Examples of using DSLR audio, the Zoom H1
built in Stereo mics, A Rode VideoMic Pro
, and a few sets of Rode Lavalier Mics
. The LAV mics will always be your best bet for isolating your subject from ambient, but there could be times you actually want to capture the ambient sounds. Eventually you’ll find yourself carrying all of these different types of microphones and figure out which would work best for the situation.
Zoom H1
Rode VideoMic Pro
One thing I highly suggest if shooting with DSLRs, is that you use a seperate audio recorder like the Zoom H1 or Zoom H4n for capturing a higher bitrate and also having full manual controls over the audio levels. With a good portable recorder, you can truly expand on the many different microphone options out there. Here’s some quick examples of how your audio might come off using some of these tools. Sorry, audio could have improved if we used the Dead Cat windscreens.
Rode Lavalier Microphone
Rode PinMic
Tags: DSLR Audio, lavalier, Pin Mic, Rode Lav, Rode PinMic, rode videomic pro, zoom h1
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July 6th, 2011 at 1:11 pm
been looking at the pinmic a lot these days. seems like a great indoor lav but it may be susceptible to picking up wind outdoors. any experiences?
July 6th, 2011 at 2:30 pm
@granma – It comes with a furry cover if needed. One thing about the furry is it can be used under someone’s hair or shirt to prevent or minimize the rubbing noise that you’ll normally get if a LAV is under. Put the furry on and then you can further hide LAV microphones.
July 8th, 2011 at 6:40 pm
How easy is it to knock off the head of the pinhead mic? Do you need a hard tug to remove it off the pin? I’m just wondering if my subject starts running or be brushed off with say Olivia’s hair while doing a swift head turn, can it be easily be jarred off?
July 8th, 2011 at 8:22 pm
@itsjohnny2 – It’s a very very firm fit, and takes quite a tug to remove it.
July 12th, 2011 at 2:08 am
Hey how do I attach my articulating arm to my light stand and my zoom h1 or my rode videomic
July 12th, 2011 at 6:48 am
@Shii – The friction arm I use comes with a 1/4×20 female coupler. I attach it to light stands that have a 1/4×20 thread. You could always go into a hardware store and look for ‘couplers’. If your lightstand is using a 3/8″ then you’ll need to get a 3/8″ coupler and then a 1/4×20 to 3/8″ adapter on the friction arm.
July 23rd, 2011 at 3:13 pm
I just wanted to find out if you can run a cable from my 5d to a zoom h1 and it was run as a microphone ? So that i dont have to do it in post?
July 23rd, 2011 at 3:24 pm
@stu Headphone out can run hot and damage your line in on camera. You need an adapter for this.
July 24th, 2011 at 2:55 pm
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/746645-REG/Sescom_LN2MIC_ZOOMH4N_LN2MIC_ZOOMH4N_Line_to.html
will this do it?
July 24th, 2011 at 4:24 pm
@stu – Yes, that’s the correct adapter.
August 10th, 2011 at 4:16 am
Emm, have you ever gotten your hands on one of the chinese shotgun mics, like these:
http://cgi.ebay.com/14-37-inch-Electret-Condenser-Shotgun-Camera-Microphone-/160603535470?pt=LH
They’re about $22 shipped, so I’m skeptical about the quality, but it’s gotta be better than the internal mic.
Should I go for it?
August 10th, 2011 at 6:15 am
@KC – I think this is the same. There’s some comments here: http://cheesycam.com/cheap-china-shotgun-microphone/
September 3rd, 2011 at 12:06 pm
sorry for this noob question, but can you attach the videomic to a 1/4 20 mount?
September 3rd, 2011 at 3:21 pm
@Eddie – It has a 3/8″ mount, but you can adapt it down to a 1/4 with these:: Tripod Reducer Bushing 2-Pack
September 15th, 2011 at 9:15 pm
We have a need to do an interview with 2 speakers, and would like to figure out an effective setup for it. We were thinking about using 2 rode lav mics, but were wondering the best device to record to, would it be best to buy 2 H1’s, one for each or would the H4n be a better choice?
September 15th, 2011 at 9:33 pm
@Tobin – If you need to monitor the audio during the speech for some reason, I suggest going with the H4n. Keep it handy so you can monitor and maybe adjust levels. If you don’t require to monitor audio, you can throw a Zoom H1 in the speakers pocket with LAV mics and just hit record. With an 8GB card you should get about 3.5 hours of recording time in the highest setting. This means you can hit record quite early and just let it run.
February 4th, 2012 at 12:41 pm
Emm what other lav mics would you recomend? this rode seems pretty nice but I need to buy two for an intervew and I cant afford the price of the rodes please help