Wireless mic for general personal use

WillGill wrote on 3/13/2008, 9:33 PM

I've been getting into shooting/editing home video lately. Upgraded from VMS to Vegas Pro 8. I've got a Canon Vixia HF10 on order to upgrade from my Digital 8. I'd like to have a wireless mic for those times when I'm shooting the kid's speeches etc. Can anyone recommend a good wireless mic compatible with the HF10?

Comments

newhope wrote on 3/15/2008, 6:22 PM

The answer here depends on your budget but based on your camera choice and end use I'd recommend starting with a look at ( cheapest to more expensive) the Azden 300LT Wireless Mic. System, followed by Sony's UWPC1 system and then on to a Sennhieser ew 100-ENG G2.
The last one would approach the cost of your camera though I'd suspect.

There are plenty of others out there, and even more expensive brands and models, but all of these will do the job with increasing performance, range and quality.

Professionally I'd go for the Sennhieser but for home video, and even some professional work, the Azden would do just fine.

Regards
Stephen Hope

musicvid10 wrote on 3/16/2008, 12:08 PM

Street price on the Senny is $500-550. Considerably less than you paid for your camcorder.

If you want to go down in price without taking a big quality hit, look at the Audio-Technica Pro 88W. Very reliable. It's VHF though, so watch your frequencies when choosing.

I would absolutely avoid B-line systems. You would end up upgrading anyway.

newhope wrote on 3/17/2008, 6:40 AM

Damn ... last time I checked the Sennhiesers were well over $1000 in Australia and the Aussie dollar is over $0.90US. Must have dropped a lot or the price here is really inflated... though I'd be ready to believe the later. The Sony was around $700.00AUS and the Azden around the $500AUS mark.

All of them are UHF though and come with 3.5mm mini jack leads as well as XLRs.

AUS dollar to US Dollar comparison. Just bought some software online quoted at $299.00US and that converted to $330.00AUS when it hit my credit card, including free shipping from the UK, so the prices on the microphones shouldn't be more than ten percent higher than the US but often are siginificantly higher.

New Hope Media

musicvid10 wrote on 3/17/2008, 7:59 AM

I've noticed that the $AUS prices for prosumer electronics are really high comparatively, check eBay for some examples.

WillGill wrote on 3/20/2008, 10:39 PM

The Audio-Technica Pro 88W looks great. Ok, so it's VHF. Looking on the
B&H website, you can choose several frequencies. Any suggestions, or just pick one and hope for no interference?

rraud wrote on 3/21/2008, 9:54 AM

Frequency selection depends where you will be using a wireless. Most manufacturers have a state/city chart on their website, as does the FCC, indicating the frequencies in use in a particular city or area.
That said, way back when .. there were VHF "travel frequencies" we used when working in different locales around the US. (169-171 MHz as I recall) Now a days there are fewer VHFTV broadcasts, so interference could be even less of a problem.

musicvid10 wrote on 3/21/2008, 11:29 AM

**That said, way back when .. there were VHF "travel frequencies" we used . . .**

Those traveling freqs had their pitfalls, too -- you never knew what other bands might be using the same ones. I remember a number of years ago when we set up for a dance gig in a familiar venue, using the same "traveling" frequencies we had used without issue for years. Midway through our second set, a punk rock bass player came blasting through our PA system and cleared the dance floor. It took several minutes to isolate the problem source -- Billy Idol's band had set up for a gig in the concert hall across the alley .