What is the Best Type of Lavalier Mic for Filming?

Planning a film shoot requires a lot of careful consideration. Not just about the important shots and set elements to consider. But also equipment. Lavalier mics are incredibly important on set. Especially if you’re filming interviews, character dialogue, or really in any situation on set where you need crisp, clear audio and you don’t want a microphone to be seen in your shot. Whether you’re planning a shoot and preparing to shop for necessary equipment. Or you’re just interested in what others are using on their sets. What is the best type of lavalier mic for filming? 

At Beverly Boy Productions we spend the majority of our time on film sets. As a full-scale video production company that provides a variety of filmmaking and production services to clients of all sizes and statures.

We like to think we know a thing or two about what works best on film sets.

With more than 20 years experience and film crews operating worldwide, we’ve had our share of experience with different equipment and tools.

So, to help you decide what the best type of lavalier mic is for filming on your set, we’ve put together this guide to picking a lav mic.

Considerations

Once you’ve chosen a lav mic to use on set, you really only have two primary considerations to make. How to attach it to your subject, and how to connect it to your recording device.

As such, you’ll probably want to be thinking about these things ahead of time, as you’re shopping around for the best lavalier mic for your filming needs. So, just keep these two things in mind throughout your shopping.

What is a Lavalier Mic?

If you’re not even sure what a lavalier mic, or lav mic, is, then you’re probably already a bit confused at all of this. The lav mic is a small, compact microphone that can be attached to the actor’s body or their clothing and used to capture dialogue and sounds.

Lavalier mics are available in both wired and wireless options, and generally feature a small clip that can be used to attach the microphone to the actor’s pocket, belt, or other articles of clothing.

Of course, in doing so, there’s always a risk that the lavalier mic will also pick up on sounds that are made by the fabric rustling when the actor moves or on other nearby sounds.

So it’s important for an experienced professional to assist with the placement of the microphone. This is generally where your audio engineer comes in on set.

Best Types of Lavalier Mics

So, what are the best types of lavalier mics for filming? That’s really going to depend on a variety of factors. Remember, you want to consider both the placement and the connection of your lav mic to your recording device.

Keep these factors in mind while you shop around for the best lav mics for your filming needs. 

To help you choose the best types of lavalier mics for filming, we’ve come up with a couple of options for each budget level that could potentially work out for your film shoot.

For example:

• Best Low Budget Lav Mics – These are ideal for filming social media clips at home, or for starter interviews. These low budget lav mics are available on Amazon for less than $50 and can connect to your main camera. Consider the BOYA BY-M1 lav mic or the Audio-Technica ATR lav mic.
• Best Mid-Budget Wired Lav Mics – Ideal for someone that is looking for a higher quality lav mic that will last several years but isn’t worried about a cordless feature. Consider the RODE smartLav under $100 or the more advanced Sony ECM 77B lav which is just under $300.
• Best Wireless Lav Mics – Ideal for the advanced cinematographer that’s seeking absolute wireless audio coverage. Consider the RODE RODELink Filmmaker Kit or the Professional grade Sennheiser EW 100 ENG G3-A Set.

What is the best type of lav mics for filming? It’s really a matter of preference and up to your discretion based on the individual needs of your film set.