Suggestion for Canon camera mic for sopranos?

StephanieM

New member
I am looking for a mic that will attach to my Canon T5i camera. The mic will be used to record YouTube videos for classical singing competitions. The video will be recorded in our home and the mic be 10-15 feet away. Is there a mic you could recommend for this purpose that is under $500 US?

I asked the same question to the B&H Photo support team, except that I asked them to keep it under $300. They suggested the Rode NTG2 Condenser Shotgun Microphone Kit which costs $299.95. After doing some research I thought the RØDE VideoMic Pro or Senal SCS-98 might be good for this application. Are any of these good choices?

Rode NTG2 Condenser Shotgun Microphone Kit B&H Photo Video

Just spoke with a Rode sales rep and he suggested the Rode Stereo VideoMic Pro Rycote. He said that this mic would give a more accurate representation of the vocals than a shotgun mic.

Thank you,
Stephanie
 
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I wouldn't record through the camera at all. I would grab a good USB interface, record through some DAW to egt the sound right. Synchronize the video and the audio (like with a snap to get them aligned). Bring them into a video editor (or many DAWs allow you to bring in video, like Reaper), get the two aligned and adjusted, render.

If you get get the USB interface, your mic choices are wide open. Just a thought.
 
Camera audio isn't generally too good. It's best to record on something made for audio. I do live music performance videos and I use a Zoom H5 to capture audio, then put it all in Magix Vegas to sync it up. That also gives me an opportunity to do a bit of audio processing like eq and leveling.
 
Thank you bouldersoundguy for your suggestion. I was hoping to just buy a mic to improve the sound quality. From what you are saying I would need the Zoom H5 video recorder, a mic and the Magix Vegas application to merge the sound and the video together. There seems to be a lot for me to learn, e.g. merging the video and audio and especially the post processing of the audio. Would you have any recommendations on how I can learn more about this setup?

Thanks again,
Stephanie
 
Thank you DM60 for your response. I’m a novice at making recordings, so forgive me if I am asking the obvious. What is a DAW and what is the USB interface suppose to go to? Is it expensive to hire a video editor? My daughter has a number of competitions that she enters and I was hoping to keep the costs low by buying the right equipment and making the recordings myself. This is what I've been doing, but the recordings are not the best.

As a side note, I have noticed that all of the competitors from one production company from New York sounded especially good. This can be an issue because as the kids get older, the competitions use the youtube videos as a first cut and then they audition in person for the next phase. So you want the audio to be a fair representation of the vocal quality. I guess this would only be an issue if you post processed the audio?

Thanks again for your suggestion,
Stephanie
 
Honestly, you could probably get away with a mic on the camera. But there are definite advantages to recording the audio into a separate device. You don't need a portable recorder if you're at home and you can record straight into a computer. A USB mic would be one way to do that. Software like Magix Vegas Movie Studio might get the job done.
 
Thanks again boulder sound guy, I really appreciate your help. I was actually wondering if I could try recording with the mic alone. I think I'll start with the Rode Stereo VideoMic Pro and learn how to boom the mic to get it as close to my daughter as possible. If at a later time I wanted to record directly into my computer, can I use the mic input on my iMac or do I need a USB adapter such as the "Audio-Technica Consumer ATR2USB 0.13" (3.5 mm) to USB Audio Adapter"?

Thanks again for your help,
Stephanie
 
If the mic is the type with a 1/8" TRS, like a mini headphone plug, it "might" work on your computer soundcard's input. Generally speaking, a mic with a standard XLR output connected to a USB interface is a more reliable way to get sound into the computer.

To sync up separate audio and video, just clap or make some other sharp sound just before or just after the performance, then match the external audio to the camera audio visually using the waveform display in the software. The sharp sound will be visible in both audio tracks.
 
The camera is very rarely ever the right place for the microphone for a sound source that has a natural acoustic quality, like a choir - so 100% support the concept of separate recorders for image and sound.
 
Hi bouldersoundguy,

The Rode VideoMic Pro Rycote that I was considering has a 1/8” TRS plug connector, which I think can plug directly into my Canon T5i or (hopefully) my iMac. Besides reliability, does the 1/8” TRS connector have any other disadvantages when compared to the XLR connector? I am leaning toward recording audio separately in the future based on your input, so perhaps I need to find a mic with a XLR output.

Thank you also for the syncing tip. I will have to remember that in the future.

