What Mic would you recommend for a Canon EOS 7D?

[guitargeorge]

Looking for a mic I can attach to a Canon EOS 7D for recording videos of acoustic guitar playing. Any suggestions? In my search I have found several Rode video mics ranging in price new between $150.00 and $300.00. I like Rode mics (have owned 3 in the past) but I thought I would seek some advice.

[keith.rogers]

No recent experience - I used an old Sony stereo mic with decent results about 15 years ago but moved to separate audio and video recording with syncing after the fact.

The problem is that the camera input is a single, unbalanced stereo jack which only supplies “plugin” power so you are limited in your options to either a battery powered mic or one that can use plugin power but not require phantom power. The unbalanced input also limits cable length, and that’s my favorite dead horse about (optimal) camera position almost never where (or even close to) optimal mic position. It does separate the mic from the camera so helps to eliminate/reduce mechanical noises like adjustments while shooting or “mutterings” by the operator!

Now, stepping off my soapbox, if you’re still on that path, then buy the best you can afford. RØDE NT4 or A-T 8022 are maybe pushing your budget but you might find a used one. Personally, I’ve owned both brands and slightly prefer AT products.

The other thing I found challenging with camera vs camcorders was they tend to have overheating problems, e.g. if you want to be able to set up and run continuously to capture an entire set. (My Sony cameras were actually limited to 30min or so, but the one wouldn’t run for an hour even if you restarted it before shutting down. My last Nikon was a 35mm in the early 70s!)

[Rudy4]

Originally Posted by guitargeorge

Looking for a mic I can attach to a Canon EOS 7D for recording videos of acoustic guitar playing. Any suggestions? In my search I have found several Rode video mics ranging in price new between $150.00 and $300.00. I like Rode mics (have owned 3 in the past) but I thought I would seek some advice.

I posted a topic recently about using a $25 Saramonic Smartrig preamp so I could use better external mics with my smartphone.

"Easy video recording with an Android phone"

Saramonic makes similar preamps with phantom power to connect to many other types of devices. You might want to think about using something like that to connect a better mic to your camera. The most important thing is to get the mic much closer to you than where the camera is positioned.

[guitargeorge]

Thank you for your replies, you both know a lot more than I do about this.

I was going to buy the Rode VideoMic NTG, which mounts to the camera, and thus limits where the mic is placed. ($250.00)

I have a Rode NTK that was modified by John Bonnell of Mic Mods. If you are not familiar with the NTK, it is a tube mic with it's own power supply. It really sounds great, but I never used it with a camera.

So I ordered a cable that can connect the Rode power supply to the camera. This mic is too big to be mounted on the camera. I will be able to move the mic to where I want it without moving the camera.

When I get the cable, I'll try it out and see how it sounds. I'll probably be back with more questions.

[keith.rogers]

A shotgun mic does not do what you probably think it does - that was one of the RØDE mics I had (NTG2 IIRC) and, again personally, these are not well suited to acoustic guitar recording. Yea, they can reduce ambient sounds that would enter a typical cardioid [pattern] mic but they don’t do much at all about unbalanced noises or rear reflections. If your space is that bad, you need to get closer with the mic(s), IME. If you actually have a good room, you’ll lose at least some of that with a shotgun mic. (They’re really designed/optimized for capturing voice in location shooting.)