave the H1 recording all the time. It's an awful lot of audio to comb through later, but you never know when they'll say something interesting when they're off camera. Tell them what you're doing though!

Or get a sound person. They're worth their weight in gold.