Audio-Technica - AT4053b

Audio Technica 4053b is an excellent option and they should be plentiful in Japan.

Heck, I do corporate and nonprofit stuff, tons of interviews, still use the OG DR60D. Runs all day on a small power bank or v-mount. I use an AT4053 with it most times, sometime hard-wired lavs, sometime an ADK SC1 when I need wider pickup (that's a $90 mic when new). Just not a gear slut, I want good audio and the clients are happy (and post is almost as important as the gear. SPL Vitalizer's always in my chain).

It's not just the mic, it's where to put it. Sticking a mic on your camera is really only good for sound you'll sync to later, especially if you're using AF and the lens is clicking away. You can stick a $1k mic on your camera, or boom a $70 Sure 57 near the talent. Guess which one will sound 1000% better. When I'm a one-man-band, shoot, lights, audio, I'll boom a mic to an external recorder for static subjects. Noisy environments, a lav mic wired to the recorder. If the subject's moving, a wireless lave to the recorder. The audio recorder doesn't necessarily need to be attached to the camera rig. You can get great sound with a used Tascam DR60D for a hundred bucks and a decent mic. I use a $700 mic (AT4051B), but you can get hyper- or super-cardioids for less, especially if you hunt in the music recording realm. [An Avantone CK will blow your on-camera mic out of the water](https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/CK1--avantone-pro-ck-1-small-diaphragm-condenser-microphone), for $150. It also has a low freq. rolloff switch, which you really want to use, and comes with three caps (use the hyper).

Cheapest entry-level for pro sound, one consensus is an AT4053B (hyper-cap) mic. That's like $600-$700 though. I had to setup multiple interview sessions last week and also used an ADK SC-1, not hyper but a nice sounding mic - basically the same chinese mic as a MXL 603, Nady CM-90, CAD GXL-1200, etc. Always surprised how good it sounds. You can get a used SC-2 for around a hundred bucks, supposedly an improvement. People will mention shotgun mics, but those are better outdoors, hypers better indoors since shotguns pickup a lot from the rear (ceiling reflections indoors). Google "budget boom mic" and you'll find hundreds of discussions. I still use a Tascam DR-60D for a recorder, they're like $100 used; they have dual XLRs with phantom power, and a camera out - if you camera has decent audio recording, you can send the camera-out feed to it and bypass the camera's pre-amps - with my Nikons, that often sounds as good as the recorder. It also records a minus-6-DB safety track. You can get a carbon fiber boom pole pretty cheap - there's also adapters to stick a mic on a painter's pole. You also might want a blimp and dead cat (fur) with a shock mount, [you can get a decent one for a hundred bucks though](https://www.amazon.com/Movo-Microphone-Windshield-Protection-Microphones/dp/B07SKHTQ4D). And then someone has to point the thing, hundreds of tutorials on mic booming out there, and for static scenes you can put one on a c-stand with a boom. Your boom op should be wearing headphones and really focusing in on the sound quality.

I always keep my mic (AT4053b) in a blimp, I unscrew the front cell when indoors. But man, "every inch counts", I got an XLR on/off adapter and bypassed the switch, it's about 4" long - puts the mic right at the front of the blimp, I just use it as a "mic extender". I think a lot of those shockmounts are designed for shotguns and leave shorter mics way recessed. Maybe I'm too picky, but I like getting the mic as close as possible.

That’s how it would be done professionally but held by an operator. For an interior a hypercardioid is probably the go - AT4053b is the best affordable one I’ve used. Oktava mk012 hyper is another. The rest are a couple grand. If it’s outdoors a shotgun like an NTG3 or 416 is the go