Links to recommended mics for RUclips & Vlogging: 🎤 Rode Videomic Pro on Amazon help.tc/VMPro 🎤Rode SmartLav+ on Amazon help.tc/SmartLav 🎤 Zoom H1 on Amazon help.tc/H1 🎤Rode SmartLav+ SC3 on Amazon help.tc/SC3 🎤Sennheiser EW100-G2 on Amazon help.tc/g2 🎤 Sennheiser EW100-G3 on Amazon help.tc/g3 🎤 Sennheiser ME-2 on Amazon help.tc/me2 🎤 Blue Yeti on Amazon help.tc/yeti 🎤 Rode Broadcaster on Amazon help.tc/rode 🎤 Shock mount on Amazon help.tc/shock 🎤Acoustic Foam on Amazon help.tc/foam 🎤 M40x headphones on Amazon help.tc/M40x 🎤 M50x headphones on Amazon help.tc/M50x
Hey Tony&Chelsea, great video. I need a bit of help here. When i record with boom mic connected to my DSLR (Nikon D7200) it gives a hisssss sound. Any solution?
Tech Leech camera's pre amp is very noisy, try using external pre amp or record separately. There are tones of videos out there. I use a Beachtek myself. Curtis Judd is your sound expert search him on RUclips.
Hiss or wind noise, two totally different things. What is the mic ? Sounds like an independence mismatch. What cable are you using ? On my D 810 and d7100 I get clean, hiss free audio with the Audio Technica 8024 both on cam and with a 15 foot exstension. Also with other Mics.
Excellent video. I preach this in my podcast and it's why I started my channel. I wanted to help stop the plague of horrifying audio on youtube videos. I personally think that a camera top shotgun works for most vloggers because they do walk and talks while holding the camera a foot or two away. But as soon as you get more than a few feet away, your audio quality will suck.
the zoom is decent. you can adjust mic volume and I once even used it as overhead mic on a drumkit without it clipping. The onboard condenser microphones sound excellent and are even used in movies sometimes.
Your voice and comments are terrific. Just starting my You Tube channel. Taking my time buying gear. Severe budget restrictions. I want to buy the right stuff
Thank you for these excellent A/B demonstrations! Audio is *the* most important part of any talking head video and so often ignored. One thing you didn't mention is flooring, chairs and shoes. If you have hard floors a bit of carpet or a rug under the chair or where you are standing helps a lot.
I CAN NOT BELIEVE I wasted so much time watching ANYTHING else on this subject - THANK YOU for the USEABLE, PRACTICAL advice without ANY misleading titles or empty promises! Thank you!
The absolute most versatile and cheap combo is a zoom h1 and a lav mic. The onboard mics of the zoom h1 will give you very nice ambient recordings and if you need good a good interview/speech recording, you just pop in a lav mic. That covers pretty much most of the basic situations you'll have. Only downside is that you'll have to sync your audio in post.
For me, audio is much more important than video, because I usually just listen to youtube material and only view the video part if I feel I am missing something. This makes weekly live shows quite interesting.
Very well done! As someone with a little background in sound engineering, I wholeheartedly appreciate the sound quality you seek to deliver with every video. It makes a world of difference when you start to pay attention to the sound quality and seek to put out content less than garbage. This video is exemplary, and I hope that most will appreciate the extensive recording and editing work that went into this video. It wasn't easy, folks!
For the on-camera outdoor example I actually like how there's the river in the background. Would it make sense to record that separately and then edit it in for 'ambiance'?
shotgun mics can be used like a normal mic close to your talent and yge csn work great to isolate sound but yeah ... not on top of the camera. also. since I am soli most of the time i just use a boom arm on a stsnd, aim at the talent and get the mic as close as I can without it being in frame. dont discount dhotgun mics, they are versatile.
On camera shotgun mics have a lot of good applications depending on the type of video you are doing. Ambient sound is not necessarily a bad thing for many projects. If you are working in a studio obviously you want something you can get closer with, but saying they are just bad is crazy to me! Great video otherwise though.
long time viewer, first time commenter (I think)... just needed to say "without acoustic foam, but with goatee" was the best caption ever. Good stuff haha
Very good advice all compiled in one short video. Some years back, I had to spend weeks combing through hundreds of posts in various audio forums to get maybe 75% of the information presented here.
Finally a video that explains to me where the mics are for! Thanks so much guys, I've been watching movies about lavaliers, shotguns etc. but never understood if I need anything attached or whatever. Your video is much more comprehensive but not overly done, thanks!
For indoor dialogue I really like the hyper cardiod condenser mics. I have the Audix scx1-hc. Definitely agree that if the person is just in one spot talking, there's better options than the on cam shotguns, but for the daily vloggers that are moving around and filming themselves and others, the shotguns like the vmp are the most practical choice.
This is a great video and very useful. However, there is one thing I think you should have mentioned. The sound frequencies of a mic. These can effect how the mic sounds on a particular voice. One mic may work fine for one persons voice, but may not on another because of how the frequencies are lowered or boosted, determining how the mic sounds on someones voice. I tested many mics to do voice overs with, including Samson C01, Rode NT1-A, Rode VideoMic Pro, Neumann TLM 102 to name a few and none of them sounded good since mics with boosted high frequencies don't sound good with my voice, but it wasn't until I got a Rode NT-1 (2014) with its almost flat sound, did I find a mic that actually suited my voice and its a great mic at a good price, so its just as important you find a mic that suits the persons voice who will be using it, not just the right type (shotgun/dynamic/lav etc..) for the job. About shotgun mics, they can be useful for picking up ambient background sounds when doing shots that don't have someone talking in them. I am starting to make nature videos and its very important I have good quality background/natural sounds in the videos. I have a Sennheiser ME66/K6 and it works great for this since its quite sensitive and only 10db self noise both of which is good for recording background sounds and as its directional and sensitive, I can point it at the subject, like a bird, and get the sound of it and cut out much of the sounds from the back and sides of the mic. Also its just as important what audio device you plug the mic into as your not going to get the same results plugging the mic into the camera as you are a dedicated audio recorder. I used to use a Tascam DR100-MKII with my Sennehiser and found recording background sounds sometimes lead to a slight hiss on the recordings from self noise, then I moved to a Tascam DR 701-D and it made a big difference and its far better and I get better quality from the mic (I think more dynamic range too) and much lower self noise.
