Rode Advice Please at DVinfo.net

Alastair Brown · June 12th, 2008, 08:40 PM

Can someone take the time to explain to me the difference between the following mics and what the advatages/differences and intended applications would be.

My criteria is I film mainly weddings and am looking for the one best suited to this purpose.

Rode Video Mic
Rode Stereo Video Mic
Rode NTG 1 (or2)

Thanks in advance

Phil Bambridge · June 12th, 2008, 09:17 PM

What camera have you got?
Do you film outside, or just inside?

Basically the videomics might be an improvement, but since you didn't say what your camera is, it's hard to say how much better.

The NTG mics are short-shotguns. The advantages and disadvantages have been explained in other threads better than I will (use the search function- you'll find out all sorts of other things along the way).

But the chief difference between the NTG1 and NTG2 is that the latter can be battery powered (by an AA in it), or phantom powered (again, why I asked what camera you have), whereas the NTG1 is phantom power only, which might be no good for you.

Have a look at Rode's site, download the manuals, give them a read.

Alastair Brown · June 12th, 2008, 11:24 PM

My apologies. I use Canon XH-A1's. To be honest, the audio so far seems great, which is why I wondering, will any of these offer a noticeable improvement?

Hey Phil, glad to see I was the only one who couldn't sleep!

Hubert Duijzer · June 13th, 2008, 12:51 AM

Alistair, i use a NTG-2 with an XHA1. The NTG-1 will be fine, because you can feed it with phantom power from the camera. The sound can be an improvement, but you can have troubles too. Handling noise and wind noise are two things that are going to happen. Even with an shockmount and fur. The camera also get's a little top/side heavy with a mic/shockmount/fur combination.
I have to say that i'm pretty surprised by the internal mic of the A1. Otherwise, you can get a really improved sound in special occasions with a shotgun.
But don't expect life to get easier when adding mics. :)

The videomic and sterovideomic are good mics for their money, but are actually more for consumercams with mini-jacks instead of XLR.

Phil Bambridge · June 13th, 2008, 11:01 AM

If you can, beg or borrow (stealing's illegal) one of the frequently recommended mics to find out what you're missing from your audio. It sounds good only because you have nothing to compare it to (an accusation that all the Schoeps owners could and probably would level at myself, mind you).

It really can be a revelation- assuming you have some decent way of monitoring the audio. I'm guessing as a one-man-band at a wedding, you can't go around wearing the standard audio-recordist's* closed-back headphones (such as the classic Sony MDR-7506) because you won't be able to hear people say "Excuse me pal, you're standing on my feet". But you will want some way of at least being aware that things are connected correctly.

* That is to say the headphones used by more location sound recorders than any other, at least, that's the reputation...and not some notional ISO standard recordist.

Craig Irving · June 13th, 2008, 11:29 AM

I was just about to pull the trigger on the AT4073a (to compliment my new AT4053a) but now I'm waiting for the Rode NTG-3 reviews to come out. I really have no idea how it's going to compare, but at this point I feel like waiting would be the smart move.

Colin McDonald · June 13th, 2008, 11:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Phil Bambridge

If you can, beg or borrow (stealing's illegal) one of the frequently recommended mics to find out what you're missing from your audio. It sounds good only because you have nothing to compare it to (an accusation that all the Schoeps owners could and probably would level at myself, mind you).

It really can be a revelation- assuming you have some decent way of monitoring the audio. I'm guessing as a one-man-band at a wedding, you can't go around wearing the standard audio-recordist's* closed-back headphones (such as the classic Sony MDR-7506) because you won't be able to hear people say "Excuse me pal, you're standing on my feet". But you will want some way of at least being aware that things are connected correctly.

* That is to say the headphones used by more location sound recorders than any other, at least, that's the reputation...and not some notional ISO standard recordist.

Since you're so near me Alistair, I can give you a hurl of a Rode NTG-2 if you like. I also have other Rode microphones which I use for recording other events.

June 12th, 2008, 08:40 PM	#1
Alastair Brown Major Player Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Glasgow/Scotland Posts: 626	Rode Advice Please Can someone take the time to explain to me the difference between the following mics and what the advatages/differences and intended applications would be. My criteria is I film mainly weddings and am looking for the one best suited to this purpose. Rode Video Mic Rode Stereo Video Mic Rode NTG 1 (or2) Thanks in advance

June 12th, 2008, 09:17 PM	#2
Phil Bambridge Regular Crew Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Bristol, England Posts: 78	What camera have you got? Do you film outside, or just inside? Basically the videomics might be an improvement, but since you didn't say what your camera is, it's hard to say how much better. The NTG mics are short-shotguns. The advantages and disadvantages have been explained in other threads better than I will (use the search function- you'll find out all sorts of other things along the way). But the chief difference between the NTG1 and NTG2 is that the latter can be battery powered (by an AA in it), or phantom powered (again, why I asked what camera you have), whereas the NTG1 is phantom power only, which might be no good for you. Have a look at Rode's site, download the manuals, give them a read.

June 12th, 2008, 11:24 PM	#3
Alastair Brown Major Player Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Glasgow/Scotland Posts: 626	My apologies. I use Canon XH-A1's. To be honest, the audio so far seems great, which is why I wondering, will any of these offer a noticeable improvement? Hey Phil, glad to see I was the only one who couldn't sleep!

June 13th, 2008, 12:51 AM	#4
Hubert Duijzer Regular Crew Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Netherlands Posts: 177	Alistair, i use a NTG-2 with an XHA1. The NTG-1 will be fine, because you can feed it with phantom power from the camera. The sound can be an improvement, but you can have troubles too. Handling noise and wind noise are two things that are going to happen. Even with an shockmount and fur. The camera also get's a little top/side heavy with a mic/shockmount/fur combination. I have to say that i'm pretty surprised by the internal mic of the A1. Otherwise, you can get a really improved sound in special occasions with a shotgun. But don't expect life to get easier when adding mics. :) The videomic and sterovideomic are good mics for their money, but are actually more for consumercams with mini-jacks instead of XLR.

June 13th, 2008, 11:01 AM	#5
Phil Bambridge Regular Crew Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Bristol, England Posts: 78	If you can, beg or borrow (stealing's illegal) one of the frequently recommended mics to find out what you're missing from your audio. It sounds good only because you have nothing to compare it to (an accusation that all the Schoeps owners could and probably would level at myself, mind you). It really can be a revelation- assuming you have some decent way of monitoring the audio. I'm guessing as a one-man-band at a wedding, you can't go around wearing the standard audio-recordist's* closed-back headphones (such as the classic Sony MDR-7506) because you won't be able to hear people say "Excuse me pal, you're standing on my feet". But you will want some way of at least being aware that things are connected correctly. * That is to say the headphones used by more location sound recorders than any other, at least, that's the reputation...and not some notional ISO standard recordist.

June 13th, 2008, 11:29 AM	#6
Craig Irving Major Player Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Toronto Posts: 539	I was just about to pull the trigger on the AT4073a (to compliment my new AT4053a) but now I'm waiting for the Rode NTG-3 reviews to come out. I really have no idea how it's going to compare, but at this point I feel like waiting would be the smart move.