JK Mic-J 069 Headset Microphone: Cheap Headset Mic for Recording in Noisy Places

Lots of people have asked me what type of microphone would work well for recording lectures, public speeches, demonstrations, or sermons, especially in cases where there might be a lot of ambient sound and noise.

Headset microphones are one good way to make these types of recordings and in this episode, we take a look at an affordable headset microphone option: The JK Mic-J 069 Cardioid Headset microphone.

If you’d like to learn how to make great dialogue audio for your film and video projects, please have a look at my courses including processing dialogue audio, recording sound, how to use the Zoom F8 and F8n, and how to get the most from the Sound Devices MixPre series of recorders.

Links to gear used in this video:

JK Mic-J 069 (Amazon) Headset Microphone - for Sennheiser and RODE Wireless systems

JK Mic-J 069 (Amazon) Headset Microphone - for Zoom and Tascam recorders and most cameras

JK Mic-J 069 (Amazon) Headset Microphone - for Shure Wireless systems

JK Mic-J 069 (Amazon) Headset Microphone - for Audio Technica Wireless systems

JK Mic-J 069 (Amazon) Headset Microphone - for AKG and Samson Wireless systems

Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K - I used this to record most of this episode

Blackmagic Ursa Mini Pro - Used to shoot a couple of the b-roll shots

Aputure COB120dmkII (Amazon) - Key light in the talking head clips

Aputure Light Dome II (Amazon) - Newer version of the big soft box with faster setup and gel holder

Lupo Superpanel Full Color 30 - RGB 1x1 panel light for background in some of the shots

Panasonic 12-35mm F/2.8 OIS (Amazon) Lens - Used on the BMD Pocket Cine Camera 4K

Olympus 45mm f/1.8 (Amazon) Lens - Used on the BMD Pocket Cine Camera 4K

Copyright 2018 by Curtis Judd

Music Copyright 2018 by Cary Judd. Used with permission.

Sony ECM-674 Shotgun Microphone: Compared to RODE NTG2 & Deity S-Mic 2

Microphones in the $250 to $350 range are at a sweet spot between performance, sound quality, durability, and reasonable price. In this episode we take a closer look at the Sony ECM-674 shotgun microphone and compare it with the RODE NTG-2 and Deity S-Mic 2. All three of these microphones are shotgun style boom microphones with XLR balanced outputs. Let’s see how they compare.

If you’d like to learn how to make great dialogue audio for your film and video projects, please have a look at my courses at https://school.learnlightandsound.com including processing dialogue audio, recording sound, how to use the Zoom F8 and F8n, and how to get the most from the Sound Devices MixPre series of recorders.

Links to gear used in this video:

Sony ECM-674 (Amazon) Shotgun Microphone

RODE NTG-2 (Amazon) Shotgun Microphone - our review can be found here:

Deity S-Mic 2 (Amazon) Shotgun Microphone - our review can be found here:

Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K - I used this to record most of the product shots

Blackmagic Ursa Mini Pro - Used to shoot the talking head shots

Aputure COB120dmkII (Amazon) - Key light in the talking head clips

Aputure Light Dome II (Amazon) - Newer version of the big soft box with faster setup and gel holder

Lupo Superpanel Full Color 30 - RGB 1x1 panel light for Lighting Bridget

Came TV RGB Ringlight - Used to light the product shots on white background, review coming soon

Panasonic 12-35mm F/2.8 OIS (Amazon) Lens - Used on the BMD Pocket Cine Camera 4K

Olympus 45mm f/1.8 (Amazon) Lens - Used on the BMD Pocket Cine Camera 4K

Copyright 2018 by Curtis Judd

Music Copyright 2018 by Cary Judd. Used with permission.

Deity D3 Pro Shotgun Microphone

At NAB 2018, Deity Microphones made their debut and announced several new microphones for video and filmmakers. The D3 Pro is their new camera-top shotgun microphone but it has some features which make it stand out from many of the others on the market. First, it can automatically detect which type of 3.5mm input your recording device is using and adapts to work perfectly with that camera, phone, or audio recorder. And, with the D3 Pro Location kit, you can adapt the 3.5mm output to work with XLR based cameras and audio recorders.

Check for compatibility with your camera or phone.

If you’d like to learn how to make great dialogue audio for your film and video projects, please have a look at my courses including processing dialogue audio, recording sound, how to use the Zoom F8 and F8n, and how to get the most from the Sound Devices MixPre series of recorders.

