Trust is a funny thing. It needs to be earned, but allowing it to be earned means taking a chance on someone or something to see if, yes, they can be trusted.
Sound for video for me is a constant battle.
I have options, lots of options, but sometimes I just do not have the answer.
The hole in my game as a lone shooter, is when I need two reliable sound recordings (to guarantee one) with a moving or distant subject. I have to control video, lighting and sound, so doubling my sound streams at the camera end is just too much to juggle.
A shotgun mic needs proximity and direction, which limits shooting options. If it is the sync track it’s no big deal, but if it is to be the “A” track and the subject drifts or turns away, you a left with massive level variance, or nothing usable at all.
I have two wireless LAV options, the Hollyland M1 (white) and M2 (black) mics, but they are consumer grade and I have been caught out once or twice (wind, clarity, volume, range-possibly interference) and sometimes their placement, which is convenient, but not very stealthy, is problematic.
They also need watching and have limited and vague controls (3 sound levels, one using a simple -/+ button with no indicator). These are excellent, simple and effective for interviews in controlled environments, or as the reserve, with shotguns as the primary.
So, control, quality and reliability (range and signal) without on-the-go attention required.
32 bit Float fixes control.
With 32 bit float anything that can be heard can be picked up from a shout to a whisper, without distortion or degradation (within reason-everything gets recorded), especially wind clipping. Indeed many 32 bit float units lack a volume control at all as levels at the recording end are effectively irrelevant.
This also means that one mic can be used to cover two or more people in an intimate conversation, such as exchanging vows, a conversation in a car etc, or I could even use it sat in front of a load speaker to record an event and sync later with on camera sound.
To get truly reliable wireless LAV transmitters would require the Sony or Sennheisser units that are relatively bulky thanks to their antenna, still have to be plugged into something at the receiving end and are usually not 32 bit. Not to be ignored is the over $1000au cost per unit or the fact they are still range limited.
The easiest fix is a 32 bit float, body worn LAV recorder.
Float fixes the control issue, body worn removes wireless range and signal reliability concerns and effectively make range irrelevant (you could shoot a person inside a car or building, on the far side of a noisy group or even at maximum visual range).
This means I only need consider battery life, secure screw in mic connectors, a locking mechanism and something easily worn/hidden.
The Zoom F2 recorder has always been on my radar, but the cost of a single unit has usually been prohibitive ($350au per unit, dear enough to look at top end cordless units). I just picked one up new (in white) for $175au and it is the Blue Tooth version that I would probably not otherwise have bothered with.
The provided LAV mic is fine, not spectacular, but that can be fixed later with a (Diety W.Lav Pro or Sanken Cos-11). I also have a matching black mic from my F1 kit.
Not the Blue Tooth version shown above, which I probably would not have bothered with, except it was free.
The main things, control and reliability are now sorted, quality is workable and size, well it is smaller than some camera batteries.
I have the Zoom F1 already that could also be used as a worn LAV recorder, but annoyingly the battery door is broken and my fix, a magnetic power pack*, is not wearable and it is already twice the size of the F2 . It is also not 32 bit float, so I would be nervous until the results were “in the can”.
It is however one of my best shotgun options as it can record internally, it has an analogue volume control, the excellent SSH-6 mid/side shotgun capsule, small footprint and excellent shock mount, so it is probably best applied that way anyway.
My second LAV option, probably worn by an interviewer, a more clued-in wearer, is my H1n or I guess any “H” series depending on space.
This is the missing link, the reliable and easily used LAV I have been waiting for to support my already strong on-or-to camera mic range.
*The problematic F1 will be fixed properly by running a C-type cable from my V-Mount battery on the big rig, but I cannot run that to the camera because there is loop feedback, so it becomes the backup to a plugged-in to camera mic. I could get a cable from the RigidPro to the F1, but don’t really need to.