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I was watching Terminus by Phillip Bloom on Vimeo. He recorded it as a showpiece for the Arri Alexa and the Mitra 3D Mic Pro, and I was really impressed by both. The sound was really great on headphones - it had a cool "3D" feel to it.

My first impression was that it looked a little odd. Not that it would keep me from buying one, but that trunk that it's on looks really uncomfortable to hold for recording.

Has anybody played with one? It seems like it's just a binaural mic, but without the creepy ears.

Speaking of creepy... AAAA!!!!!!!

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    Those may actually be the creepiest looking things I've ever seen.
    – g.a.harry
    Jun 3, 2011 at 17:02
  • I'm trying to think of ways to make my shotgun mic wind covers look creepier... i guess i could just add ears - that seems to do it in any situation.
    – VCProd
    Jun 3, 2011 at 17:21
  • I cannot get my hands on one and I cant really be sure wether the mic is of high quality or not based on the examples I find on the internet. How would it differ to a pair of matched high quality traditional stereo microphone system? I would like to hear from audio professional who have tried this microphone and want to know if they would find it usable for high budget long features?
    – user443
    Dec 4, 2011 at 21:56
  • I don't know if I should buy one. The review's made on B&H & Amazon by different people but simililar wording, make me think its a same person (assuming Mitra Corp) giving 5 Star reviews.
    – user3923
    Jun 7, 2012 at 13:42

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I went on the website and check out the Mitra 3D Mic Pro videos. It's a stereo mic, that's all. There's nothing 3D about it, as fas as I can tell. The guy with the goatee making the demonstration actually made me angry. It's a stereo mic, maybe a good one, but that's it - welcome to the 60's.

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  • Yes, it's a stereo mic, but it's a, sorta, binaural stereo mic. The reference in binaural mic being the Neumann KU 100 neumann.com/… This type of stereo pickup will alway sound better on headphones.
    – Daniel Courville
    Dec 21, 2012 at 16:27
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I had a look at their website and I have to say that after all I don't get the feeling that they are selling a product that is worth 1,500$. Of course a website doesn't tell much about the actual product, but the fact, that the videos do have a horrible audio quality doesn't gives me the feeling that they do have much of a clue about audio. (yes I know, hard words).

Btw: their boompole (which they are selling for 199$) reminds me of the Røde boompole (sold for 99$).

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  • I think the audio quality is something to do with Vimeo's compression. That said, I've seen some fantastic sounding stuff on there too. So who knows?
    – g.a.harry
    Jun 4, 2011 at 0:54
  • Ah ok, I have to correct myself since I didn't realize that the video on the start page changes randomly. I've only watched that "review" by Kevin Jopes. Nevertheless it doesn't change my opinion on this mic. (yes I'm harsh today :D )
    – Michael Manzke
    Jun 4, 2011 at 1:06
  • the specs of this mic do not justify 1500$ for no reason at all i think
    – Nikos Chatzigeorgiadis
    Jun 4, 2011 at 17:00
  • Yeah, more I look at this thing, the more it feels like a scam... I'd probably get suckered in to one for $400 or so, but $1500 gets me a lot of other mics that I know are good.
    – VCProd
    Jun 5, 2011 at 21:15
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Interesting mic there, though its pretty expensive and hard to find for a test, I saw the video you linked but it was kind of weird on my monitors, and i would not go for such an expensive mic just for headphones, they need to do better sample videos and tests for this mic if they want good promotion.

I also noticed something weird with the sound on the second video they have on their website, its kinda like hollow frequency spots in the stereo field, but i cant quite explain it! ...weird

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  • @Nikos True - not sure the price justifies what they are putting in.
    – VCProd
    Jun 3, 2011 at 18:20
  • @VCProd, true, i took a look at the specs of this mic and these specs surely do not justify the high cost. Especially with >62db sn ratio! (and i guess that was measured without the 9volt batteries on action, cause batteries cause a lot noise
    – Nikos Chatzigeorgiadis
    Jun 4, 2011 at 16:59
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Interesting mic. It does have a hollow sound sometimes, almost dullened. Sure is a great image though. What other 3D mics are out there?

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Maybe there are some phases tricks going on. that could explain the frequencies notches? Regardless, seems like a gimmick to me.

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@Andres This is not stereo. I think you're confusing stereo with Surround (somehow). This is a SURROUND SOUND mic. It captures audio not on only two planes (one axis), like stereo does, but in an omnidirectional pan that is reproducing the same audio capture that your ears do, in that the mics are placed PRECISELY the same distance apart as your ears.

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I'm curious what the role of the mic was in the production, probably not dialogue recording. But I especially dislike what director Matthew says in the video: 'A great way to enhance the overall quality of a project, where budget is limited, is through sound and sound design.'.

While I agree that good audio is essential, claiming that it could 'enhance' a projects overall quality, that is already on a limited budget, is false logic. If there's no money to do proper sound recording, how is any mic setup going to fix that?

And a binaural mic which you can 'upmix to 5.1'.... I doubt it.

Nice gadget for some productions, but claiming it's great on low budget film is a sales pitch.

Arnoud

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Check the video by Philip Bloom, shooting 3D Mic Pro with Arri Alexa, a production grade setup.

Terminus by Philip Bloom using 3D Mic Pro

Vincent Laforet also shoot a short film using 3D Mic Pro, another product grade setup. Videos are coming soon.

Professional opinion from word renowned DPs and film makers after hands on experience with 3D Mic Pro coupled with state of the art production cameras are unanimous: "very impressed!".

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    THIS is funny...
    – VCProd
    Jun 9, 2011 at 20:12
  • 3D Mic Pro is now part of every day professional shooting gear for Vincent Laforat blog.vincentlaforet.com/mygear/audio and Philip Bloom philipbloom.net/amazon We will encourage you to experience it first hand.
    – 3DMicPro
    Jun 9, 2011 at 20:25
  • I would experience it first hand but it's too expensive, how 'bout a comp!! SSD Forum test comp!
    – Chris
    Jun 9, 2011 at 20:39
  • This is what Vincent has wrote in his gear page about 3D Mic Pro: "This is an extremely effective and interesting microphone – especially for time lapse / scenic videos where you want to immerse people in the environment. " Both Philip Bloom and Vincent Laforet used 3D Mic Pro with top of the line professional cameras: Arri Alexa and Red Epic. 3D Mic Pro is an all American professional production quality Mic producing true-to-life sound you might have never experienced before. We do offer 30% academic discount 3dmicpro.com/info/Academic to eligible individuals and institutions.
    – 3DMicPro
    Jun 9, 2011 at 21:08
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    Most film makers main audio concern for 'every day professional shooting gear" is capturing clean DIALOGUE - not pseudo 3d stereo of ambient sound. Is it LtRt compatible?
    – user49
    Dec 5, 2011 at 3:04

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