thenannymoh

thanks, I suspected as much

I don't own the SRb5p, so I've never had a good look at one...can the 5-pin (side) output be removed easily, or is it a permanent fixture? Thanks!

Your own articles opening statement: "So what is the best lavalier mic on the market? This article outlines what we believe are the best lav mics out there and covers the best wireless lavalier mics for all kinds of filmmaking and video production projects." Sorry, but either that is entirely deliberately misleading and definitely not worded to inform the beginners for a starting list...or it is the intro to a lazily researched article from a 'professional' that will result in your readership making poor choices. The ME-2 on that list is the dead giveaway that this is poorly researched: it is a terrible mic for the cost...An Oscar TL40 is a much better and cheaper mic. (the only respected mic on that list might be the Sony ECM). If you had asked any working sound pro to provide recommendations to help strengthen your article, they would likely advise your readership that cheaply made radio and lav gear costs so much more...it just doesn't scale well. Unreliable lav/radio gear will have enough dropouts, hits, cable noise, delay, and simply poor quality sound to actually cost you money in frustrated clients or the inevitable gear upgrade (to kit you didn't include). The money spend on a $300 radio/lav channel will go much further on other gear that scales better (improved shotgun mic, shockmounts, wind protection, boom poles etc). In the world of lavs and radio, there is no real 'entry' vs 'pro' gear: there is "unreliable POS" vs "varying degrees of much better'. A way to greatly improve the article is to plainly and clearly state the scope and audience at the beginning ("I'm recommending low-end gear that might work for a beginner ie nobody charging clients any $"), and then if you insist on saying "best" anywhere at least being accurate in listing the true industry standard kits, even if it is a side mention. I'm giving you the benefit of the doubt here and assuming this isn't simply a list created to generate income with your links. Of course, people making money doing exclusively sound work don't actually care about this much...when one-person videographers use crappy sound gear, the rest of us end up making money in the end. But presumably it's your videographer audience, who have to concentrate on the camera work and hope that the unmonitored audio is working well, are the ones who may be most influenced and mislead by articles like this.

What frequencies do you have them tuned to? As an aside the Freqfinder app is great for making sure all the channels play nice with each other. (btw I have 9 units running in the same block, it's very manageable and convenient too)

When I first bought the chest strap, I thought it would be a convenient way to reduce rustle noise on a hairy chest. It does that a bit, but there are usually better ways to deal with it. What I use it for primarily now is hiding the mic cable, which it does a very good job at.

So, a student googled something like "best lav mics" and came across this article, and then asked my opinion on it. My opinion was that there are "best of" gear articles that are only about Amazon links and $ kickbacks. Check it out for the lulz, if only for what's missing... 😅😅😞 https://filmlifestyle.com/best-lavalier-mic/

Thanks for the information and explanation. A +18dB/oct version would be great to have, I hope the prototype you tested also had the -10 pad.

Looking for some practical advice and insight... I own a Sennheiser 8060 and I use this fairly often, particularly for outdoors but also for wides indoors when my MKH50 won't quite reach. I've always struggled to find a suitable indoor shockmount that I like: the mic has a long front end, is very sensitive to swings, and all this makes finding adequate indoor 'wind' protection a challenge. The best solution so far has been the Bubblebee Windkiller, but even with the Sennheiser MZF8000 filter capsule, the fit isn't quite right and either the sound is coloured too much or there is some noise created. I have MacGyver'd a shockmount using Rycote lyres to try to accomodate the Bubblebee, but it still gives me hassles. So I called Trew to discuss options, and the Cinela Cosi came up in the discussion. Despite the price, I'm pretty enamored with the design. Turns out, there is a new COSI designed for the 8060, with its 19mm diameter and peculiar length BUT it won't work with a MZF8000 filter attached. Now, this filter is almost universally used by 8060 users...I like the gentle high pass filter by often I really like the -10 db pad (for when actors feel it necessary to scream). Turns out that Cinela didn't design for the MZF filter because they don't like it...from their COSI pdf notice: My typical setup for this mic is to connect it to my Lectrosonics HM on the end of the boom, and record onto my 633. My (perhaps incorrect) understanding was that if I applied the HP filter at the mic, there would be more efficiency for my Lectrosonics (ie saving battery power), and that I could apply futher HP on my 633 on the fly if the circumstances warranted. That's how I've been doing it for dialogue work (not environment and sound effects). But the info and notice from Cinela have me second-guessing things a bit. I can use the HP filter on the Lectro plug and not bother with the MZF8000, but there are times when that -10 pad is very useful (and when I need it, there is not usually time to switch out mic housings). And maybe I haven't been applying my HP filters in the most effective manner. At times like this, I miss the granular filter setting of my old 744t. Anyone else gone down this rabbit hole with this gear, or have any suggestions as to what I should do? Are the benefits of the COSI worth it in this case, or should I be looking at another product to mount my 8060 with? Thanks!

