what microphone for an F3 zoom?

August 28, 2024 5:46 AM

What microphone might be a good partner with the F3 Zoom for recording interviews outside on location in a wet windy country (not for film). Bonus points if it's light - special snowflake stuff inside

I'd like to get back into the field recording outdoors with contributors but am now a more disabled version of me who walks with a stick and cant carry much stuff - having a tiny 32 bit float recorder I can latch to a belt is very appealing, but what will play nicely with its XLR connectors while not being too heavy and being something I can shove in a blimp and furry if the wind picks up and handle on a pistol grip easily? Thanks!

posted by Flitcraft to Technology (3 answers total)

The blimp and deadcat are going to be the heaviest part of your system; if you're recording actual humans speaking, I'd look at a Sennheiser G4 (or G3 - they're still very good but used ones are cheap) wireless pack with lavalier microphone, with a "on camera" receiver. These come with a TRS to XLR adapter (or should; make sure if buying used it has it, otherwise they're like $15). The receiver goes in a pocket near the F3, and the lavalier and pack go on the person you're interviewing, and if you're not also filming them you just attach it however to get the best sound.

Sennheiser's shotgun mics are the industry standard; I have an Audio-Technica shotgun mic (about $270) that I like a lot; it's longer than most but will fit into most blimps. If you're looking for something that can be both a hand-held mic and in a blimp, a short shotgun mic will probably work well, although shotgun mics will pick up a lot of hand noise when being handled.

If you're looking for something that can work handheld AND be in a blimp, you're going to have to do some messing around to get them to work; blimps are almost universally set up for shotgun mics, which are designed to be mounted in some way and not handheld; a handheld microphone is not going to work well in a blimp due to their polar pattern and range. You may want to look into multiple microphones, a SM58 for handheld, a shotgun mic that lives in the blimp fulltime for more focused or noisy-environment recording.

For good audio you're going to spend $250 - $500 per microphone; I don't have a lot of experience with them, but for cheaper microphones most R ØDE microphones are well regarded. One thing to note is there's a trend for wireless mic packs to also have a digital recorder in them, which can be annoying (or helpful as a backup) if you're trying to do good audio with a higher quality recording system. We used Rode's small shotgun mics on small stationary micstands to record audio for a sporting event and they were nice, compact, and cheap.
posted by AzraelBrown at 6:09 AM on August 28 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Lavaliers would be perfect if they could survive Scottish wind conditions - would those sennheisers work in anything more than a stiff breeze?
posted by Flitcraft at 7:00 AM on August 28

You can get the cutest little furry wind screens for lavalier mics! I haven't had personal experience with these, though -- I've only worked with lavs in a "the lavalier must be unseen" environments -- but if you don't care if it's seen you can use the same techniques for windproofing most microphones, along with the lav being small and being hit by less wind in general.

Also, depending on how involved you want to mic up the person, the usual techniques for hiding a lav from being seen will also help to hide from wind as well. Or, like, just have your person turn away from the wind when talking.
posted by AzraelBrown at 7:29 AM on August 28 [1 favorite]