Topic: Inexpensive Shotgun Mics for Ultra Low Budget Filmmaking

[daveindezmenez]

I would like to find out if there would be any shotgun mics that would be especially recommended for low-budget filmmaking. Although I'd love to go out and get a Sennheiser MKH 416 (around $1200), I just can't afford it .

I've had the Sennheiser ME66/K6 combo (around $250, I think) mentioned as a possibility although they said it had a higher noise floor than the MKH 416 and someone told me that the Rode NTG1 ($250 roughly) would probably be the best one I could get on the low end.

Does anyone know of any other possibilities that would work well? (I have a Beachtek adapter for my camcorder so I can used balanced mics but it unfortunately does not supply phantom power.) I've heard of there being chinese knock-offs available for certain mics at a fraction of the cost. Is there anything available in this category of mic that I should know about?

[jeromejello]

i picked up an AT897 for my panny gs400 and have been happy with it.  i got via ebay for under $200 i think with a nice mount.

http://www.audio-technica.com/cms/wired_mics/9aeff7bd1ee954dc/index.html

[Gizby]

The AT875R might be up your alley.

Here's a nice list covering several shotgun mics, including the above mentioned.

[Olychild]

I've got an AT815b up on ebay this week that you may want to check out. my ebay handle is olychilde.

[taper420]

On paper the me66's might have a higher noise floor, but in practice it's never even been a remote problem. They sound great to my ears, and I've been using them for taping and videography for over 5 years now. Never noticed noise ever. Even in a completely quiet room, I doubt you'd hear anything but room noise. They go great with a V3 BTW.

Worth trying out... they retain their value well.... you could always sell if not happy.

[John Willett]

On paper the me66's might have a higher noise floor, but in practice it's never even been a remote problem. They sound great to my ears, and I've been using them for taping and videography for over 5 years now. Never noticed noise ever. Even in a completely quiet room, I doubt you'd hear anything but room noise. They go great with a V3 BTW.

Worth trying out... they retain their value well.... you could always sell if not happy.

And the K6 series seem to be surprisingly good in damp conditions - it surprised even me.