Buying Advice - Wireless Microphone for beach wedding

[hasselblad]

I am shooting a wedding on the beach. I will be doing the photography. The bride and groom asked my wife to record the wedding on a HDSLR. She will be using two Canon 5D Mark IIIs.

My question: What kind of microfone setup should we buy to record the voice of the Bride + Broom + Officiant without getting the wind and the waves in the background. I don't want to have the cheapest solution but I don't want to spend a lot of money on it either.

My budget for the audio is $200-300USD.

Thanks a lot!!!

[Cornucopia]

I am going to suggest a different option: BOOM/Shotgun.

You see, just getting into the world of Wireless mikes at a decent quality level STARTS at ~$300, and that's just for 1 mike. If you were going for lavs, you would need one for each of the principles (bride, groom, officiant), because of the sensitivity of each isn't optimal (either omni or cardioid) for more than the main person. Plus you would have to mess with trying to put a mike pack on a bride during her time of stress, uncool. And then there's clothes rustle, etc.

If you were to go with a shotgun, you could place it on a stand low & beside the officiant facing up at an angle, or place it on a overhead boom facing down & forward. The polar pattern on the shotgun is such (supercardioid, hypercardioid, or "shotgun/line" pattern) that you can get a little farther away and it will still be sensitive enough for 2-3 people (if it's pointed correctly) while also rejecting the sound of the ocean & beach. Plus, it usually has a much fuller tone than equivalently-priced lavs. A half-way decent shotgun + boom + stand + sock can be gotten for ~$300.

MAKE SURE YOU PUT A WINDSOCK (aka dead cat fur) on the shotgun to cut down on the HUGE wind noise. And use the low-cut filter.

Scott

[MOVIEGEEK]

Good advice from Scott but here's a tutorial:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_Uml8y6Wg0

[hasselblad]

Scott,

Thanks so much for your advice!!!! Let me think about this!!! It does make sense!!!!