Max Hirtenstein Posted April 20, 2012 Report Share Posted April 20, 2012 Looks like I've got the opportunity to travel to Guatemala and India/Nepal within the next few months. I want to record every crazy sound and ambience I come across to add to my personal library. If anyone else does field recording I'd like to know what your travel setup is like. I'll be backpacking so I want to keep it super light. I'm thinking along the lines of a 416 for spot FX and perhaps the BP4025 for ambience. Both pistol gripped. Is there a blimp that will work with both of those? I'd love to buy a 302 if only it had an internal recorder. The new Fostex r302 seems like a good option, but I'm open to others. Cheers as always. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Visser Posted April 20, 2012 Report Share Posted April 20, 2012 You would probably be better off with just a 416 plus a figure 8 for simple MS setup. For nat sound and ambiences, I'd be inclined to pickup an MKH50 or 40 and an MKH30 and stuff that in a blimp, of which there are plenty of designed solutions already. At that point, you just need a 2 channel recorder, would probably record M-S raw as a non-matrixed signal, but it would be important to monitor in M-S, so choose any compatible 2 channel recorder like a 702. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Hirtenstein Posted April 20, 2012 Author Report Share Posted April 20, 2012 Hmm thanks Tom, the 302 can monitor mid-side, so I think for this bag I'll just use the 302 with an H4n. Probably better sound than the new Fostex yeah? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Visser Posted April 20, 2012 Report Share Posted April 20, 2012 I would imagine that they would be comparable or even in favor of the SD/Zoom combo if I had to venture a guess. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chase Yeremian Posted April 20, 2012 Report Share Posted April 20, 2012 Any reason to not just bag a 702 by itself? Do you need to have more than 2 inputs? I would think a 702 alone would be more versatile, better sounding, less bulky and probably not much more expensive than a 302/h4 or fostex solution. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Hirtenstein Posted April 20, 2012 Author Report Share Posted April 20, 2012 Howdy Chase- I forgot to mention that I'd like to use as much of this field recording gear as possible in other contexts down the road. Though the 702 would be the ideal choice, I think a 302 and a 416 would serve me well on any future shoots, not just field recording trips. Plus I already own an H4n. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chase Yeremian Posted April 20, 2012 Report Share Posted April 20, 2012 Howdy Chase- I forgot to mention that I'd like to use as much of this field recording gear as possible in other contexts down the road. Though the 702 would be the ideal choice, I think a 302 and a 416 would serve me well on any future shoots, not just field recording trips. Plus I already own an H4n. Gotcha, I was assuming a kit specifically for this trip of yours. In that case I think the 302/h4 combo would be ideal as the 302 will remain a workhorse for many projects down the line. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Hirtenstein Posted April 20, 2012 Author Report Share Posted April 20, 2012 Cool, I'm glad to hear that Chase. Now that I'm considering MS, that leaves my stereo options as these: H4n onboard- Free BP4025 for XY- $650 + wind protection MKH30 for MS- $1250 + more complicated wind protection I don't know of any other reputable figure-8 mics for less money. Just thinking cost/benefit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soundslikejustin Posted April 20, 2012 Report Share Posted April 20, 2012 Ambient EMESSER is a cheap (but quite good) figure 8 capsule for M/S. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OmahaAudio Posted April 20, 2012 Report Share Posted April 20, 2012 You would probably be better off with just a 416 plus a figure 8 for simple MS setup. Any suggestions for a small figure 8 mic to clamp on to a decent shotgun? I know that Schoeps make one but is there anything that would go well with a Rode NTG-3 and not break the bank? BTW I'm looking for something more reasonable than the $830 I'd have to pay for an Ambient EMESSER. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soundslikejustin Posted April 20, 2012 Report Share Posted April 20, 2012 Scroll up 1 post Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spencer Moore Posted April 20, 2012 Report Share Posted April 20, 2012 Love my Emesser! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Hirtenstein Posted April 20, 2012 Author Report Share Posted April 20, 2012 Actually that Emesser looks really nice. I wonder if it would fit in a typical Rycote WS 4 or equivalent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spencer Moore Posted April 21, 2012 Report Share Posted April 21, 2012 Actually that Emesser looks really nice. I wonder if it would fit in a typical Rycote WS 4 or equivalent. It does! But not in the S series. