Zoom H4N Mics VS Sennheiser MKE 2-PK array

More Zoom love here...

I did a shootout yesterday between the Zoom's built in mics vs the Sennheisers (which I am building a stealth rig with).

The Zoom was practically as good as the lavs. I'll still use the lavs, but in a jam, the Zoom is a very comparable back up. Obviously, I imagine the Zoom has bigger caps and therefore can compete with tiny lavs that are $700 +.

I'm still aching to do a shootout between the Zoom with an external mic and my Oade Fostex deck. Part of me hopes the Zoom will lose. I'm almost scared to realize this thing might outperform a 1000 dollar deck.


http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/354977-REG/Sennheiser_MKE2_P_K.html#reviews

Very interesting results, thanks for sharing. Yeah, you've got to spend a decent amount for good lavs. Would you recommend any wired lavaliers for a penny pincher like me? This would be used on testimonial/interview like situations where I'm a cameraman also covering sound and can't use a shotgun setup.

Mike-

There are a TON of lavs I'd recommend. Can you elaborate on your budget?

I think you and I might have similar needs in regards to gear. We are "post" sound guys and might have the tendency to buy gear purely for SFX purposes, but also needs it to do double duty for actual production/video work that pops up from time to time.

With that said, you need to consider your future needs. If you buy a lav with a TA5 connector, you'll be ready for Lectrosonics wireless in the future, but you won't be able to connect your expensive new mic to XLR in the meantime, so you'll probably want to buy a TA5 lav + a power supply/XLR converter

The TRAM TR 50 is the workhorse lav. It's sounds great and it's form factor and accessory kit makes it easy to hide and keep quiet. Great for production and very useable for SFX.

Audio Technica makes affordable and excellent lavs as well. Our facility uses them almost exclusively.

My next mic investment is going to be a lectrosonics mic actually. Specifically because they make a $15 dollar TA5 to XLR converter for all their mics. Their mics are all copies of other popular lav mics (TRAM, SANKEN). I've read great things about them and I like the ability to turn them XLR without batteries or spending $75 to 100 bucks on a proprietary converter.

I dunno man...there are plenty of options. It's the age old dilemma, buy cheap for what you need NOW, or buy something much better that you hang onto for a long time.

Short answer, Audio Technica or Tram!

Yeah, I've got just an AT2035 for SFX and that has treated me well (I've used a lot of Audio Technica mikes and trust them for the most part to deliver high quality audio). I'm looking for something along the lines in price of this guy:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/68270-REG/Audio_Technica_AT831B_AT831B_Mini_Clip_On.html#reviews


(I suppose I would be willing to spend up to around $200; my first choice would be cardiod and 2nd would be omni. I can work with both, but I usually find myself wishing I didn't hear as much ambience due to shooting on location, so a cardiod would be most suitable for my purposes).

I understand purchasing good gear that lasts a long time, but I don't have a big savings right now. If someone pays more I just rent high end equipment that produces high quality results, however, this lav I'm considering purchasing would just be for simple interview-type recordings for low-paying gigs where I'm shooting and recording sound (The boom on a stand works alright, but not in every scenario, especially when the client is expecting a fast setup.)