EZA

Hi - I'm a post-production guy, specialising in sound effects and usually* working on bigger budget movies. I do as much field recording as possible - partly out of need and partly because it's good to get out of the studio sometimes - and record a lot of quiet nature ambiences, weather, birds, sea etc. Also crowds, urban spaces, public buildings and so on (often in stealth mode with mics/recorder in a bag). I own a pair of Rode NT55 and an SD702 which have done me pretty well for a while (usually in spaced omni mode), but yes; should really upgrade those mics. 😀 I've used MKH 8040 and 8020 pairs and been very impressed, also DPA 4011s (even better but wouldn't fancy risking them in a storm) and Schoeps CMXY (good in some circumstances but noisy and not wide open sounding). I'd buy 8040s in a moment but money's tight and I'm wondering which other mics might be worth considering slightly below that price bracket? Used to use KM84s in the studio a lot, thought they were great and tempted by those - never tried them outside though, so no idea if they're robust enough - but I'm wondering if there is there anything a bit less well know that's worth a try out? Gefells, Josephsons, Telefunkens .......how about those Lewitts with zero self noise? Many Thanks for any advice.... *Not at the moment !! 🙄