Been looking around for the last few weeks at the various wireless options which are priced significantly below the RodeLink, there are a surprisingly large number of them!! :-o

Unfortunately many of these ones are no good, but on the upside it appears wireless has taken great strides forward (all 5 of these wireless sets mentioned are only roughly a year old or less on the market), and I've narrowed it down to four which are cheaper than the RodeLink yet look appealing from what I can gather (here they are listed from cheapest to priciest):

Boya BY-WM6 vs Azden PRO-XD vs Saramonic UwMic10 vs Audio-Technica ATW-1701L

Boya BY-WM6

Is the cheapest of the four by far at only US$140 with free shipping. It uses the 584 MHz-608 MHz frequency range. Includes an XLR output cable. Runs on two AA batteries with a claimed run time of 8hrs. Comes with a portable case for the set. RX has a headphone jack.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/For-Boya-BY-WM6-Lavalier-Wireless-Microphone-System-For-ENG-EFP-Canon-Sony-DSLR-/282001404702

Azden PRO-XD

Second cheapest of the three at US$199 with free shipping. Uses 2.4GHz wireless. Uses an internal battery (can't swap it out.... hmmm... a downside! But on the upside, it is the slimmest of the four, which is a bonus for a wireless system). Battery life is meant to be an impressive 16hrs (with a 3hr recharge time). Has a headphone jack on the RX. Internal batteries are rechargeable over USB (can see this being useful for bag use, to keep all the RX units charged up from a USB power pack. However careful battery management during the shoot will be needed with the TX units)

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Azden-PRO-XD-2-4-GHz-Digital-Wireless-Lavalier-System-/171940834701 http://www.4kshooters.net/2015/11/11/azden-pro-xd-new-budget-digital-wireless-microphone-system/ http://cheesycam.com/azden-pro-xd-2-4-ghz-wireless-lavalier-microphone-system-just-199/ http://www.learnlightandsound.com/blog/2015/10/26/good-budget-wireless-lavalier-azden-pro-xd

Saramonic UwMic10

If you squint they look almost the same as the Sony UWP-D11 sets! (it even has an XLR TX option like Sony does with the Sony UWP-D16. Which I am really looking forward to using on the boom pole, to get rid of the cable)

But the Saramonic UwMic10 costs half the amount of a Sony UWP-D11. As it is US$270 plus taxes/shipping to NZ (which does then significantly increase its cost, unfortunately). http://www.saramonicusa.com/products/saramonic-uwmic10-digital-uhf-wireless-lavalier-microphone-system-with-bodypack-tx-and-portable-rx http://www.dslrfilmnoob.com/2016/02/28/saramonic-uwmic10-dual-body-pack-2-channel-receiver-now-out/ http://www.dslrfilmnoob.com/2016/02/15/saramonic-uwmic10-dual-channel-uhf-wireless-system-review/ https://lensvid.com/gear/saramonic-uwmic10-uhf-wireless-lav-review/

The Saramonic is I think the system I'd like to go for, but once the final cost is worked out it ends up pushing up uncomfortable close to the RodeLink to really truly be a "cheaper option than a RodeLink" by a significant margin. Plus it is such a new item to the market that none of Adorama/B&H/Amazon.com are selling it, maybe I should revisit this item in a couple of months time and see if this has changed.

Audio-Technica ATW-1701L

Cheapest price now is $330.79: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1060929-REG/audio_technica_atw_1701_l_system_10_digtal_wireless.html

But it was merely US$220 at Adorama only a month ago: http://dealnews.com/Audio-Technica-Camera-Mount-Microphone-System-for-220-free-shipping/1618268.html

I think that the current prices for the ATW-1701L are just a little too high right now, as it puts it too close in price to a RodeLink, so not much savings there. But if ever see it at that sale price then I'll buy one (two even!) in a heartbeat! http://soundandpicture.com/2014/12/audio-technica-system-10-camera-mount-wireless-review/

Well, I think this now is complete survey of the "good options" which are cheaper than a RodeLink. I've surely left out a few other possibly interesting options, and feel free to point out anything important I've left out, but what I'm left wondering now... is which of these four should I pull the trigger on and buy? Open to any thoughts on my options!

