Wireless Lav Mics?

[FowlersFreeTime]

Trying to cut down on the echo in my kitchen videos, I am thinking of abandoning my Rode Video Micro "shotgun" style mic in favor of a lavalier microphone. Wireless is a plus since I have 3 mischievous cats in the house and since I am filming inside, I don't need wireless signal for long distances. The two I am looking at so far are:

1. Rode Wireless Go $225
2. Synco Wireless Lav $99

I like the small receivers which clip into the hot/cold shoe on the camera. This should be easy to balance on my gimbal too. Of the two, I might save some coin and go for the cheaper Synco unit. Thoughts?

What is everyone else using for audio on their Sony cameras?

 

[Ivanturas]

Got the Boya WM4, it's compact, slides onto the cam's h/c shoe, but not quite reliable. That Synco might be alright in terms of quality and as much as you need in terms of coverage... but you have to check how steady the transmission is. My Boya drops transmission every few mins, during just a beat, but that's already enough to mess the whole thing.

 

[FowlersFreeTime]

Ohh thank you for the warning! I have a Boya shotgun mic as a backup, and I had heard good things about it, so I assumed anything from Boya would be good.

 

[Ivanturas]

I mean, don't get me wrong, sound quality is pretty good... it's just those damn drops every now and then. It also happens more often in the city than when I'm outdoors, so it could be some frequency overlapping; haven't had the time to "debug" properly, and frankly, it still shouldn't happen on any reliable kit.

 

[FowlersFreeTime]

I mean, don't get me wrong, sound quality is pretty good... it's just those damn drops every now and then. It also happens more often in the city than when I'm outdoors, so it could be some frequency overlapping; haven't had the time to "debug" properly, and frankly, it still shouldn't happen on any reliable kit.

Yeah, I expect the Synco may have similar problems at a distance. Maybe I will bite the bullet and get the Rode

 

[Ivanturas]

And not even "at a distance"... I could stand a couple meters away (about 6ft) and it would happen. Then again, out in the open dropping is rare, even when way farther.
That's why my guess is Boya uses a frequency that's just way too congested under urban/suburban conditions.

 

[santoso.video]

I've seen videos where cheaper wireless solutions cut out when the signal is going through the persons body. Deal breaker!

 

[FowlersFreeTime]

I've seen videos where cheaper wireless solutions cut out when the signal is going through the persons body. Deal breaker!

I guess you get what you pay for!
Thanks for the feedback!

 

[FowlersFreeTime]

In the end, budget decided for me and I bought the Synco. I'll be charging that up and testing it this weekend to give a review for anyone interested.

 

[Ivanturas]

Let us know!

 

[Jeff A]

Me too!

 

[FowlersFreeTime]

Initial impressions from filming this weekend with the Synco Wireless Lav:

• I clipped the wireless transmitter to the top corner of my cooking apron, just below shirt collar, no deadcat
• The audio levels on screen showed I had to lower the mic volume in settings to prevent clipping (I think I ended up at 15 or 16 in volume settings)
• Battery life was good: I filmed off and on for 2 hours and, near as I can tell, had more than 1/2 battery left.

I'll edit that video and post it up by this weekend.

 

[Tim Mayo]

Sorry I'm a bit late to the party here! I have the Rode Wireless Go and bought it to cut down on the reverb I was getting from my shotgun mics when recording indoors, it did the job!

 

[garuda]

I have a Sennheiser wireless & a Sony wired w lap mic. Both work fine for me.

 

[FowlersFreeTime]

Just as an update, I have found the Synco Wireless system to be adequate for my purposes: single camera, single subject, indoors, short recording time.

I began by using just the transmitter clipped to my apron at a volume level of 15 in my a6400's settings. However, I now connect a lav mic to that transmitter and lowered the camera's volume setting to 8. This seems to work well. In video editing software I usually limit my mic track to -6db.

The battery life is not as good as I initially thought, and I now make sure they are charged up 100% before recording a video. It seems that the transmitter battery wears down faster than the receiver for some reason.

Since my original post, there is now a Rode Wireless Go II on the market. If I was doing interviews and/or more professional work, I think I would pick that one. But the cheaper Synco unit is good enough for my youtube hobby needs.

 

[Ivanturas]

I'd LOVE a Wireless Go II set! However, I can't justify the expense ATM. Those Synco seem like a good choice!