A question related to your topic. Here in Australia our politicians often hold impromptu media conferences before a throng go print and TV journalists with many many video and photo photographers side by side. In most cases the politician takes questions of from the print and TV journalists. The problem as the TV viewer is that we do not hear the question and only rarely do we follow the answer from the context. Typically there are two or three microphones on stands in front of the speaker and one or two boom mics as well. So this question now is deeper than your content but relevant. How can a crew be they two or three enable the questions be recorded sufficiently for the questions to be heard.
8:00 "You will trip over it and bring your camera crashing down" No, you'd get a $2 extension and use that as a break-away between the mic and the camera. Connect it to the camera, tie it firmly to the bottom of the tripod (or preferrably a chair) and plug the mic into that. When you trip, you just pull the mic plug out of the extension cord. This is *standard* practice in all teathered applications. A wireless is definitly more convenient, but more expensive, it takes batteries, the radio signal can interfere with things etc etc. You do have to tkae that into consideration too.
Came here looking for a dead cat option for lav mics. I've seen you wear one in several videos and figured you had an equipment list somewhere. Thanks, Tony!
I've been dealing with noise from windows. I ended up placing moving furniture blankets over the windows. Helped a lot. won't stop the loud cars. It does eliminate the childred, dogs, most autos.
You don't Need to record directly to the camera, every good editing software can synchronize the external sound to the intern mic. You don't need to use a clapperboard or something like this. If I'm filming concerts I take the sound directly from the mix. After I got 1-2 audio files and 30-40 video files. To synchronize them is really easy. If I want the sound directly to the camera than I plug the mic in my zoom h2n in and in the headphone jack a splitter, so I can take one output for monitoring and one goes in the camera. And with the h2n I can level the sound..
This was the best video I've seen on audio after watching dozens. I only wish you would make another one for parents out here who have no say in where we setup our mics and we are often far from our subjects. How do you get decent quality sound from the back of an auditorium at a school play, or from the stands at a football game of the marching band, or of kids on the beach. I do pretty good in all these situations with a Sony shotgun mic and a hairy wind filter but with a limited frequency range. I'd just like to know what is the best I can do, having virtually no control over the mic position and venue. All you tubers are inclined to think everyone is making RUclips videos. A real word example I am worried about is that I got volunteered to record my son's high school marching band. The band will use these videos to see how everyone did on their marching routines. The video will be played on a big screen tv and sound sent through some large speakers that they have there in the band room. I went back and looked at videos taken last year and they really sounded terrible. The first video I shot this year sounded much better but the bass drums seem to clip and people talking at the bottom of the tower I was on could be heard in the quite portions of the music. Whether it is this example or just filming my kids in a pool or on stage, I'd like to improve the sound and I do not have the ability to mic everyone as you say to do here. HELP. Thanks.
Not mentioned in the video is a real shotgun setup to deal with wind and ambient noise. On ebay, you can pickup a Rode NTG2 + Rode Blimp for around $350+. On a windy day, the blimp is the only solution that really works. The longer shotgun mic is also much more directional, so it picks up more of you and less background noise. For example, if you're standing next to a busy road with cars whooshing by, or standing next to a waterfall, a long shotgun makes a huge difference. As Tony says in the video, always keep the mic close to the talent, within 1-2 feet if possible.
Loved the honest evaluations of the products. I have the avx mke2 kit on its way and can’t wait to try it out. I’m also gonna get the ev re20 for the “studio” One suggestion about the presentation, unless under armor is sponsoring you I would ditch the hat. The shadow takes away from your professional appearance. I know it’s just a laid back video but it did stand out to me. At any rate thanks for the video and tips
Can your book be purchased in digital form?(Stunning DP) I am in Vietnam for a while. I can not express enough how much you guys have helped this newbie wannabe photographer/videographer/creator!!! You inform in such a calm and no non-sense manor!!! Really appreciate you guys!!!!!!
Shotgun mics only "suck" because people tend to use them inappropriately. If you stick one on top of your camera and think that will work at a distance greater than three feet or so, then yes, it sucks! More to the point, you need to revisit the inverse square law and read the data sheet that came with the mic. A shotgun mic is NOT a telephoto lens for audio, but many people think it is. One of the worst ads i ever saw for a microphone showed Panasonic's GH3 with a shotgun mic mounted in the hot shoe. It prompted lots of folks to buy the mic, and most of them concluded it sucked! (It sucked for two reasons... the unbalanced line output, and because most folks used it mounted to the camera.) Shotguns are best used on boom poles, held just out of frame above talent.
Mount the shotgun mic just out of frame, as close to the mouth of the talent as possible (ideally maybe half a metre). Then you can get great audio from it. I recommend you check out some of Curtis Judd's videos on audio for video, they're pretty good.
That goatee is so chill. Maybe too chill. After watching this vid I'm so chill about microphones. Chill af. Thanks Tony, the most chillest dude in the U S of Chill.
What do you use for candid videos around the house and outdoors (specifically making videos of children)? I am not a RUclipsr and all of my videos are family videos and I would definitely prefer an audio upgrade over the internal microphone.
You are so right about the shotgun mic. That's all I heard about when I got my first camera, "You've got to get an on camera mic" I did and was still disappointed. One person actually asked me if the crickets were actually that loud in Louisiana. (Rode micro) The thing picks up everything. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this. I now use the lavaliere for nearly everything and sync it with my on board sound. What's nice is I don't need a mic in jack, I can us any old camera and get great sound (Zoom H1 is awesome) Such an improvement in my sound. Thanks.
