When shooting video, sound tends to be the last thing to be addressed and the practitioner then realises it is the most important and most involved. It is effectively another hobby or skill set.
The old axiom “sound is half of video” is partly correct. The reality is poor sound kills video dead, better sound lifts it, at a minimum balanced sound is a must, not an option.
If I had to recommend one mic to a mixed format videographer it would probably be the Zoom SSH-6 mid/side shotgun on your choice of Zoom device (several available). The device will determine the overall quality and functionality as well as the form factor.
The reason I would choose this mic capsule is its versatility, which ties directly into the other thing you need, a decent interface.
The mic is a warm, clear and sensitive shotgun mic, meaning it can be pointed at one or two people over 1-2m range and reject sound to the side, or it can have some or a lot of the ambient sound recorded to add a feeling of place, a larger group, an orchestra, band or event. This can even be done “RAW”, so you can balance it later. It just seems to often be my first choice or my first backup every job.
I have used it to cover four person round table panel or an interviewer (out of shot) and main subject in front. The mid-side option also reduces echo and some other ambient effects, which pure shotgun mics can suffer from.
It really is a versatile and high quality mic.
Put it on the F1 (with a shock mount) and you have a useable on-camera option, with secondary recording, handy volume control and many other options like limiters low cut.
On the H5 it is a hand held recorder with even more options, on the H6 and H8 and it is the backup/alternative recorder to other specialist mics (which on using I have occasionally preferred).
There are even more options, but I am not familiar with them.
So, why more mics?
My day bag at the paper was multi purposed so tended to be cramped. The Sennheiser MKE-400 was an attempt to match the base quality of the SSH as a shotgun with something compact and easy to use.
In this role it excelled.
The compact form factor includes a decent wind “blimp” and a built in shock mount and the included wind sock with applied low pass filter are decently effective wind mitigators. Sound is excellent and reasonably directional. It is not as tight as the SSH on “0” width, but it allows for decent directional control and good rejection of unwanted side noise. For general news paper use, I found it about perfect in rejection. A lot of voice, a little ambient.
The mic was also cleverly set up, with front mounted cables, a short back end and the above innovations. The shock mount was very effective, the wind blimp/sock had its limits*, but most do and the camera could lay on its back with the mic in the hot-shoe.
The missing link was a bit of reach with a more directional mic.
I have used the F1 and H5 with a long 3.5 lead to the SSH and could do the same with the MKE-400, but neither offered a true cordless option** and I do not want to rely on or overly like LAV mics. To my ear they sound flat (in the price point I can afford), nor do I trust their reliability either technically or as a worn option, not regularly anyway. They are also usually limited to two people and a need to control the space.
The MKE-400 with an XLR adapter worked well with the Lekato XLR wireless units which sowed a seed, but it was a bit of a mess and the mic is not ideal for booming.
I decided I needed a true wireless directional shotgun, not as a constant option, but an option none the less. The main thing is it must have battery power to work with the Lekato, which quickly narrowed the field.
The Synco Mic-D1 floated to the top as a good cheap and specialised mic. The D1 became elusive and my resolve to go with a more respected option sent me hurtling towards an old favourite, the Sennheiser MKE-600.
The 600 is not as useful as the 400 in a day bag kit or on a small rig, nor is it as versatile as the SSH-6, but it offers at least as good side rejection as any in its class.
It is only a half level below the MKH-416 industry standard boom shotgun, which puts it in genuinely professional company.
So, the justification for the three;
The MKE-400 provides a more than decent go-anywhere mic straight to camera or 3.5 interface, has three volume levels and is all “forward facing”, which helps with on-camera use. It is a perfect all-in-one on camera package, but fairly limited because of that.
This mic is all about a capable shotgun, something many brands do well, but with clever thinking to push up the list. Combined, they make for a very handy option.
The SSH-6 offers a versatile capsule mic on a Zoom device, add another dimension with mid-side recording and seamless and tactile volume control. Still the versatility king, it requires a Zoom interface connected to it, so it does remote recording fine, but needs synching later (there is an extension cable available, but I rejected this as a limited and expensive option). It is cumbersome on camera and impractical as a bag mic. It does make an ideal back-up as the interface units can record a separate track.
The tactile volume control, best option available for run-n-gun use, the mid-side mics, combined with its greatest strength (or weakness), of direct connectivity to a Zoom device make this a unique shotgun. On its own it is a contender and if you own the Zoom device already, it is very cheap for its quality.
The MKE-600 offers a clean, XLR or wireless capable, focussed and highly directional interview mic. This is the pro interviewers choice. It is bulky on camera and very long. It does not come with a true dead “critter”, so I have ordered the Rode WS7, which seems to be a favourite.
The least versatile, so most specialised. Battery power makes all the difference and justifies the slightly higher price than competitors, turning this XLR based unit into a very versatile option.
This is of course only one type of mic and I have others, but it is proving to be the most important for general video use, the others more specialised.
*turns out my best wind rejector is the Zoom XYH-5 capsule and dead gerbil, which makes little sense.
**without synching audio later.