Are you looking for a camera-mounted mic that will pull Hollywood-quality dialog sound from two people 10 feet away?

You can't get that for even $3,000.

But...

How about two lapel mics if you don't have a sound operator?

Or a boom with a hypercardiod/cardioid (not a shotgun) if you do?

Either of those could give you good quality within your budget.

Well, I think lapel mikes might to a better job, now that I think about it. Any wireless recommendations--that plug into XLR.

We use Sennheiser, Shure, and a couple of Audio-Technica.
Again, these are all fixed installations, not field shoots.

For field and ENG applications, I defer to those who have more experience with the on-camera receivers.

If your subjects are in a fixed position, such as a news interview, a couple of wired Sony 77's is the way to go. 50,000 newscasters can't be wrong.

"Well, I think lapel mikes might to a better job, now that I think about it."

Right you are. Indoors, shotguns pick up out-of-phase reflections. Outdoors, they pick up all the ambient noise between and behind the subject. Once all the rage because of quick setup and "relative" isolation, serious audio types have always known that they are a poor substitute for on-subject mics. We use some short shotguns for specific scene isolation in some stage productions, but little else.

For field and ENG applications, I defer to those who have more experience with the on-camera receivers.

I was lucky enough to pick up a pair of Lectrosonic receiver/transmitters ( one VHF and one UHF) before the prices started skyrocketing and they are an amazing piece of gear.
Sad to say that I'll probably have to retire them soon (they're too old to be retrofitted) due to the DTV changeover :-(

One thing to be aware of is to ensure that any wireless audio gear you get these days is going to work with the upcoming changes to the wireless spectrum due to the DTV changeover.
The companies musicvid mentioned are well aware of these changes and are reworking their gear accordingly.

Mike

"The companies musicvid mentioned are well aware of these changes and are reworking their gear accordingly."

Sennheiser, in particular, has taken a very concerned and thoughtful approach to this problem. At sennheiserusa.com you can sign up for a queue to receive a personal call from a tech rep, who will guide you through the new restrictions, and individually tailor a plan based on your locale and needs. They have also been reported to make some very generous concessions regarding upgrading equipment left unusable by the 700Mhz switchover. They are also very active in lobbying Congress for UHF access for wireless mic users in the DTV era. This is above the call of cool, IMO.

Check out the Sanken CS-1.
Great with a boom.
Assume it would work well on camera though I've never used it that way.
It's a short shotgun, but has some of the same qualities as a hypercardiod mic.
Not super directional like the long shotguns.
I can set this mic overhead and pick up two sound sources quite nicely.

Lectrosonics is doing essentially the same thing with an upgrade program designed to convert most current models.
They have an interesting (and short) article called The Sky is NOT Falling on their site.

Mike

I use lapel Tx/Rx mics and if at all possible a shottie on a boom out of frame. Of course you COULD put a Tx on a strategically placed shottie!

Nowadays I hold a shottie on a pistol grip and lean into the speaker. I can use my 7" monitor to give me frame and status. But 10' ? Me arms aren't long enough . . .

Grazie

Me arms aren't long enough . . .

A brief stint on "the rack" will take care of that :-)

Mike

I picked up a new CS-1 quite cheaply, someone lost funding for a movie and sold off all their kit, wished I known sooner :(

CS-1 is great for an on-camera mic as it's short and light. You do need special mounts that only K-Tek make as it is really too short for the standard shock mounts. The upside is even with a persian dead cat and a WA adaptor you will not get fur in shot.

Sennheiser G2 EW500 systems have been rock solid for us, one failed XLR lead over 8 kits and 5 years. For personal use the EW100 is more than adequate unless you travel. Lectrosonic has a good name as well. Zaxcom make the best with a price to match. All the FM systems use companding, they are NOT wireless. You need to be conscious of gain staging to get the best out of them. Get the right levels into the transmitter for best results. Also get the right cables, trust me there's serious traps with the humble 3.5mm sockets on wireless gear.