I have a Rode VideoMic Go because I thought it would give me better sound, but as you said, it's not good for far away recordings. It works great for voiceovers, after I adjust the levels and my distance from the mic, but I think my $100 phone has a better mic! I want to get a mic stand, so that would work better. Do you think a mic stand the mic would be better than the cheap lav into the Zoom H1? Also, at 6:22, were you using the cheap lav that you recommended? The Alemon? And lastly, what cameras do you use in the studio for the closeups of the products? I don't think my camera could keep its focus on the products like that!
Great and very practical summary. Just so you know, some of the sound in this video was pretty bad. But that snippet in the room with the shelves behind had a very chill vibe.
Thanks for the Video... You showed all examples from the sources, but the shotgun mic... I understood this is not googd as it should, but since you showed the quality from all the other sources, including the cameras, I I missed the shotgun sample.
Distance to the speaker is the biggest factor in the quality of the shotgun mic sample... There's no way I could provide a sample that would be anything but misleading. If it's close to the mouth in a quiet room, it'll sound great. If it's far away, or there's lots of ambient noise, it'll sound terrible.
Agree... but when you recorded the on camera close to the waterfall, if you could attach the shotgun, it would be a great camparison, because it was a good distance and there was a lot of ambient noise. just my opinion... I'm still you fan! :)
Great job as always Tony. I wonder if you wrapped rubber around the clamp on your desk mic to help dampen the desk noise when you put something down on it? Best to you.
Good video, I can vouch for the Blue Yeti. For the cost it sounds pretty good for my purposes, and the noise level is really low compared to a smaller mic. I have to ask, what is that giant beast lens on the camera there?
Hi Tony, have you used a hydrophone? I have a H4N Pro and whale season here in Australia is close. We have some great video but no underwater sound. Any recommendations?
What do you recommend for recording a school concert or play from the bleachers/seats (on a budget)? I am considering the 'Rode Stereo VideoMic Pro On Camera Stereo Microphone' for my Canon EOS 70D. Right now I am using a mono-shotgun mic, being it has no stereo (left/right), the quality is poor - but an order of magnitude better than the internal mic as expected.
This has me a bit puzzled because I have used the Nikon D810's on camera Audio system and I don't get any hissing like in the video.I have it set to Voice and have set the audio manually.I used this to record a small video at new years and it did not do a bad job at all.I hopefully will get a set of wireless microphones soon but I am still trying to see if I need a licence first after speaking to a friend that does video work in London. He said to be careful as some do need them and others don't.
If you are trying to capture ambient or wildlife sounds, then shotgun mics are useful and also when you use them as part of an MS configuration. I use a Sennheiser MKH30/60 combination for this.
Good video, thanks! Great Book (Stunning Digital Photography) by the way! But dear Tony & Chelsea, dear community: What about everyday filming? Kids or family at home. I want best audio without much computerwork (e.g. Zoom H4N for audio and then putting audio and video together - have a H4N though for music recording but i mind the extra work). Would a shotgunmic on camera bring noticable improvement over the built in camera-mic (EOS 7D), or would it anyway not make a change (big livingroom)? Basically: What if one can't put the mic close to the speaker? What's the best option then? Grüße aus Deutschland - greetings from germany! Dominic
You mentioned about syncing audio to video? how best to do that? I also noticed at the beginning of the demo, you were demoing different mic quality hence picking up different sound quality - how did you sync all the different audio to the same video so smoothly? Thanks.
Such good advise. There's reviewers complaining about the lavaliere mics not coming with enough cable. I thought I was going crazy till I read your comments about tripping and pulling the whole mess down. Why would anyone want to hard wire a lavaliere to a camer!. Anything connected to the tripod other than the camera is a potential disaster.. I so agree. Also, the on board mics. I wasted my money on a Rode Video Micro. I used it for probably a year without even knowing it wasn't plugged in all the way and I was using the on board mics on my 80D. The audio is just not that great. Great video.
What mic would you recommend for recording live music events? I'm a musician and sound engineer for different bands. One of the most difficult things is getting a good live sound recording. Going directly through the board is not really a good option as not all the instruments go through the board at levels that would make that an option.
I recently tried singing with an on-camera mic, and the result was horrendous. Do you have any more affordable gear recommendations for singing specific applications?
can you please answer the big problem here. Is there an audio recorder or combination devices, to mark audio sound for post editing. One big issue is that you may have hundreds of videos after day shooting, and you may have hundreds of audios files, whiteout listening how do you sync with video efficiently. do you use the time mark, or something else? I do not see any device do this job smartly enough. when press a button, which can start both recording from camera and audio recorder, say sending beep sound and time marker to both for post syncing. the audio industry seems to be decades behind the smart technology
Suggestion for environmental "NAT" sound for "travel" or run and gun videography? Not interested in vlogging and I actually like the sound from my A6500 in my home video, but wind noise and potentially boosting the signal would be the goal.
Is there any reason why you couldn't use that breakout cable on the Zoom H1? It's line in/mic is stereo, correct? So couldn't you simply plug in two mics into the breakout and then they'd each be on a different channel?
which is the camera you are using to shoot this video and which is the watch you are wearing? also which computer are you using and is it running Windows or IOS ? Thanks in advance.
Sir your videos are the best among all the others . The unbiased review and tutorials are of great help . Wanted to ask you about the sound that is produced by a Nikkor 18-140 mm lens while focusing and how to eliminate tat ?
So Tony, Would love to have the answer for my question: For vlogging, what kind of microphone is best suited? Shotgun? kind of microphone that can reduce most of the ambient noises
Wow, it feels so validating to hear your discouragemnt of shotgun mics! We tried to make them work but figured we just didn't have the 1337 skills to get it working. We use positional mics next to the talent just out of camera view and are pretty happy with it. Thanks for your videos!
