Advertisement
away. Moreover, using the 41XT with an
older, semi-directional lav virtually
excluded unwanted noise from a busy
suburban road less than a few hundred
yards beyond.
SUMMARY
After testing Azden's economical
500UDR wireless microphone system in
a variety of situations, I was impressed
with its range and quality under chal-
lenging conditions—including the 41XT
module being stepped on by deer a cou-
ple of times! The latter could be con-
strued as an apt abuse test for news
applications.
While relatively inexpensive, the lav
supplied with the 500UDR package
(Sony's ECM-44) passed muster in terms
of basic sound quality, clarity and wide
response range. Without a doubt, even
better quality could be achieved with this
Copyright 2004 IMAS Publishing (USA), Inc. Reprinted with permission.
system by substituting any number of
current higher-end microphones.
Transmission and reception quality
was good-to-excellent, with dropouts
occurring in situations where obstruc-
tions abounded—especially at distances
of 100 yards or more. Nevertheless, I got
good dropout performance with clear
ambient audio at more than 125 yards at
times. This makes the Azden 500UDR a
good choice for specialty applications
like wildlife, scenics and stock shots, as
well as less challenging situations with
talent or interviews, especially when at
closer quarters and without barriers in
the transmission path.
The all-metal 500UDR receiver and
41XT transmitter both have the rugged-
ness my applications require. Even the
41BT body pack is sufficiently durable if
used and holstered as intended. The vol-
ume level adjuster for the latter could be
more accessible and user-friendly, as
could the channel-selection dials for all
units.
In short, the 500UDR wireless mic
system delivers plenty of bang for the
buck in terms of performance and dura-
bility, making it suitable for a range of
professional applications from ENG to
special events, sports and wildlife pho-
tography. Moreover, it comes at a price
that could enable independent videogra-
phers pressed to have multiple UHF
wireless systems on hand for a given job
to actually own them, rather than having
to rent them. ■
Carl Mrozek operates Eagle Eye Media
based in Buffalo, N.Y., specializing in
wildlife and other outdoor subjects. His
work appears regularly on the Discovery
Channel, CBS, PBS and other networks.
Contact him at eagleye@localnet.com.
Reprinted from TV Technology
Advertisement
