Best Mic for Interviews

Hmm kind of a broad question.  What kind of interviews?  Indoors or outdoors?  Whats your budget?

For most dialogue or interviews your going to want to find a hyper cardioid mic, and then put it on a boom and get it about a foot from your subject.  The Octava MK 012 is a good hyper cardioid that is not too expensive, but your going to need a boom and some protection for it. 
Rycote Softy is a pretty cheap fur coat that you can put on it without having to buy a blimp housing, but it still could pick up some wind noise. 
Also, I would recommend a shock mount for your boom pole so that tiny movements wont cause unwanted noises. 
You can buy a stand for the boom too, so that you do not have to have someone standing there holding the boom the entire time.

Not sure what camera you are using, but if it is an SLR, then I would recommend buying an external recording device for 24 bit audio.  The Zoom H4n is one of the more popular ones. 
Monitor it with some headphones to make sure it sounds good and your set. 


Also I would recommend finding some tutorials or something on how to capture good audio.  Most amateur filmmakers struggle to capture quality audio and it is one of the harder things to do. 

Hope that helped.

I am doing a video campaign for a company called Woodinville Whiskey Co. out of Seattle. Gonna shoot kind of a "day in the life" of one of the owners, followed by a series of weekly video blogs. All of the interviews will be indoors, I have heard about the H4n and I am definitely considering one-online tutorials will be a must. I am shooting with a 7d and T2i. How close does the H4n have to be to its subject in order to pickup the sound? Thanks for the help!

I work in a media hub that rents out equipment and I've found that the lapel (shirt clip) mics and the wireless lapel mics go out a lot more often then the boom mics due to ease of use.  Your camera will need a mic port, or you can use the Zoom like he mentioned before.  I've used a Zoom multiple times and been really happy with the results. 

Agree with the above post that knowing more about what, where, and who you are shooting, camera type, and how many people will help.

Rode videomic pro is great for T2i's with magic lantern. Thats about all I know as far as audio

Sorry we must have posted at the same time.  The H4N Zoom has a lot of different options, so you can get a little bit away and still pick up good audio but if there is background noise that you don't want too you would have to be closer. 

We just got the Zoom and already have it figured out.  It's pretty simple to use once you get the initial hang of it.

What camera are you shooting with?

T2i and 7d

skiphotographer dan carr recently posted this review on his website, i think it might interest you...

Snag a zoom h4n

Tascam DR100 is better

You have mentioned that before... definitely leaning towards it. As a scenario example(since I know nothing about it), I am interviewing two guys indoors do I just place it on the ground or somewhere next to them and let it do its job? Also, what does the h4n get me that the Zoom H1 can't?

From my experiences, a zoom h4n works well however you definitely need a dead cat with it. I also really like the sound of a rode mic into the h4n.

You can attach it to lav mics and it works wonders.

Lav mic recommendations?

This is actually what I ordered, but I just said the h4n because of its possibility. 

You do not want to be using a super cardioid indoors (shotgun mic).  Thats not what they are for, so if the interviews are indoors (as you said), I would recommend picking up a hyper cardioid (like the Octava I suggested), or even just a normal decently priced cardioid would be much better than a shotgun mic indoors.  They are intended for that.


As for distance, its kind of all about hearing it real time through microphones. Think of it this way though, closer than a foot might be too close, but if your 2 feet away or further, well then you would be fired if you were the boom man. 

Thanks for help, tascam or h4n I guess? is the h1n even worth considering?

A lot of people that go with the tascam love it. The reason I ended up purchasing it is because I read from a creditable person on DVX User that he ended up switching to it from the h4n. Plus I saved $100 or so on one.

Looks like an informative video, thanks.

I will vouch for the Tascam. The H4n is very overrated in my opinion.