Links to gear used in this video:

Deity V-Mic D3 Pro - Standard, camera-top kit

Deity V-Mic D3 Pro - Location kit which adds pistol grip shock mount and 3.5mm to XLR adapter

MiniRig 2 Bluetooth Speaker - used for the off-axis rejection test. I use this because it is small enough to move easily around the mic and at the same time, is able to produce bass down to about 50hz which is critical for the test.

Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K - I used this to record most of the product shots

Blackmagic Ursa Mini Pro - Use to shoot the talking head shots

Aputure COB120dmkII - Key light in the talking head clips

Aputure Light Dome II - Newer version of the big soft box with faster setup and gel holder

Lupo Superpanel Full Color 30 - RGB 1x1 panel light for Lighting Bridget

Moza Air 2 Gimbal - shown in the gimbal product shot - review coming soon

Came TV RGB Ringlight - Used to light the product shots on white background, review coming soon

Panasonic GH5 - Used in product shots and to record the audio in the silhouette sample clips

Panasonic 12-35mm F/2.8 Lens - Used on the GH5 and the BMD Pocket Cine Camera 4K

Olympus 45mm f/1.8 Lens - Used on the BMD Pocket Cine Camera 4K

Copyright 2018 by Curtis Judd

Music Copyright 2018 by Cary Judd. Used with permission.

Deity S-Mic 2 Shotgun Microphone: Initial Impressions

At NAB 2018, Deity Microphones announced their S-Mic 2, an affordable shotgun microphone targeted at independent filmmakers with some important improvements over the original Aputure Deity Shotgun Microphone. Deity refined the voicing on the S-Mic 2 for a fuller, more balanced sound. They also coated the circuit board to reduce the microphone’s self noise. Let’s take a closer look and a listen, and even compare it to the RODE NTG-4+, a similarly priced shotgun microphone, as well as a pro-level shotgun mic, the DPA 4017b.

Links to gear discussed and used to shoot this episode:

Deity S-Mic 2 Shotgun Microphone - Coming Soon, ships July 2018

Sound Devices 633 Audio Recorder/Mixer

Aputure COB 120d - This is the light I used as a key in the talking head clips

Aputure Light Dome Soft Box - Used to soften the key light

Panasonic GH5 - My favorite small camera for video

Panasonic 12-35mm f/2.8 OIS Lens - incredibly versatile lens that is on the GH5 most of the time

Copyright 2018 by Curtis Judd 

Music - Elegance in Entropy - Copyright 2017 by The Vacationist, used with permission

Sound for Video Session: ZOOM vs Sound Devices, Timecode Generators, Essential Gear & More

In this week’s sound for video session, we answer your questions!

00:40 Zoom F8 or Sound Devices MixPre-10T if I also record music?

03:29 Zoom F8n vs Sound Devices MixPre & getting location sound jobs

08:54 Choosing Timecode Generators: NanoLockit, Tentacle Sync E, Timecode Systems

13:12 Wired Lavalier recommendation (Audio Technica AT899)

14:01 Batteries for powering recorders with hirose power inputs

16:15 Recording audience at live performance

18:10 Essential gear for location sound

Previous episodes referenced - Sound Bag Tour:

Recording live performance sound with Mike Stranks:

Ambient Sound NanoLockit:

Tentacle Sync E:

Timecode Systems Overview:

Sound Blanekts:

Gear and links discussed/used to record this episode: 

Audio Technica AT899 Wired Lavalier microphone

JuiceBox V-Mount Battery & Charger

D-Tap to Hirose Adapter Cable

Electrovoice RE20 Dynamic Broadcast Microphone - used to record this session

Blackmagic Design Ursa Mini Pro Camera - Used for the talking head clips

AJA U-Tap SDI - Turns any camera with an SDI output into a webcam. Used to record the talking head clip

Sound Devices 633 Audio Recorder/Mixer - Used this as the preamp for the microphone and then fed the audio to the camera in this episode

Copyright 2018 by Curtis Judd

Outro music licensed from Artlist: Sunday by Young Rich Pixies - Amazing Journey. Artlist provides high quality music tracks for your film and video projects. You can receive two months off an Artlist account by using our link.

Deity Microphones NAB 2018

Last year, Aputure made their first serious shotgun microphone for independent filmmakers called the Deity. It was an impressive first design with a decent sound and the ability to withstand water exposure. But now they've decided to get more serious by spinning off their microphone business so that the Deity team can focus 100% on sound.

