Finally ditching my G85 internal mic for a friend's wedding in two weeks. I looked at the Rode VideoMic Pro but heard the Sennheiser MKE 400 handles Lumix preamps way better and now I'm just confused. My budget is $200 tops. Does anyone actually know which one is cleaner for these specific bodies?
Wait, before you buy anything, are you mostly gonna be shooting the ceremony from a distance or running around the reception? It makes a huge difference! Weddings are tricky so here is how to save money:
Late to the party but I gotta chime in on the budget side of things. Since you're doing a wedding, be careful with those internal preamps because they can hiss like crazy if you dont keep the camera gain way down. Honestly, if you want to save some cash and still get great sound, you might want to consider the Deity V-Mic D3 Pro Super-Cardioid Microphone. It has a step-less gain knob which is a lifesaver for fine-tuning levels on the fly. I would suggest checking if you can find it on sale, it usually sits well under your 200 dollar limit. Just make sure to double check your battery levels before the ceremony starts because it really sucks to lose audio mid-vows... stick with something that has its own gain control to keep the camera signal path clean. It saves you enough cash for extra accessories too.
> Does anyone actually know which one is cleaner for these specific bodies? Man, I totally get the pre-wedding jitters! I once shot a ceremony where my audio cut out halfway through because of a cheap cable... honestly it was the most stressful day of my life! Ever since then I only go for gear that feels absolutely bulletproof. For my Lumix setup, I absolutely love the Shure VP83 LensHopper. It is a total beast! The best part is that +20dB gain switch on the back. Basically, you just drop your cameras internal gain to the lowest possible setting and let the Shure do the heavy lifting. It makes the audio so crisp and amazing without any of that nasty background hiss! If you are worried about batteries dying mid-reception, you should definitely look at the Rode VideoMic GO II. It is super tiny and doesnt even need a battery! It runs right off the cameras plug-in power. I use it all the time because it is just so foolproof and reliable. Seriously, knowing it wont die on you while they are swapping rings is such a huge relief... definitely worth considering for the peace of mind alone!