Hi guys, I realise you're primarily photographers and not wildlife filmmakers, but I'd like to start moving from plain photography into wildlife filmmaking as a solo, low-budget student. Just wondering what you would recommend as a first microphone for something like this, outside in the wilderness? Would a decent shotgun microphone even be worth the investment, restricted to being on the camera? Would a wildlife filmmaker benefit more from a stereo mic than a mono one? Any advice would be much appreciated!
Just a heads up: in Europe the Sennheiser EW100-G2 is using frequency bands that have been auctioned off for mobile data use and therefore is more prone to interference. I don't know about frequencies in the US, but where I live one could even get a fine for using it (however unlikely). If you still want to invest in one though, use Sennheiser's frequency finder to check which frequencies are available in your region: USA: en-us.sennheiser.com/service-support-frequency-finder EU: www.frequencyfinder.eu/
you can't just randomly plug in lavalier mic into a phone. a phone with horrible DAC or sound chipset will still sound terrible even using rode smartlav+, except if you're using external audio interface like smartrig from saramonic i have htc 10 with boya M1, which is about $20 here compared to my rode smartlav+ plus gh4 and we know which one wins way ahead.
Without acoustic foam (but with goatee) ROFL :D Thanks for the info, exactly what I was looking for. Was a pleasant surprise to see you have audio stuff as well. Used to watch your Nikon vids a coupla years ago when was going through a serious phase of photography.
Thanks for a very good video Tony. Five improvement suggestions, lose the cap, lose the mic and short boom arm, use a shotgun mic(unsighted), and take some tips, techniques and learning from Curtis Judd's channel.
Hi, I have a question: in this video, you connect the Rode broadcaster directly to the camera XLR input port or to the mixer first, then to the computer ? Also the microphone stand ( boom arm stand holder), what's the brand name/model # ( I would like to purchase one like that). Thanks
Great info. I wish Tony had used the term "IN-camera mic" instead of "ON-camera mic" because the crappy-sounding audio comes from the mic built INTO the camera. The term "on-camera" mic should be reserved for mics that are actually placed on the camera, like the Rhode mics that fit onto the hot shoe. Minor difference, but I think important.
Great video! I usually record music videos in large rooms, and large churches (piano, violin, pipe organ). What is a good microphone that is easy to use, has stereo, for a cheap price? I looked at a couple articles online, and they suggested the blue yeti. Any other better recommendations? USB would be nice. Please help!!!
What do u suggest if the job is recording live LOUD amplified bands with very HIGH SOUND PRESSURE levels with low lighting conditions - unmanned (I'm busy playing drums) - and I do already own an iPhone XR that has a good movie camera - but I am open to buying another camera if u think I should ???????
Question for you. If you record the audio from a different source, like your cell phone, how hard is it to sync the audio later? I imagine you have to import it as a wav or some more convenient compressed format, but are you spending time your video editor post-production zooming in to the seconds/individual frame range trying to slide that audio channel to the left or right to make sure the sound matches your lips? I've had some odd problems before with timing skew where the audio looked like it matched the video at first but gradually got worse, but that may have been due to a video problem, not the audio. But if you use a microphone that goes into your camera to begin with all that extra work can be avoided.
Great video as usual, keep it up guys. Only 1 concern though, I dont agree when you say shotgun mics are waste of time. Simply because you use them for specific conditions. Remember you can also hock them up on stand and so on.
Tony, How come audio from your outdoor videos sound better than your "professional studio" mic setup, Treble is too crispy in my opinion and sounds too processed, It needs a bit of warmth.
Links to recommended mics for RUclips & Vlogging:
🎤 Rode Videomic Pro on Amazon help.tc/VMPro
🎤Rode SmartLav+ on Amazon help.tc/SmartLav
🎤 Zoom H1 on Amazon help.tc/H1
🎤Rode SmartLav+ SC3 on Amazon help.tc/SC3
🎤Sennheiser EW100-G2 on Amazon help.tc/g2
🎤 Sennheiser EW100-G3 on Amazon help.tc/g3
🎤 Sennheiser ME-2 on Amazon help.tc/me2
🎤 Blue Yeti on Amazon help.tc/yeti
🎤 Rode Broadcaster on Amazon help.tc/rode
🎤 Shock mount on Amazon help.tc/shock
🎤Acoustic Foam on Amazon help.tc/foam
🎤 M40x headphones on Amazon help.tc/M40x
🎤 M50x headphones on Amazon help.tc/M50x
Hey Tony&Chelsea, great video. I need a bit of help here. When i record with boom mic connected to my DSLR (Nikon D7200) it gives a hisssss sound. Any solution?
Tony & Chelsea Northrup where is the cat thing
Tech Leech camera's pre amp is very noisy, try using external pre amp or record separately. There are tones of videos out there. I use a Beachtek myself. Curtis Judd is your sound expert search him on RUclips.
i know some studio headphones that are a 5th of the price and they're tascam th 02s
Hiss or wind noise, two totally different things. What is the mic ? Sounds like an independence mismatch. What cable are you using ?
On my D 810 and d7100 I get clean, hiss free audio with the Audio Technica 8024 both on cam and with a 15 foot exstension. Also with other
Mics.
I really appreciated that there was a demonstrated how the mics sound in different scenarios. This was very helpful.
Excellent video. I preach this in my podcast and it's why I started my channel. I wanted to help stop the plague of horrifying audio on youtube videos. I personally think that a camera top shotgun works for most vloggers because they do walk and talks while holding the camera a foot or two away. But as soon as you get more than a few feet away, your audio quality will suck.
Switches audio to Zoom H1 and starts waving it around.
*RIP headphone users.*
The zoom H1 sounds like a smartphone with a mic that's being covered by a large sponge.
the zoom is decent. you can adjust mic volume and I once even used it as overhead mic on a drumkit without it clipping. The onboard condenser microphones sound excellent and are even used in movies sometimes.
