New member & some external microphone advice

Trevor2812

New member
Hi everybody, I have just joined this site. I own a D200 and recently purchased a second hand D7000, so that I can start shooting videos as well. I am just wondering if any one on here would be able to point me in the right direction for an external microphone for video use? IS the in built microphone capable of good audio outdoors, as well as indoors? As I am travelling soon, I want to be able to shoot stills and video, but naturally I want to reduce the wind noise. Any advice will be greatly appreciated. I am looking for a light weight external microphone with a good battery life, or one that has rechargeable and replaceable batteries, i.e. disposable as well as re-usable. Only for the amount of time I am away from a charging outlet. Many thanks in advance for any advice :encouragement::encouragement:
 

Bikerbrent

Senior Member
Welcome aboard. Enjoy the ride.
We look forward to seeing more posts and samples of your work.
I don't do video, so can't help you out. I am sure someone will be along shortly with a good suggestion.
 

Fred Kingston

Senior Member
Okay... The long and short of it is... Nikon cameras are terrible for audio with video. Some folks have had good luck with external mics... Audio depends a lot on the type of video you're doing... Most folks that are serious get an external recorder like the Zoom H4n and marry the results in post processing... They generally use either Lavalier mics or other external mics with the Zoom... Wireless Lavaliers are relatively inexpensive... You can even use a Lavalier with a cell phone as the recorder... for a very inexpensive solution... You'll find that video is about 10% shooting and 90% pre and post production...

Welcome to the forum...:)
 

480sparky

Senior Member
I use a Sony digital voice recorder and lavalier mic. Marry up the audio and video in post. When I hit the 'record' button on both, I just clap my hands 3 times in front of the lens so I have 3 distinct spikes in the audio tracks to line up. I then just mute the videos' audio track and away I go with editing.
 

spb_stan

Senior Member
The mic inside the camera is fine, the same Panasonic electret element used in $5 and $300 mics. The problem is the location and no mic is going to capture quality sound unless it is in position to "see" direct soundwaves from the source in at least a 90% direct to reflected or ambient sound level. So if your sound source is 10 feet a way, no mic is going to perform well, 20 feet, forget it. So the question ism how to get close, and the best way if one does not have a boom operator and Fishpole overhead mic is to use a wireless mic clipped to their collar. There are a lot of wireless mics and for most purposes they need not be expensive. There are transmitter and receiver pairs on eBay or AliExpress for $20 that would work better than a $5000 mic 10-15 feet away.
If there is a single source, you are can use a really simple system. With multiple sources, such as 2-3 people talking, you are into more complexity. You need to actively ride gain of each mic channel on a mixer or set up a small track digital recorder and balance them in post processing.
You need continuous sound and the video clips will be laid down on that continuous audio track since the sound can continue when switching to other camera angles or laying in B roll, or close ups. The sound would be in chopped bits if recorded in the camera as it is started and stopped for shooting position or angle changes. You can record additional audio tracks later but balancing them with the ambient room sounds of the other clips is not easy so plan the shoot out well dp thee sound track is original. IF you must add dialog later, it is best to record a could minutes of ambient sound so that can be mixes with the additional dialog so it had a similar ambient sound by making a copy of the ambient recording and laying the new dialog over it.

There are a lot of companies selling "video mics" that mount on the shoe but they are poor is the source is further than 3-4 feet away from the source.
Knowing what different polar pattern mics are good for and what negative indicators they all have,takes some experience but all that becomes unnecessary when micing close. In my 3 studio complex I had $500,000 in mics and now some of those have increased 10 times their new prices. so maybe the vintage collection if still together would have been well over a million....but none of that is needed or would be helpful in being the the solution if mics are close. All of those mics were the best solution for some application, and none were good for all of the applications
If you describe your production plan, cast count, distance from visual perspective, atmosphere, more specific information can be relayed.
 
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