Hi Everyone.

I don't know a lot at all about shotgun microphones, but I think that's what I need in this situation.

I'm doing video blogs like this....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HXmKLlTMgNE&feature=youtu.be
(by the way this was done with the EOS M)

...you can tell that the machines in the background are noisy, and kind of mess with my audio. 

You might say "turn off the machines", but it's not that simple.  They need to be running 9-5, and I don't want to work after dinner.

So first - is a shotgun mic my best bet?  If so, is there something decent in the $100 range?  I'm just doing video blogs with it, so it doesn't have to be killer.  Just able to single out my voice better than an onboard mic.

Thoughts?

Possibly....probably not another room, but maybe at the end of the day.

Can you recommend a lavalier mic that has a cord?  Probably a lot less expensive.

You'd almost be better off with the Rode Videomic shotgun mic than a $22 lav... I'd just about guarantee that the above linked mic won't sound very good...

Not really.  The Rode Videomic being a shotgun is unlikely to help in his situation.  The high noise being reflected from the walls, floor, and ceiling is at way to high a level for the side rejection of a shotgun to work effectively.  A shotgun mic works best primarily outdoors or in wide open interiors like on stage, large ballrooms, or in smaller interiors with plenty of sound deadening (carpets, wall drapes, etc).

bgray:  Check this out, inexpensive and seems to have mostly good reviews.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/89741-REG/Azden_EX_503_EX_503_Lavalier_Mic.html

While I don't have his noise levels to contend with if there's a TV going in the other end of the house I can hear it on the audio track using my Audio Technica AT897 shotgun mic, so I just ordered a used Rode NT3 cardioid mic for use indoors.

Not really.  The Rode Videomic being a shotgun is unlikely to help in his situation. 

There's enough going on with the workbench and machinery to deflect sound around the room, and a decent shotgun would improve the audio here. The subject is sitting in a machine shop, of course there's going to be noise. It's not perfect, of course, and a good lav (countryman b6, for example) run to a Zoom would be even better. But that blows his budget right out of the water.

But I personally wouldn't recommend any Azden product to be used professionally, ever. I've been forced to use them before, and it was a nightmare. Horribly thin sound, poor range on receivers, etc. Not worth the savings in my opinion.

My honest, really really real recommendation for BGray would be to go with whatever sub-$100 lav makes him happy, run Tragic Lantern for full manual audio control, and deal with the fact that recording the best audio requires working after 5 pm.  This, of course, is why I don't have too many friends. 







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