I'd recommend zoom h2n. little more expensive, but way more options and quality
@@LordArioh tascam dr-05 costs less than H1 and does pretty good job IMO.
Your voice and comments are terrific. Just starting my You Tube channel. Taking my time buying gear.
Severe budget restrictions. I want to buy the right stuff
Thank you for these excellent A/B demonstrations!
Audio is *the* most important part of any talking head video and so often ignored.
One thing you didn't mention is flooring, chairs and shoes. If you have hard floors a bit of carpet or a rug under the chair or where you are standing helps a lot.
I CAN NOT BELIEVE I wasted so much time watching ANYTHING else on this subject - THANK YOU for the USEABLE, PRACTICAL advice without ANY misleading titles or empty promises! Thank you!
The absolute most versatile and cheap combo is a zoom h1 and a lav mic. The onboard mics of the zoom h1 will give you very nice ambient recordings and if you need good a good interview/speech recording, you just pop in a lav mic. That covers pretty much most of the basic situations you'll have. Only downside is that you'll have to sync your audio in post.
L. Willis absolutely.
Could you please do this for flash equipment?
A plus one for that! Also, I'd love a quick breakdown on how to use flash creatively and properly.
He talks all about flash in his book! Go buy it, you won't regret it.
+MOC1 he talks all about that in his book.
For me, audio is much more important than video, because I usually just listen to youtube material and only view the video part if I feel I am missing something. This makes weekly live shows quite interesting.
Very well done! As someone with a little background in sound engineering, I wholeheartedly appreciate the sound quality you seek to deliver with every video. It makes a world of difference when you start to pay attention to the sound quality and seek to put out content less than garbage. This video is exemplary, and I hope that most will appreciate the extensive recording and editing work that went into this video. It wasn't easy, folks!
All the audio switching made me want to stab myself in the ears. You proved a point. gg
also never do the french beard ever again.
Great way to prove it, huh? Lol
Lol ikr
For the on-camera outdoor example I actually like how there's the river in the background. Would it make sense to record that separately and then edit it in for 'ambiance'?
I am BLOWN AWAY at everything I'm learning from your channel. THANK YOU
shotgun mics can be used like a normal mic close to your talent and yge csn work great to isolate sound but yeah ... not on top of the camera. also. since I am soli most of the time i just use a boom arm on a stsnd, aim at the talent and get the mic as close as I can without it being in frame. dont discount dhotgun mics, they are versatile.
Great info!
I was thinking the same thing. It not always the tool, sometimes it the person using the tool that is not versatile enough.
Don't mislead vloggers. Tony suggested to vloggers not to use a shotgun mics, on-camera. It happens to be the best way to go.
On camera shotgun mics have a lot of good applications depending on the type of video you are doing. Ambient sound is not necessarily a bad thing for many projects. If you are working in a studio obviously you want something you can get closer with, but saying they are just bad is crazy to me! Great video otherwise though.
I really appreciate you for making this video Tony because editing this must have been a nightmare. Matching all the audio with video. Thanks buddy!
long time viewer, first time commenter (I think)... just needed to say "without acoustic foam, but with goatee" was the best caption ever. Good stuff haha
Very good advice all compiled in one short video. Some years back, I had to spend weeks combing through hundreds of posts in various audio forums to get maybe 75% of the information presented here.
Have you checked out the Takstar SGC-598? Its $25 on amazon...
I use this, you can't really go wrong for the money.
Tony, thanks for all of the great info! I passed the part 107 test partly because of your video.
Congrats, Michael!
Finally a video that explains to me where the mics are for! Thanks so much guys, I've been watching movies about lavaliers, shotguns etc. but never understood if I need anything attached or whatever. Your video is much more comprehensive but not overly done, thanks!
I do recordings for paranormal investigations and I was hoping to improve the audio quality. What type of mic/ audio recorder do you recommend ?
For indoor dialogue I really like the hyper cardiod condenser mics. I have the Audix scx1-hc. Definitely agree that if the person is just in one spot talking, there's better options than the on cam shotguns, but for the daily vloggers that are moving around and filming themselves and others, the shotguns like the vmp are the most practical choice.
If you notice the insert image at 3:04, that actually appears to be a Shoeps Mk41 Colette hypercardiod and not a "shotgun" as Tony was suggesting.
This is a great video and very useful. However, there is one thing I think you should have mentioned. The sound frequencies of a mic. These can effect how the mic sounds on a particular voice. One mic may work fine for one persons voice, but may not on another because of how the frequencies are lowered or boosted, determining how the mic sounds on someones voice. I tested many mics to do voice overs with, including Samson C01, Rode NT1-A, Rode VideoMic Pro, Neumann TLM 102 to name a few and none of them sounded good since mics with boosted high frequencies don't sound good with my voice, but it wasn't until I got a Rode NT-1 (2014) with its almost flat sound, did I find a mic that actually suited my voice and its a great mic at a good price, so its just as important you find a mic that suits the persons voice who will be using it, not just the right type (shotgun/dynamic/lav etc..) for the job.
About shotgun mics, they can be useful for picking up ambient background sounds when doing shots that don't have someone talking in them. I am starting to make nature videos and its very important I have good quality background/natural sounds in the videos. I have a Sennheiser ME66/K6 and it works great for this since its quite sensitive and only 10db self noise both of which is good for recording background sounds and as its directional and sensitive, I can point it at the subject, like a bird, and get the sound of it and cut out much of the sounds from the back and sides of the mic.
Also its just as important what audio device you plug the mic into as your not going to get the same results plugging the mic into the camera as you are a dedicated audio recorder. I used to use a Tascam DR100-MKII with my Sennehiser and found recording background sounds sometimes lead to a slight hiss on the recordings from self noise, then I moved to a Tascam DR 701-D and it made a big difference and its far better and I get better quality from the mic (I think more dynamic range too) and much lower self noise.
Sounds like a subject for another video, probably about 30 minutes outta do it.
