Depends on the room [and mic], but 4 feet can be a very long way off. When I spoke of a plant, I didn't mean to imply 'near the performance', but rather 'at the performance' - more often, within a couple feet. . .and in the 'right' direction.

Also in this review I tested the Rycote Softie Windshield on the Sennheiser for an outdoor video test on a windy day. So, enough of the gushing – gimme details. Yes, I heard you. OK, here is the skinny. Of course, it depends on what you’re looking for. For example, some may prefer NOT using shotgun microphones when the situation doesn’t absolutely call for it.We’ll start by running through our selections and then dive into the details of each one. If money isn't an issue and you only want the best, skip down to number 5, the Neumann KMR 81i, because it's by far the best-grade shotgun microphone on this list. One of the reasons it’s so popular (especially for outdoor field recording) is due to its “laser-beam” focus. The interference pattern is one of the best I’ve ever worked with. For reference, I mostly use the Schoeps CCM 41 Lg [supercardoid] and/or MiniCMIT [shotgun] microphones along with DPA 6060 [lavalieres] microphones for cinema/video location recording work.

The mics in question, 2 are hyper cardioids (the schoeps and MKH 50) and the dpa is a shotgun (I think?). If I don’t plan on building up my kit beyond one mic at this point, which one would be the most sensible choice? The other scenario is in a pharmacy, which is a little more standard setup with the actor behind the cash register. Though once again I plan on doing a decent amount of coverage with most of the shots close up and little movement from actor(s).But because there was no windshield of any kind, the wind was still pretty loud. For video 3 using the foam windshield that came with the mic, the wind noise was noticeably less of a problem. For final video we used the Rycote Softie Windshield. And though there was a pretty significant breeze, it was amazingly quiet. It is perhaps useful to note that [in almost every case] I use the A10s on all microphones - not just for the lavaliers.