post #1
25 November 2008, 04:44 UTC#1
I forgot how it arose, but Vode asked me about my mic and I told him I would make a topic, so here it is. I use a Rode VideoMic, which I bought around two or three years ago. I forgot how much I spent then because money is like shit to me and I flush it away daily, but the price range now is between $120 and $150 USD. I decided to get this mic because the DVC30 is notorious for it's shitty on-board mic, something I failed to research before I bought the camera.
Here are some pictures of how the mic comes stock:
External image not preserved — inspect source: http://c3.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images02/36/l_280436cc5af64187a044051b0e1b0a16.jpg
Link to really big picture: Clickz
Some reviews: 1 2 3
External image not preserved — inspect source: http://images.digitalmedianet.com/2007/Week_51/htnmxhdh/story/rode_04.jpg
The last picture is a liar.
The big whoop about this mic, besides the awesome quality/price comparison, is it's "shock absorber". As you can see, the mic is suspended by four rubber bands on each end of the piece that is mounted to the camera. A lot of the reviews I read before, and even after, purchasing the mic rave about how awesome this little shock mount contraption is. Maybe I have bad luck, or my style of filming is just rougher than others', but this shock mount thing was a shitty deal from the start. The rubber bands snapped soon after I started using it. If the rubber bands weren't snapping, the little clips that held them were breaking. Even when the mic was fully functional I had to hold the mic down with my hand because the rubber bands squeaked, and since the mic's audio pickup is so good, it caused a really annoying sound to override the audio I actually wanted to be picked up. So, eventually my ghetto instincts kicked in and this is what my mic looks like now:
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External image not preserved — inspect source: http://c3.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images02/28/l_6f8deee1fcd94186b50012c889cb0116.jpg
External image not preserved — inspect source: http://c3.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images02/19/l_9f92356c166548de897060c4fcbd180e.jpg
External image not preserved — inspect source: http://c2.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images02/13/l_27e4d8a21e574c0d8dd865652d7a60c5.jpg
External image not preserved — inspect source: http://c1.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images02/52/l_b870e2f3ad4f41549c21acc86d932828.jpg
External image not preserved — inspect source: http://c2.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images02/45/l_4f73f3ad41e44e88a9febee6a0579f51.jpg
External image not preserved — inspect source: http://c1.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images02/31/l_c657e2cb004445ba8421a3696aacb1ac.jpg
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What I did: I said, "fuck this". I broke off the front half of the mic (the piece that connects it to the camera) first. I could of broke the back hoop off too, but I really didn't need to. I had to be careful with this because if I fucked it up too much, I wouldn't of had a way to attach the mic to the camera. After that, I broke off the piece that attached the mic to the whack-ass rubber band shock mount. It was all gravy after that. I had to snip off some excess hangover of the wind reducer so it would fit on all the way, and then I just got me some duct tape, and voila.
Haven't regretted my changes to the mic for a second. It's sturdier than before and I don't have to deal with any noise from rubber bands and such. Hope you bitches enjoyed this read. Comments, questions, etc. are welcome.
Here are some pictures of how the mic comes stock:
External image not preserved — inspect source: http://c3.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images02/36/l_280436cc5af64187a044051b0e1b0a16.jpg
Link to really big picture: Clickz
Some reviews: 1 2 3
External image not preserved — inspect source: http://images.digitalmedianet.com/2007/Week_51/htnmxhdh/story/rode_04.jpg
The last picture is a liar.
The big whoop about this mic, besides the awesome quality/price comparison, is it's "shock absorber". As you can see, the mic is suspended by four rubber bands on each end of the piece that is mounted to the camera. A lot of the reviews I read before, and even after, purchasing the mic rave about how awesome this little shock mount contraption is. Maybe I have bad luck, or my style of filming is just rougher than others', but this shock mount thing was a shitty deal from the start. The rubber bands snapped soon after I started using it. If the rubber bands weren't snapping, the little clips that held them were breaking. Even when the mic was fully functional I had to hold the mic down with my hand because the rubber bands squeaked, and since the mic's audio pickup is so good, it caused a really annoying sound to override the audio I actually wanted to be picked up. So, eventually my ghetto instincts kicked in and this is what my mic looks like now:
External image not preserved — inspect source: http://c2.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images02/14/l_a876f13b316e4e4a96eb1efd13b8bb61.jpg
External image not preserved — inspect source: http://c3.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images02/28/l_6f8deee1fcd94186b50012c889cb0116.jpg
External image not preserved — inspect source: http://c3.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images02/19/l_9f92356c166548de897060c4fcbd180e.jpg
External image not preserved — inspect source: http://c2.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images02/13/l_27e4d8a21e574c0d8dd865652d7a60c5.jpg
External image not preserved — inspect source: http://c1.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images02/52/l_b870e2f3ad4f41549c21acc86d932828.jpg
External image not preserved — inspect source: http://c2.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images02/45/l_4f73f3ad41e44e88a9febee6a0579f51.jpg
External image not preserved — inspect source: http://c1.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images02/31/l_c657e2cb004445ba8421a3696aacb1ac.jpg
External image not preserved — inspect source: http://c1.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images02/8/l_2fe78aceff3141e093159717a4c42be0.jpg
External image not preserved — inspect source: http://c4.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images02/13/l_ae01a97efd994ae7a9ac84876f6e8953.jpg
What I did: I said, "fuck this". I broke off the front half of the mic (the piece that connects it to the camera) first. I could of broke the back hoop off too, but I really didn't need to. I had to be careful with this because if I fucked it up too much, I wouldn't of had a way to attach the mic to the camera. After that, I broke off the piece that attached the mic to the whack-ass rubber band shock mount. It was all gravy after that. I had to snip off some excess hangover of the wind reducer so it would fit on all the way, and then I just got me some duct tape, and voila.
Haven't regretted my changes to the mic for a second. It's sturdier than before and I don't have to deal with any noise from rubber bands and such. Hope you bitches enjoyed this read. Comments, questions, etc. are welcome.
