[Merlin]

I wish to stop or greatly reduce wind noise, and have a directional mic able to pick up aircraft and not crowd at airshows, as well as for filming close to (20 to 40ft) arena type scenes where speech is important.

Havent a clue what to ask for, just would probably head for a Sennheiser. Looking at pics though, how do they reduce wind on mic noise ? Or do I need a separate purchase again of something fluffy to fit over it. The wind being what it is, it can spring up anytime and ruin a recording, so whats the normal procedure with mics ?

Do I need electret condenser, what ohms, Hz range etc.


Merlin

[buzlightyear]

You need to get a fluffy ferret to put over your mike. Ask for a wind shield.

[Merlin]

Just been reading up on th Sennheiser mke300, not cheap,...has sponge windshield supplied, Sennheiser being a good make, is this as good as a ferret I wonder, for the price I hope so !...or do i remove it, if its removable, and spend more money and fit a furry cover ?

What less expensive mics would also do the job adequately I wonder, as had ideas about £60 max, not £170 !

merlin

[Merlin]

Trying to get my head around what mic to get to overcome built in mic issues on a camcorder such as wind noise. If I want stereo sound recorded, does that mean I cannot have a microphone that is switchable to super uni directional for airshows, birds etc, and uni directional for closer scenes where hearing speech is important. I appear to have a camcorder which doesn't allow the fitting of a mic that zooms its capture area to match the field of view, as it has a 3.5mm input on the side for the mic. Blast...that would be a very useful feature.

Sennheiser MK300 is £170 yet mono I had thought of it first. Not sure if it can be switched to a wider capture area, and if it were possible, it would need stereo if view fixed and subjects moving about.

What is there that has super uni AND standard uni switchable options and is stereo ?

Merlin

Your best option is the sennheiser MKE300, Rycote do a mini windjammer for £30.

Yes the mic is mono, but so is just about every other professional mic you buy for video (senheiser run the market on this one, MKE66/K6 & the 416/418's, these cost £400-£1200), the key specs for professional mics tend to ballanced connections (XLR's) usually condensor type, many will only run off power supplied by the recording device (phantom power).

The pic up of these mics is hyper cardiod, i.e. extremely directional, so there is no stereo overlap to record, you can double the audio up in post, and if you must, mix in some panning then.

There are cheap mics available with different pic up switching, but they are cheap cheap cheap in every description.


Unfortunately, on the budget you want to spend, professional sound is not really an option, I've seen a mic by RODE advertised in some of the magazines for about £90, they usually do reasonable quality copies of established designs, might be worth looking at....

Check out the CANFORD.co.uk website for the best range of mics availbale, then do a kelkoo to find the best price.
Most video folk will point you towards the Sennheiser 300

[thebrummy_one]

I brought the Senheiser 300D earlier this year for £140 and am not at all disappointed with it. I shot the kiddies easter play inside a parentally admiring quadmire of a school hall using this and got execellent 'close-up' sounds from the lead charaters. Nearly all peripheral sound was exstinguished. It is mono but as Roy says, it's just one click of your mouse in post to duplicate the sound. It also gives you something to do with the sound, building in pans!!