Have you guys done a video on Lighting already? I'm in need of good lighting for indoor shooting (video)
Gene Waddle Looking it up now. Thanks a ton!
DSLR Video Shooter has really good videos on budget options for LED soft Box lights
Excellent information thank you for sharing this video just what I was looking for!
A question related to your topic.
Here in Australia our politicians often hold impromptu media conferences before a throng go print and TV journalists with many many video and photo photographers side by side.
In most cases the politician takes questions of from the print and TV journalists.
The problem as the TV viewer is that we do not hear the question and only rarely do we follow the answer from the context.
Typically there are two or three microphones on stands in front of the speaker and one or two boom mics as well.
So this question now is deeper than your content but relevant. How can a crew be they two or three enable the questions be recorded sufficiently for the questions to be heard.
8:00 "You will trip over it and bring your camera crashing down"
No, you'd get a $2 extension and use that as a break-away between the mic and the camera. Connect it to the camera, tie it firmly to the bottom of the tripod (or preferrably a chair) and plug the mic into that. When you trip, you just pull the mic plug out of the extension cord. This is *standard* practice in all teathered applications.
A wireless is definitly more convenient, but more expensive, it takes batteries, the radio signal can interfere with things etc etc. You do have to tkae that into consideration too.
Came here looking for a dead cat option for lav mics. I've seen you wear one in several videos and figured you had an equipment list somewhere. Thanks, Tony!
I've been dealing with noise from windows. I ended up placing moving furniture blankets over the windows. Helped a lot. won't stop the loud cars. It does eliminate the childred, dogs, most autos.
You don't Need to record directly to the camera, every good editing software can synchronize the external sound to the intern mic. You don't need to use a clapperboard or something like this. If I'm filming concerts I take the sound directly from the mix. After I got 1-2 audio files and 30-40 video files. To synchronize them is really easy.
If I want the sound directly to the camera than I plug the mic in my zoom h2n in and in the headphone jack a splitter, so I can take one output for monitoring and one goes in the camera. And with the h2n I can level the sound..
This was the best video I've seen on audio after watching dozens. I only wish you would make another one for parents out here who have no say in where we setup our mics and we are often far from our subjects. How do you get decent quality sound from the back of an auditorium at a school play, or from the stands at a football game of the marching band, or of kids on the beach. I do pretty good in all these situations with a Sony shotgun mic and a hairy wind filter but with a limited frequency range. I'd just like to know what is the best I can do, having virtually no control over the mic position and venue. All you tubers are inclined to think everyone is making RUclips videos.
A real word example I am worried about is that I got volunteered to record my son's high school marching band. The band will use these videos to see how everyone did on their marching routines. The video will be played on a big screen tv and sound sent through some large speakers that they have there in the band room. I went back and looked at videos taken last year and they really sounded terrible. The first video I shot this year sounded much better but the bass drums seem to clip and people talking at the bottom of the tower I was on could be heard in the quite portions of the music.
Whether it is this example or just filming my kids in a pool or on stage, I'd like to improve the sound and I do not have the ability to mic everyone as you say to do here. HELP. Thanks.
Not mentioned in the video is a real shotgun setup to deal with wind and ambient noise. On ebay, you can pickup a Rode NTG2 + Rode Blimp for around $350+. On a windy day, the blimp is the only solution that really works. The longer shotgun mic is also much more directional, so it picks up more of you and less background noise. For example, if you're standing next to a busy road with cars whooshing by, or standing next to a waterfall, a long shotgun makes a huge difference. As Tony says in the video, always keep the mic close to the talent, within 1-2 feet if possible.
is Audio Technica Omni Wired mic better than Sennheiser EW 100 G3 in terms of Audio output ? Anyone
Thanks in advance
Are you chill about used mics Tony? :D
*chill af
He's pretty chill.
The chillest...
Just got my zoom H1. Sounds nice and it's easy to use. Thanks!!!
Loved the honest evaluations of the products. I have the avx mke2 kit on its way and can’t wait to try it out. I’m also gonna get the ev re20 for the “studio”
One suggestion about the presentation, unless under armor is sponsoring you I would ditch the hat. The shadow takes away from your professional appearance. I know it’s just a laid back video but it did stand out to me. At any rate thanks for the video and tips
Can your book be purchased in digital form?(Stunning DP) I am in Vietnam for a while. I can not express enough how much you guys have helped this newbie wannabe photographer/videographer/creator!!! You inform in such a calm and no non-sense manor!!! Really appreciate you guys!!!!!!
I have a shotgun mic and when he said "I dont reccomend" I was like FUCK!
Same thing. Lol
Shotgun mics only "suck" because people tend to use them inappropriately. If you stick one on top of your camera and think that will work at a distance greater than three feet or so, then yes, it sucks! More to the point, you need to revisit the inverse square law and read the data sheet that came with the mic. A shotgun mic is NOT a telephoto lens for audio, but many people think it is.
One of the worst ads i ever saw for a microphone showed Panasonic's GH3 with a shotgun mic mounted in the hot shoe. It prompted lots of folks to buy the mic, and most of them concluded it sucked! (It sucked for two reasons... the unbalanced line output, and because most folks used it mounted to the camera.)
Shotguns are best used on boom poles, held just out of frame above talent.
Mount the shotgun mic just out of frame, as close to the mouth of the talent as possible (ideally maybe half a metre). Then you can get great audio from it. I recommend you check out some of Curtis Judd's videos on audio for video, they're pretty good.
he is mad so don't listen to him
Hahhahaa
I love that white screen , it really is not at all intrusive. At first it looks like an imposed graphic over the main page.
That goatee is so chill. Maybe too chill. After watching this vid I'm so chill about microphones. Chill af. Thanks Tony, the most chillest dude in the U S of Chill.
Informative and enjoyable video. Justin did a great job of patching in the different mikes for illustrative purposes which was a nice touch.
What do you use for candid videos around the house and outdoors (specifically making videos of children)? I am not a RUclipsr and all of my videos are family videos and I would definitely prefer an audio upgrade over the internal microphone.