Bob.

No such thing. You will not get great audio from 8-10 feet away unless you put the mic on a boom and have someone boom it. Period.

However for videographer application (meaning where sound isn't the king) there are plenty of options -- because in this case you are looking for average sound.

Shotgun mics do not magically make the source sound closer. Regardless of the advances in technology in both microphone hardware and audio software, there is no way to make a microphone sound closer to the source than it was originally. To get a quality audio recording of a conversation, you MUST get the microphone(s) as near to the source as practically possible.

Have you ever tried a "long gun" such as the MKH70?

I'd give the older T powered version a try if I can "borrow" it without the owner noticing and find an open space quiet enough to do it justice and fit a rifle scope to it. Certainly not something you'd put on a camera though.

Bob.

As an 'OLD' field sound recordist and sound editor/mixer (oh... that's a sound designer these days isn't it? lol) I use both wireless and wired lapel mikes and shotguns, usually Sennheiser 416 and the longer 816, on boom poles. I currently run a 416 on my camera.

The 416 certainly gives better results than the normal mikes you find supplied with cameras but like others have said you can't expect 'on mike' sound from 10 feet away.

My personal preference is a boomed mike like a 416, or http://usa.rodemic.com/microphone.php?product=NTG-1Rode NTG-1[/link] which would fit your budget, in closer but if you are doing this as a one man band it may not be practical unless you can set up a boom stand out of shot.

All mikes will pick up background sound and lapel mikes are usually omnidirectional. It's just that they are so close to the source of sound, the person wearing the mike, that they don't need to have their gain set as high as a mike further away. This means you record less of the ambient sound because of the lower gain setting. Shotgun mikes also tend to have a rear lobe which is sensitive to low frequency sound that is 'off-axis'. It is in the mid and upper mid frequencies where the mike is more directional. All mikes are subject to wind noise but minimizing this on a lapel can be as simple as hiding the mike under clothing as long as it doesn't muffle the resultant audio. There are plenty of wind gags for shotguns on the market that do a great job... I'll put in a plug the Koala range from Oz which I use.

Wireless lapels will certainly give you close mike sound BUT be aware of the mike placement to avoid things like clothes rustle, and make sure to place the mike either centrally on the subject or slightly to the side they are likely to turn their head while talking. For example in a two person interview the participants are more likely to turn their heads to look at each other, hence they can actually turn on and off mike if you don't place the mike on them correctly.

Finally in post production you'll need to favour the mike on the person speaking and reduce the level on the other track throughout the mix to reduce spill which will cause the sound to be 'open' (slightly reverberant due to sound being picked up by the other lapel mike). Hence more work mixing the sound don't just let the tracks run at same level throughout. Stripping the tracks alternatively when the other person is speaking is a typical approach as well.

Best of luck with your deliberations.

New Hope Media

Shotgun mikes also tend to have a rear lobe which is sensitive to low frequency sound that is 'off-axis'.

One of the reasons I picked my Sanken CS-3e for this is that it is unique in not having this problem to any appreciable degree.

This means that it can reject sounds other mikes can't, and it also has the same "color" across its pickup angle.

(I have to say I also like the 416 especially, it sounds far better than most other boom mikes, short of a Schoeps).

I think we need to be careful here. The kind of mics that work well on a boom may not be so suitable to put on a camera. Physical length and weight is one factor, the effect of a mic with a narrow pickup angle is another. I'm always conscious of this with my CS-1 as off axis things are not so good.

If we're talking about a shotgun for a boom I'd highly recommend also getting a Rolls PM50sOB headphone amp for the boom operator so he can hear what he's doing. Simple, cheap device that bridges the mic line and give the boom op his own personal level control. The little box clips onto the belt and it seems daft to spend $1,000s on a boom mic and pole and not get one of these and a good set of cans for the boom operator.

Bob.