In our interview, Andrew covers the S-Mic, D3, and D3-Pro shotgun microphones, Deity's first three models.

Gear covered and used to shoot this episode:

Deity S-Mic Coming Summer 2018

Deity D3 Coming Summer 2018

Deity D3-Pro Coming Summer 2018

RODE Reporter Microphone - Amazingly good dynamic reporter's mic for about $130

RODE iXLR Adapter - Record a dynamic XLR microphone to iPhone or iPad

Panasonic GH5 Camera - My main "event shooter" small camera. Love the in-body image stabilization

Panasonic 12-35mm f/2.8 OIS Lens - incredibly versatile lens that is on the GH5S most of the time

Copyright 2018 by Curtis Judd 

Music - MzA by Cary Judd, used with permission.

Better Sound for Your Videos: Basics for Sound Newbies

How can you make your videos sound better? Here’s a quick overview for newbies who just want better sound but aren’t really interested in becoming a sound expert. 1) Get the microphone close to the person speaking. 2) Choose the right kind of microphone. Boom mics sound more natural but lavaliers allow the flexibility of moving around more. See the videos below to help you choose the right mic for you, and if you choose a boom mic, how to boom it close to the person speaking.

My recommended microphones and how to boom a mic for not too much money:

RODE VideoMic Pro+ boom/shotgun microphone - Incredibly convenient, flexible, and good sounding microphone

Aputure A.Lav Lavalier Microphone - the best sub $40 microphone I have found

RODE VC1 Extension cable for when you boom your camera-top shotgun microphone.

How to boom a microphone like the RODE VideoMic Pro:

3 camera top shotgun microphones compared:

6 Affordable Lavalier Microphones compared:

5 Indoor Boom Microphones compared:

5 Shotgun Microphones compared:

3 Professional Indoor Dialogue Boom Microphones compared:

3 Affordable Indoor Dialogue Boom Microphones compared:

Panasonic GH5S (My current favorite small camera)

Panasonic 12-35mm f/2.8 OIS Lens - incredibly versatile lens that is on the GH5S most of the time

Copyright 2018 by Curtis Judd

Zoom F1 Audio Field Recorder

Zoom’s new F1 is a tiny audio field recorder which works well in place of a wireless lavalier system but can also be used as a camera-top shotgun or “wireless” shotgun microphone. Here’s our overview of the Zoom F1.

Thanks to B&H for lending us the F1 for this overview.

Links to gear discussed and used to record this session:
Zoom F1 (with lavalier microphone)

Zoom F1 (with shotgun microphone)

32GB microSDHC Card (you’ll need one, not included with the F1. This'll give you over 30 hours record time at 48kHz, 24 bit)

Mic Stand Adapter (I used this to mount the shotgun mic configuration on a regular 5/8” mic stand)

Voice Technologies VT500 Lavalier Microphone (this does NOT come with the F1)

Panasonic GH5S (My current favorite small camera)

Panasonic 12-35mm f/2.8 OIS Lens - incredibly versatile lens that is on the GH5S most of the time

Copyright 2018 by Curtis Judd

80K Giveaway Winner!

Thanks to everyone who entered the drawing to celebrate 80K subscribers! The lucky winner of the drawing was DAZ Studio - congratulations!

A big thanks again to Aputure for generously supplying the Deity microphone for DAZ.

If you'd like to see our review of the Aputure Deity Shotgun Microphone, have a look here:

Thanks to EVERYONE for your support and encouragement!

Thank You Giveaway: Aputure Deity Shotgun Microphone

Congratulations to DAZ Studio, the winner of the giveaway and happy new owner of an Aputure Deity Shotgun microphone! Thanks to everyone who entered the drawing and to Aputure for their generous gift!

Our Light and Sound YouTube community just hit 80,000 subscribers - thank you! Our good friends over at Aputure have offered to give away a Deity shotgun microphone to celebrate. To enter the drawing, all you need to do is subscribe to my channel and Aputure's channel using the form above. Don't worry if you're already subscribed, this will just enter you into the drawing.

We reviewed the Deity microphone last year and found it to be a really versatile and dependable mic. If you don't have an XLR-based microphone, this will be a great start. If you already do, this will be a nice addition to your kit. 

Thanks for all your support and encouragement! Get out there and make some great sound.