You are so right about the shotgun mic. That's all I heard about when I got my first camera, "You've got to get an on camera mic" I did and was still disappointed. One person actually asked me if the crickets were actually that loud in Louisiana. (Rode micro) The thing picks up everything. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this. I now use the lavaliere for nearly everything and sync it with my on board sound. What's nice is I don't need a mic in jack, I can us any old camera and get great sound (Zoom H1 is awesome) Such an improvement in my sound. Thanks.
Absolutely loved the video, audio, visual display of makes and models and audio samples for comparison.
Great video, Tony. But what do you recommend to capture natural sounds or "nats" on your video?
I have a Rode VideoMic Go because I thought it would give me better sound, but as you said, it's not good for far away recordings. It works great for voiceovers, after I adjust the levels and my distance from the mic, but I think my $100 phone has a better mic! I want to get a mic stand, so that would work better. Do you think a mic stand the mic would be better than the cheap lav into the Zoom H1? Also, at 6:22, were you using the cheap lav that you recommended? The Alemon? And lastly, what cameras do you use in the studio for the closeups of the products? I don't think my camera could keep its focus on the products like that!
Great and very practical summary. Just so you know, some of the sound in this video was pretty bad. But that snippet in the room with the shelves behind had a very chill vibe.
I can't "thumbs up" y'alls videos enough, man! You guys make really quality resources!
Thanks for the Video... You showed all examples from the sources, but the shotgun mic...
I understood this is not googd as it should, but since you showed the quality from all the other sources, including the cameras, I I missed the shotgun sample.
Distance to the speaker is the biggest factor in the quality of the shotgun mic sample... There's no way I could provide a sample that would be anything but misleading. If it's close to the mouth in a quiet room, it'll sound great. If it's far away, or there's lots of ambient noise, it'll sound terrible.
Agree... but when you recorded the on camera close to the waterfall, if you could attach the shotgun, it would be a great camparison, because it was a good distance and there was a lot of ambient noise. just my opinion... I'm still you fan! :)
This is a fantastically useful video. Not sure how I missed it when I was looking at Mics! Thanks Tony!
Such a helpful video for some who is getting into youtube videos and has no idea. Also where is the link to buy that awesome goatee??
Great job as always Tony. I wonder if you wrapped rubber around the clamp on your desk mic to help dampen the desk noise when you put something down on it?
Best to you.
Good video, I can vouch for the Blue Yeti. For the cost it sounds pretty good for my purposes, and the noise level is really low compared to a smaller mic. I have to ask, what is that giant beast lens on the camera there?
Hi Tony, have you used a hydrophone? I have a H4N Pro and whale season here in Australia is close. We have some great video but no underwater sound. Any recommendations?
Many appreciations for doing samples across different mics! Very very helpful!
might be the best audio for video summary i've ever seen, you're awesome guys!
What do you recommend for recording a school concert or play from the bleachers/seats (on a budget)? I am considering the 'Rode Stereo VideoMic Pro On Camera Stereo Microphone' for my Canon EOS 70D. Right now I am using a mono-shotgun mic, being it has no stereo (left/right), the quality is poor - but an order of magnitude better than the internal mic as expected.
This has me a bit puzzled because I have used the Nikon D810's on camera Audio system and I don't get any hissing like in the video.I have it set to Voice and have set the audio manually.I used this to record a small video at new years and it did not do a bad job at all.I hopefully will get a set of wireless microphones soon but I am still trying to see if I need a licence first after speaking to a friend that does video work in London. He said to be careful as some do need them and others don't.
If you are trying to capture ambient or wildlife sounds, then shotgun mics are useful and also when you use them as part of an MS configuration. I use a Sennheiser MKH30/60 combination for this.
Good video, thanks! Great Book (Stunning Digital Photography) by the way!
But dear Tony & Chelsea, dear community:
What about everyday filming? Kids or family at home. I want best audio without much computerwork (e.g. Zoom H4N for audio and then putting audio and video together - have a H4N though for music recording but i mind the extra work). Would a shotgunmic on camera bring noticable improvement over the built in camera-mic (EOS 7D), or would it anyway not make a change (big livingroom)?
Basically: What if one can't put the mic close to the speaker? What's the best option then?
Grüße aus Deutschland - greetings from germany!
Dominic
You mentioned about syncing audio to video? how best to do that? I also noticed at the beginning of the demo, you were demoing different mic quality hence picking up different sound quality - how did you sync all the different audio to the same video so smoothly? Thanks.
What if I need to film racecars at the track? Do you think a shotgun mic will be useful?
I currently use the on-camera mic and the quality is poor!
Such good advise. There's reviewers complaining about the lavaliere mics not coming with enough cable. I thought I was going crazy till I read your comments about tripping and pulling the whole mess down. Why would anyone want to hard wire a lavaliere to a camer!. Anything connected to the tripod other than the camera is a potential disaster.. I so agree. Also, the on board mics. I wasted my money on a Rode Video Micro. I used it for probably a year without even knowing it wasn't plugged in all the way and I was using the on board mics on my 80D. The audio is just not that great. Great video.
What mic would you recommend for recording live music events? I'm a musician and sound engineer for different bands. One of the most difficult things is getting a good live sound recording. Going directly through the board is not really a good option as not all the instruments go through the board at levels that would make that an option.
This is the funniest mic review I've ever watched on RUclips :D
I recently tried singing with an on-camera mic, and the result was horrendous. Do you have any more affordable gear recommendations for singing specific applications?
can you please answer the big problem here. Is there an audio recorder or combination devices, to mark audio sound for post editing. One big issue is that you may have hundreds of videos after day shooting, and you may have hundreds of audios files, whiteout listening how do you sync with video efficiently. do you use the time mark, or something else? I do not see any device do this job smartly enough. when press a button, which can start both recording from camera and audio recorder, say sending beep sound and time marker to both for post syncing. the audio industry seems to be decades behind the smart technology
Suggestion for environmental "NAT" sound for "travel" or run and gun videography? Not interested in vlogging and I actually like the sound from my A6500 in my home video, but wind noise and potentially boosting the signal would be the goal.
