cheap shotgun mic for class

[Guest Patrick Nuse]

My girlfriend teaches video production to highschool juniors and seniors. This year I am helping to add some equipment to the class. She wants to purchase 10 boom mic sets. I have found a good deal on booms and mounts, but am having trouble figuring out what mic to buy. They need to be well under a hundred dollars. I know thats not a lot of money but the mic really only needs to function as a shotgun mic. Sound quality is not important as they will not be used for professional production, As long as they are directional like a real shotgun mic, that is all that really matters. They currently have to use the onboard mics of the camcorders so anything will be a huge improvement. Does anyone have experience buying from the "dv shop23" "The cine city" on ebay?\

they have some cheap mics that fit the bill.

[Bernhard Zitz]

They need to be well under a hundred dollars.

 

Under hundred is impossible. Consider that if the camera doesn't have xlr plugs and phantompower you need an mic with onboard battery and probably a xlr to minjack cable/adaptor. Be aware that cables cost money too.

 

Consider also regular cardio, hypercardio or supercardio condenser mics. For indoor they're good as well and for outdoor; even if you get more ambientsound, for beginners it's easier to boom with a mic that has a wider polar pattern.

 

Does anyone have experience buying from the "dv shop23" "The cine city" on ebay?\

couldn't find any mics there, just windshields that look like rycote but cost a fraction of it...

Edited December 15, 2008 by Bernhard Zitz

[Hal Smith]

Don't use any cheap shotguns...period. Benard's advice is solid, in the less than $100 class the only halfway decent mikes are cardiods and hypercardiods. My personal opinion is that the cheaper Shure microphones are the best for cost versus performance.

 

That best way to turn out poor graduates who won't be able to make it in the professional world is to give them crap equipment so they never learn what's professional quality work. I'd buy nine inexpensive mike setups and one really good one using something like a Sennheiser MKH-416, K6 series, etc. With the professional quality setup, her advanced students will learn what is possible in the professional world and what pro quality sound sounds like in a pair of headphones on set.

[Daniel Smith]

Sennheiser ME66 is a good and inexpensive microphone.

[Guest Patrick Nuse]

Under hundred is impossible. Consider that if the camera doesn't have xlr plugs and phantompower you need an mic with onboard battery and probably a xlr to minjack cable/adaptor. Be aware that cables cost money too.

 

Consider also regular cardio, hypercardio or supercardio condenser mics. For indoor they're good as well and for outdoor; even if you get more ambientsound, for beginners it's easier to boom with a mic that has a wider polar pattern.

 

 

couldn't find any mics there, just windshields that look like rycote but cost a fraction of it...

 

Adapters are taken care of. We will be getting the XLR adapter boxes that mount to the camera. Good idea about the wider patterns though, I'll see what the alternatives are. Thanks for the replies everyone!. I also like the idea of having one or two more expensive mics. so that the more serious students will have a chance to hear the difference in quality.