An amazing device...it still gets almost weekly use

Thanks everyone for the suggestions! Solution found (via a dude on FB): "Make sure that the level is up. Use left rotary knob to go to X1 and press then turn it to the level you require. This started happening to me in the last update with the Auto-Mute."

**SOLVED** ...another user had experienced the same thing...see posts below for the fix Having a problem with my 633. X1 output is no longer outputting any signal from any input, but it is outputting tone from the tone switch. Some facts about troubleshooting so far: - I have been using firmware v4.51 for a long time, never had this problem. Recently updated to v4.60, and the problem didn't start immediately, but suddenly the other day. I have reverted to 4.51, reinstalled 4.6, reloaded saved settings etc, but the problem persisted. - problem persisted no matter if I route from L/R or from specific channels - toggling the auto mute (while in 4.6) does not restore a signal - to reiterate, the tone does work in X1 (testing on a G3) - switching mic/line/-10 output levels has no effect - no AES is selected - have changed CF/SD cards (only using approved cards, same ones I've used before with no problem) - all other outputs work as they should (x2, LR, x3/4) Anyone experience anything like this? Anything obvious I'm missing? Thanks!

One thing to be aware of selling on these forums or FB groups for soundies: people are very tuned into the actual, current value of items. If you overprice it to try to give yourself negotiating room, you'll get zero traffic. There are really no suckers here. Amongst pros, if you list it for a good price, it will be sold very quickly. If you try to package in accessories that people don't really need to help jack up the price, you'll turn people off. Good luck!

Not much you can do, I've been in this same position. When you can, record room tone with the fan off, then if it kicks in take tone after the interview is over also. If the subjects are mic'd up, let them leave after the emotional interviews, then grab a PA or whoever and have them sit through the RTs with the same lav mic. Good luck

I love my 8060 for outdoor dialogue, but you have to be careful with it for sound effects...it runs hot, and anything really loud goes red, which is taken care of by the -10db pad module, but that also has a mild rolloff so overall it isn't ideal for what you want. However, stereo 8040s FTW!

hot and humid (and buggy): Craghoppers longsleaves and pants...light, wicking, built in bug repellent...Keen hiking boots extreme cold: lined coveralls...smooth one-piece exterior makes easier harness/bag use...waterproof boots Usually, it all comes down to quality and appropriate footwear (and good socks)...if your feet get wet or cold, it won't really matter how much $$ you've sunk into those DPA mics.

Ok this one is bizarre... Are there any other cat owners who own a Rainman blimp cover? My cat has been obsessed with licking it, and it is the only material he does that with (I think there may be a charcoal/carbon component to it). I know cats are inherently weird, but he has some other medical issues and I'm trying to figure out if this is inherently problematic or symptomatic. Anyone else seen this, or moonlight as a vet 😊? Thanks!

thank you!

I must be missing the obvious - I'm looking at the SMV "L" transmitter, and for the life of me I can't find in any of the manuals what the L represents, or how it differs from a non-L. Any insights? Thanks!

If I notice the camerawork, it means I've left the story. Too many DPs padding their demo reel, and not doing what's right for the script, like Yngwie Malmsteen soloing in Yellow Brick Road.

I have both...since getting the Bubblebee, the classic softie is only used as backup. The Windkiller, for me, wins hands down.

Just saw A Star Is Born (Cooper/Gaga)... Just want to say that if Steven Morrow, the credited mixer, is on these boards, you did an amazing job mate. One of the best dialogue jobs I've heard in a long time, and in what seemed like some very challenging environments.

Maybe you have alot of extra time to hand-hold a rookie editor through the basics of their job? And if the editor doesn't understand how to work with timecode, I'm doing the client a big, big favour by insisting on your "old fashioned" solution of a slate, or at least a camera hop for a nice audio line for pluraleyes That's not arrogance, just experience.

Most of the time, this can be resolved by giving a client the 3 very clear choices at the outset: use a camera that properly accepts timecode; pay for the software to decode if the camera doesn't have timecode; or don't use timecode. Once you've presented those choices, frankly your work is done, and it is their editor's job to figure it out and do some research.

Comteks lack of shielding, plus the need for a looong antenna (such as the cable for earbuds) make it impractical for on-camera use even as a scratch... Just too many hits. Alot of us run 2 TXs out of a bag...it makes a difference which talent RXs are in the bag too. If they are Lectro RXs, I've never run into a problem with TX/RX close to each other, and no problem with a Comtek BST in there either. I use a G3 transmitter for hops, and assuming the freq are not stepping on each other, they all play nicely. Very occasionally, I get a request for super-clean audio feed to a director (ie better than comtek), so giving them a g3 rx on the same feed as the camera hop does the trick (with a tiny $40 headphone amp from Amazon attached). The camera guy's SRa solution seems like a good one to me.

I approached it this way: - not economical for me to have an exact duplicate of my main recorder - what's more important in a backup, number of channels or quality of sound? For me it is sound quality - I need to continue the work flow with my backup (ie timecode, provide feed for comtek, camera hops) - I need it to be small and easily portable. When you lay out your needs, then it will help you decide which is the right backup for you.