I will start with a wired option. No doubt it will give you the best bang for your budget buck. I have and highly recommend Sony PCM-M10 recorder and use it with JK® MIC-J 044 lavalier. For under $250 you can have an audio recording which may pass for a professional.
Pros:
- Budget friendly: Relatively affordable, much cheaper than wireless solution.
- Simplicity: you need to set one recording level and press one record button. That's it!
- Ease of maintenance: ensure that just one set of batteries is fully charged. Sony recorder is using 2xAA batteries and have a terrific running time. I stick with Eneloop rechargeables since my photography days. I have so many spares with me at all times I can switch those in under 10sec. Practice makes perfect.
- No realtime feedback. Is that recording still on? Is level ok? You have no idea what's going on until too late.
- Usability: The recorders are not designed to be used while being carried in a pocket. User can accidentally shift the recording level or even stop the recording completely. And you will never know until too late. To somewhat mitigate this, I used cell phone pouch/belt clip.
- Need to synchronize audio. Not a big deal in my opinion. I learned to do it manually by just looking at waveform. Also I hear Pluraleyes is really good. Many NLEs have this capability built-in. Not Sony Vegas though.
Pros:
- Built like a tank. Works always.
- No interference with RF/cellular. Outstanding range.
- Good quality audio
- Professional equipment comes with a high price tag.
- Usability: You need to set the level of amplification in transceiver, then receiver, then recording equipment. Workaround: do it once, do not change the components, retain settings.
- Usability: switching a channel is not intuitive.
- Usability: You need to keep an eye on two sets of 2xAA batteries.