1) Two MXL FR-300 shotgun mics: Very good mics with hot signal and low noise floor. Super cardioid pattern, phantom power and XLR connector.

Technical specifications:

• Capsule Size: 14mm
• Length: 10"
• Frequency Response: 50Hz-18kHz
• Sensitivity: 45mV/Pa
• Impedance: 100ohms
• Max SPL: 123db
• Signal to Noise Ratio: 75dB
• Operating Voltage: 9-52V

Nearly mint condition, windscreen and original box. Asking 100 EUR per mic + shipping.

2) One dual V-mount charger: Good and fast charger for V-mount Li-Ion batteries. It can charge two V-mount Li-Ion batteries simultaneously with up to 3A (an empty 90Wh battery takes about 2 hours). The intelligent charging electronics chooses automatically between constant voltage or constant current mode to charge every battery optimally. The state of every battery is indicated individually (charging: red LED, finished: green LED).

Due to its compact form factor, its low weight and the handy handle, it is well suited for mobile operation. Its fold-out foot keeps it steady. Additionally it can be used as a DC power supply. Up to 60W are provided via a XLR 4-pin socket on the backside for video lights, camcorders,...

Technical specifications:

• Interface: Sony V-mount
• Input: AC 90-240V, 47-63Hz
• Plug: "rubber connector"
• Switch: charge/off/DC-output
• Output(charging): 16,8V, 3A
• Output(DC-output): 15V, 4A
• Socket: XLR-4-pin
• Temperature: -10°C - +40°C
• Dimensions: 140(L) x 100(B) x 240(H) mm
• Weight: 950g

Only selling it because I got a 4 channel charger;-) Nearly mint condition, power cord included. Asking 130 EUR + shipping.

All items are located in Germany - will ship world wide.

Any questions -> please ask.

A friend (sound recordist) recommended Klotz MC5000 xlr cables http://shop.klotz-ais.com/cgi-bin/quickorder/lshop.cgi?action=showdetail&artnum=M5_&wkid=2004g&ls=e so I thought to get a 3m gold-plated version of that, but they seem to exist only in XLR-to-XLR configuration. This would mean that I would need to get an additional XLR-to-3.5mm adapter, but I was told that the more connections there are the more is the loss of sound quality.

Then another another alternative would be something like this http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=170332397463 Neutrik XLR to 3.5mm

Yet another question would be regarding "balanced" vs "double screened" ... the Klotz MC5000, for example, doesn't seem to be "balanced", but "double shielded" etc.

So which cable would you folks recommend for recording cinematic dialogues, ADR, Foley sound etc?

I try to find a good solution for sound in my 5D, just for some normal interview( could be in the studio and any place clients are). Before I used HDV to get some sound, 5Dget image, and sync in post with pluraleyes. But I found a lot people do get better solution. Now I try to learn it.

So what I'm trying to do is just get the quality sound directly into my 5D2, without post work with pluraleyes. My buddies are: TASCAM DR-100, SONY UWP-V1(Radio mic)，Audio Technica AT897, also got Rode NTG-1(but this one no AA power supply). 5D2(hacked with Magic Lantern 2.3)

First, I try sony radio mic directly plugin to 5D, it's reasonable sound for event interview stuff, but definite not really good quality, as 5D doesn't have good sound handling ability( I guess).

Then I get this TASCAM thing.(A lot people use H4n, i guess similar thing). Tascam has 2 XLR input, So I use sony radio mic and AT897 (both powered by themselves). My tascam get decent sound these two mic. I used tascam's 3.5 line output, send the sound to 5D's 3.5 mic input. monitor the 5D's sound through AV mount. (wiki ML says we will need a RCA-3.5 adapter, i didn't see that before so i just plugin my 3.5 headphone in to that AV end, it works, I did get the sound there, amazing! ) It worked for a while but I don't when it suddenly just can only get one track, only left channel, there is no infos came into right channel. No matter what i try on all the settings in the ML menu, I can't get that right channel back...

Can anyone help me figure this out?