A short while back, Tony Carreti shared a test with a very inexpensive shotgun microphone (found here). Today, HDSLRNOW.com provided some additional data while comparing the sub $20 dollar EM-320E to the $230 dollar Audio Technica AT897 (found here). It's fairly obvious that the more expensive microphone sounds better, but the debate was about whether the sub $20 dollar microphone is worth using for those who may just be getting off the ground shooting video and without a budget. You can find the cheap EM-320E shotgun microphone via eBay (click here).
Normally priced at about $100 dollars, the Tascam DR-05 hand held recorder is on sale for just $65 dollars. The Tascam DR-05 does not have XLR inputs, so it's similar to the Zoom H1. It's a bit larger than a Zoom H1 (as seen above), but a great deal if you don't have a recorder today.
Looking for the most simplest way to mount a Rode VideoMic, LED Light, and Zoom H1 to your camera - all at one time? There's nothing more simple than this Triple Hotshoe Accessory Bracket. Under the bracket's mount is a 1/4-20 thread so you can also use this on a lightstand. Great for stacking several small LED lights to a single stand for a larger light source.
Even the basic Vello Triple bracket can run for about $30 bucks (seen here), but right now this other Triple Bracket has recently been reduced in price to about $12 dollars and ships free for Amazon Prime members too check it out (Click Here).
Triple Mount Hot Shoe V Mount Bracket for Video Lights, Microphones or Monitors VBrack3
Thanks to a tweet from m0fe, he points out this alternative Sony Battery tray for powering up your DSLR rig with Sony NPF style batteries [Thanks m0fe]. They have a V-Mount power supply similar to this, but even cheap V-mount batteries are just out of most budgets. This tray accepts two Sony NPF970 Batteries (seen here) (but you can also use little NPF-550s) to power up fairly standard DSLR rig accessories.
The pack offers an output of 5V (for Zoom H4n), a 7V output (for powering Canon cameras), and a 12V output (for powering LCD monitors), and then clamps to a standard set of 15mm rails. The kit comes with all the necessary cables and even comes with a Canon LP-E6 dummy battery to start shooting. If you're an event shooter that needs to be fed constant power, this is one of the most affordable off the shelf solutions to power up your rig. Check it out via eBay (Click Here).
We've all used various sticks and poles to boom audio [guilty]. If it ain't broken then why fix it right? For those of you who will eventually step up their game and move to some fancier equipment, I was sent this Falcon Carbon Fiber Audio Boom Pole [Thanks Jackson]. I don't have a lot to compare it with in the studio, but it's definitely everything it sets out to be. Super lightweight, sturdy Carbon Fiber, with a standard 5/8th" Microphone Threaded tip. The Falcon Boom pole does not offer an XLR cable run through, but it's hollow to support XLR cable runs with a removable capped end. It's possible to add one, which I will attempt to do this week.
Besides being lightweight, Carbon Fiber serves to absorb more micro vibrations than standard aluminum poles (same reason expensive road bikes will use Carbon forks) so less noise will be transmitted to the microphone. The Carbon on the Falcon looks high quality, and there's very little sagging even when fully extended. Considering other Boom Poles on the market, the Falcon Carbon is at the right price and even a bit cheaper than other popular booms. The Falcon Carbon Fiber Boom poles are available in 9' and 12' lengths, and can be found on the Lux-Cinema eBay store (Click Here)
I was shooting this for my own journal and didn't think I would actually publish the video, as i'm pretty private about certain things I work on. Then again, I was pretty happy with the results and wanted to share what my treatment was.
Keep in mind that this is not for Sound Isolation. This is not a Sound Booth that will block out all ambient noise. This setup is merely just 'treatment' of a small space to make the vocals sound better (get rid of echo and deflection).
Sorry fellas, I have to warn you that the video (below) even gave me a bit of motion sickness. If you're not interested in building out a room for voice recording, maybe you should just skip this one. At about 3:50 into the video, you'll hear a before and after comparison (turn up your volume).
There are low budget options to sound absorption, but I wasn't very happy with those results (I tried). When it comes to covering the most amount of square footage on the walls, the AudiMute stuff was my best bet.
I tried the heavy moving blankets to absorb sound, but going with the more expensive AudiMute Sound Absorption Sheets was worth the difference (and look much better). You can get a pack of (5) 4x8 sheets for $230 dollars.
AudiMute Sound Absorption Sheets
I also tried a variety of cheap foam, but in the end, a box of Auralex foam wedgies solved all the deflection issues. I used about 12 on the ceiling and another 12 to make a Reflexion filter behind the Rode ProCaster microphone. A box of 24 Auralex Wedges will run you $99 bucks. You don't need to cover every square inch with this stuff, just a few will treat a room very well.
For the floor we just added some thick padding. So for about $330 dollars, I feel we got some really good results in a fairly professional looking voice recording room. Hard to tell from the audio of the point and shoot camera I was shooting on, but through a high quality vocal microphone it's a world of difference.
YouTube member LJtutorials gives a run down on the new BeachTek DXA-SLR Pro. These audio adapters are used to adapt your higher end XLR Microphones to DSLR cameras and provide features like headphone monitoring, Phantom power, Cleaner Pre-amp, Manual Levels adjustment (during recording), and AGC disable. If you're already enjoying a workflow of separate audio recorders with the Zoom H4n, then this might not be interesting to you. [Thanks LJ]
If you want to capture best audio directly into the camera so that you don't have to sync in post, then these types of adapters are a must have. There are several different models of BeachTek and Juicedlink Preamps that offer different feature sets at a variety of prices. For instance, you don't need headphone monitoring or AGC disable with a Canon 5D Mark III, and you may not require XLR and Phantom power if you're using Self Powered Microphones. This review is based on the the DXA-SLR Pro version which will run you over $400 dollars (found here).
Robert from Juicedlink just uploaded a video showing some of the Canon 5D Mark III audio features along with the Nikon D800 audio features. Towards the second half, he introduces a new Juicedlink RM333 low noise pre-amp. We've run a few audio tests running a microphone into the Canon 5DM3 and there's no doubt using an external preamp will still yield better results. The internal amps of the Canon DSLR aren't very good.
The new Juicedlink RM333 preamp looks like a good small solution, and it was pretty smart to add in the backup audio that had been attenuated (reduced volume). There's times when your subject gets a bit excited and starts talking a little louder than expected, so a lower recording can save you from clipping. When the RM333 becomes available, you'll be able to find it over at Juicedlink's Website (click here).
New Opteka VM-200 microphone. Claims an metal body, directional XY stereo, shock mount suspension, PAD switch, high pass noise filter, and windscreen filter included. Sounds like a decent build on the outside.
Is it effective? Well, we all know If the guts are cheap, it will sound cheap. It also looks a bit beastly compared to some of the smaller microphones on the market, or maybe even just a Zoom H1 portable recorder. More than likely it's still better than trying to use the in-camera microphone. No additional information or reviews I could find right now, but curious minds can find additional specs and pictures of the sub $140 dollar Opteka VM-200 Stereo Condenser Microphone on eBay (click here).
EM-320E Shotgun Microphone
. Under the bracket's mount is a 1/4-20 thread so you can also use this on a lightstand. Great for stacking several small LED lights to a single stand for a larger light source. 
(but you can also use little NPF-550s) to power up fairly standard DSLR rig accessories. 
. You don't need to cover every square inch with this stuff, just a few will treat a room very well.