Thanks so much for all of your help,
Stephanie
 
Hi Rob,
I think I may have to conquer my fear of recording audio and video separately in order to get the best result. Post-processing the audio is what I find most intimidating.

Thank you for your feedback,
stephanie
 
Hi Stephanie,
I'd either go with a condenser microphone designed for the camera (based on reviews and hearing the thing in action),
a USB interface and condenser microphone of your choice,
or a handheld recorder with built in microphones. (Tascam DR** for example)


I would definitely avoid pairing any microphone up with the onboard audio card in your computer. That's a recipe for hiss/hum/buzz etc.

I used a Tascam DR40 for a few youtube videos a while back and had no issues.
If portability is a concern, that might be a good way to go.
 
From your brief description (recording sopranos) the singing is the most important part of the recording and needs to be treated as such. The key is to get the mic in nice and close. Whether you do this with extension cables or shooting "double system" ie. with a separate recorder, you want your mic much closer than 10 or 15 feet away. The very short extension poles some mic models provide won't do much.

A quick hint: if you do shoot double system, there's a very useful phone app (free) called Digislate that'll make synchronising you audio and video much easier.
 
Hi Steenamaroo,

Thanks for the caution about recording directly into the computer. I will look into the Tascam DR** combo recorder/mics, it sounds like a good option. Maybe a trip to a local store is in order. There are so many configurations to consider.

Thanks again for your input,
Stephanie
 
Hi bouldersoundguy,

Looks like I need to do more research on mics. I did’t realize there was such a thing as an unbalanced mic. Fortunately I haven’t ordered the Rode mic yet. I will do some more research and find a mic with an XLR output.

Thanks so much for all of your advice,
Stephanie
 
Hi Bobbsy,
You’re definitely right, the singing is the most important part of the recording. I will definitely try to get the mic as close as possible. I was looking at the LyxPro TMS-1 Tripod Boom Floor Microphone Stand listed on Amazon. The height is adjustable up to 66” and the boom length is 29 3/8”. I think this should be sufficient because she’s currently 5 feet and probably won’t grow much more than 2 - 3 more inches.

Thanks also for the digislate tip. It never occurred to me that I could use a phone app to do the synchronizing.

Thank you for all of your help,
Stephanie
 
As others say, get good audio first, then sync with the video. There are quite a few hand-held digital recorders with decent built-in mics. And having a mic closer than 10 feet should sound a lot better. Make a sharp noise with something seen in the video and then mute the original camera audio and drop in the better audio. You may need an audio editor to tweak the sound but don't clip anything out of the recording or it won't sync! Audacity is free and may work. I use Pinnacle studio for my simple video edits, but there are lots of others.
 
I am looking for a mic that will attach to my Canon T5i camera. The mic will be used to record YouTube videos for classical singing competitions. The video will be recorded in our home and the mic be 10-15 feet away. Is there a mic you could recommend for this purpose that is under $500 US?

No - an on-camera mic. is the very worst thing you can do.

Use a stereo pair or stereo mic. at the proper distance to record properly and keep it away from the camera.

A stereo mic. on a camera should NEVER be done as the stereo image moves and shfts as you move the camera - also - an on-camera mic. will pick up nasty noises forn the camera and operator.

As it's a music recording there will be no problem if you have a mic. in shot - it's almost expected.

And as the sound is far more important than the pictures, you should not skimp on doing the bes sound you can.

(or am I the only one who spends £10k on mics and £200 on the camera?) :thumbs up:
 
My question is different. 10-15ft? What accompaniment is there? If it's simply voice, then the recording format and device is irrelevant because the sound of the room will overwhelm any small technical issues of the camera? If the room sounds lovely, then move on and then look at the camera. Auto gain? Your fff sections and your ppp sections might end up as f to p?? Do you really want that sudden crescendo to be evened out?

If you are recording piano as an accompaniment instrument then your difficulties increase. A soloist and piano require the acoustics and microphone placement to be really accurate, so they work together and don't fight. If the piano is offset to one side, then you need to move the camera - will the stereo mic give the right sound when pointing straight at the singer? Or maybe if it needs to point halfway between the two sources, will that look good?

Unless it is solo singing in a gorgeous room, then you need more kit, more editing time and skill and experience - or it will be a total mess. None of the rooms in my house, or my colleague's, sound good enough to record in. They sound boxy and have nasty reflections from 4 parallel walls and a hard ceiling. Yuk!
 
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