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Visser Posted April 21, 2012 Report Share Posted April 21, 2012 Figure-8 mics and inexpensive do not go hand in hand unfortunately. I think the Ambient mentioned is the only one that comes in under a grand that I'd think of using for production sound. I know that Octava does make a cheaper capsule for their system, but have never tried it myself (or any of their mics). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OmahaAudio Posted April 21, 2012 Report Share Posted April 21, 2012 Scroll up 1 post "BTW I'm looking for something more reasonable than the $830 I'd have to pay for an Ambient EMESSER." Yes? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Blankenship Posted April 21, 2012 Report Share Posted April 21, 2012 If you need to go less expensive, you're kinda in the Rode NT4 territory. It's okay for some things. It's X/Y, though, not M/S. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soundslikejustin Posted April 21, 2012 Report Share Posted April 21, 2012 Gee sorry, must have missed that. The only thing I've ever used cheaper than the EMESSER is the Oktava figure 8 that Tom mentioned. It's actually 2 cardiod capsules stuck back to back, it's noisy as hell and doesn't sound that great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spencer Moore Posted April 21, 2012 Report Share Posted April 21, 2012 I've always wondered about the two capsule solution to M/S. Most standalone fig 8 mics use one diaphragm which would mean that the two sides would always be 180 degrees apart, but the two capsules in something like an octava would fluctuate in the degrees of phase. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soundslikejustin Posted April 21, 2012 Report Share Posted April 21, 2012 I'm the case of the oktava I used, the capsules were about 2 inches apart... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek H Posted April 21, 2012 Report Share Posted April 21, 2012 I think the Oktava figure eight head is really just two cardioid capsules wired together, back to back. It is also somewhat bulky. Still, I'd be curious to hear it. I wouldn't rule out the new Fostex "302" it actually looks quite nice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Armin Siegwarth Posted April 21, 2012 Report Share Posted April 21, 2012 I am also thinking and testing around stereo for some time. Howdy Chase- I forgot to mention that I'd like to use as much of this field recording gear as possible in other contexts down the road. Though the 702 would be the ideal choice, I think a 302 and a 416 would serve me well on any future shoots, not just field recording trips. Plus I already own an H4n. for ambience I would not choose mkh 416 as M/S mic unless you already own it. It has some possible self noise - comes to shine in silent remote areas. mkh 40/50/60 would be better as mentioned above. And for Backpacking a M/S rig could be a bit fragile. Haven't the chance to listen to BP 4025 but with 25,1mV/Pa it has a relative high output (helps preamps) and with equivalent noise Din A 14dB very little self noise for a stereo mic. Seems to me a good choice for your trip. But that are just numbers - 416 is rated 13dB and Cmit 5 is rated 14dB and the Schoeps Cmit in my tests is really more silent than a 416. I dont believe the 416 spec. to throw one more mic in: Sony ECM 680s is also M/S but decoded to XY. It is also switchable to a Mono mic which may be handy. Its often used as camera mic and maybe you could rent it cheap somewhere. Cameramen don't like it as its too long for them. Output surprisingly hot and maybe even useable directly in H4n for a cheap solution. Only 140g for a switchable mic. I like the sound of it, more selfnoise in stereo though; stereo Image not too wide. one more thing: did a doc with schoeps ccm8 and to me its not ideal. needs very good preamps (had SQN 4 - Sound devices 442 would have been too bad) and nevertheless selfnoise was audible. And handling noise was hard to avoid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan H. Chang Posted April 21, 2012 Report Share Posted April 21, 2012 Cool, I'm glad to hear that Chase. Now that I'm considering MS, that leaves my stereo options as these: H4n onboard- Free BP4025 for XY- $650 + wind protection MKH30 for MS- $1250 + more complicated wind protection I don't know of any other reputable figure-8 mics for less money. Just thinking cost/benefit. Buy once cry once. You get what you pay for when it's a specialized microphone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soundslikejustin Posted April 21, 2012 Report Share Posted April 21, 2012 Check eBay for mkh30's. I got one of mine on there for less than $900 - it's mint. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Armin Siegwarth Posted April 21, 2012 Report Share Posted April 21, 2012 Check eBay for mkh30's. I got one of mine on there for less than $900 - it's mint. thanx for price point to look out for Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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