Is there any reason why you couldn't use that breakout cable on the Zoom H1? It's line in/mic is stereo, correct? So couldn't you simply plug in two mics into the breakout and then they'd each be on a different channel?
which is the camera you are using to shoot this video and which is the watch you are wearing?
also which computer are you using and is it running Windows or IOS ?
Thanks in advance.
Amazing video guys, been looking for one of these for so long and what do you know, Tony and Chelsea to the rescue once again!
Sir your videos are the best among all the others . The unbiased review and tutorials are of great help . Wanted to ask you about the sound that is produced by a Nikkor 18-140 mm lens while focusing and how to eliminate tat ?
So Tony, Would love to have the answer for my question: For vlogging, what kind of microphone is best suited? Shotgun? kind of microphone that can reduce most of the ambient noises
Superb! You are a very gifted and honest communicator!
Wow, it feels so validating to hear your discouragemnt of shotgun mics! We tried to make them work but figured we just didn't have the 1337 skills to get it working. We use positional mics next to the talent just out of camera view and are pretty happy with it. Thanks for your videos!
thanks a lot for details break downs on mics! Based on this i will make some steps at improving quality of my travel series
1:49 I don't think your mic is working properly, seems to be randomly boosting bass and treble.
Hi guys, I realise you're primarily photographers and not wildlife filmmakers, but I'd like to start moving from plain photography into wildlife filmmaking as a solo, low-budget student. Just wondering what you would recommend as a first microphone for something like this, outside in the wilderness? Would a decent shotgun microphone even be worth the investment, restricted to being on the camera? Would a wildlife filmmaker benefit more from a stereo mic than a mono one? Any advice would be much appreciated!
Just a heads up: in Europe the Sennheiser EW100-G2 is using frequency bands that have been auctioned off for mobile data use and therefore is more prone to interference. I don't know about frequencies in the US, but where I live one could even get a fine for using it (however unlikely). If you still want to invest in one though, use Sennheiser's frequency finder to check which frequencies are available in your region:
USA: en-us.sennheiser.com/service-support-frequency-finder
EU: www.frequencyfinder.eu/
Really good video! Comparison is unbelievable! I enjoyed this.
you can't just randomly plug in lavalier mic into a phone.
a phone with horrible DAC or sound chipset will still sound terrible even using rode smartlav+, except if you're using external audio interface like smartrig from saramonic
i have htc 10 with boya M1, which is about $20 here compared to my rode smartlav+ plus gh4 and we know which one wins way ahead.
Without acoustic foam (but with goatee) ROFL :D
Thanks for the info, exactly what I was looking for. Was a pleasant surprise to see you have audio stuff as well. Used to watch your Nikon vids a coupla years ago when was going through a serious phase of photography.
Thanks for a very good video Tony. Five improvement suggestions, lose the cap, lose the mic and short boom arm, use a shotgun mic(unsighted), and take some tips, techniques and learning from Curtis Judd's channel.
Hi, I have a question: in this video, you connect the Rode broadcaster directly to the camera XLR input port or to the mixer first, then to the computer ? Also the microphone stand ( boom arm stand holder), what's the brand name/model # ( I would like to purchase one like that). Thanks
Do you have a video about the Sanken COS-11D? I'm wondering whether you prefer the Sennheiser ME2 over that.
Great info. I wish Tony had used the term "IN-camera mic" instead of "ON-camera mic" because the crappy-sounding audio comes from the mic built INTO the camera. The term "on-camera" mic should be reserved for mics that are actually placed on the camera, like the Rhode mics that fit onto the hot shoe. Minor difference, but I think important.
Great video! I usually record music videos in large rooms, and large churches (piano, violin, pipe organ). What is a good microphone that is easy to use, has stereo, for a cheap price? I looked at a couple articles online, and they suggested the blue yeti. Any other better recommendations? USB would be nice. Please help!!!
I was waiting for a video like this for ages!! Thanks!
What do u suggest if the job is recording live LOUD amplified bands with very HIGH SOUND PRESSURE levels with low lighting conditions - unmanned (I'm busy playing drums) - and I do already own an iPhone XR that has a good movie camera - but I am open to buying another camera if u think I should ???????
This is a very well done video I was very impressed by the edited audio too.
What? The shotgun mic is great for vloggers because the camera is an arm length from their face lol
Amayzinone not mine. I use the canon 55mm lens so I have to put the camera pretty far from my face & it sacrifices sound for me.
How long is your arm?!
Like Vinnie asked... How long is your arm? Lol.
Still waiting on Arm length..
legends say it's still growing
Question for you. If you record the audio from a different source, like your cell phone, how hard is it to sync the audio later? I imagine you have to import it as a wav or some more convenient compressed format, but are you spending time your video editor post-production zooming in to the seconds/individual frame range trying to slide that audio channel to the left or right to make sure the sound matches your lips?
I've had some odd problems before with timing skew where the audio looked like it matched the video at first but gradually got worse, but that may have been due to a video problem, not the audio. But if you use a microphone that goes into your camera to begin with all that extra work can be avoided.
Great video as usual, keep it up guys.
Only 1 concern though, I dont agree when you say shotgun mics are waste of time. Simply because you use them for specific conditions. Remember you can also hock them up on stand and so on.
Tony, How come audio from your outdoor videos sound better than your "professional studio" mic setup, Treble is too crispy in my opinion and sounds too processed, It needs a bit of warmth.
Very interesting and enjoyable to watch. Lots of info. Thanks Tony.
EXCELLENT points especially with the first 2 minutes Tony.
I like how you explain everything in depth.
what did use for recording this specific episode??? is it just one or all those mics on your desk?