Wind protection for MKH 416

[Steve House]

Originally Posted by Olakunle Olanrewaju

I am not too sure if this is best place to put this but since you guys are discussing about this mic i thought mybe you could help me. I have sony ex1r with Sennheiser MKH416 but I have discovered that the mic seems not be functioning very well or so it seems to me whenever i tried using it on ex1r (I normally plug it in and switch to phantom power on the camera with switch on channel 1 or 2 put on ext. I have used it once or twice (i got it like 5weeks ago) but now for no reason to me it will start working and at some other time it will not work. I am suspecting the phantom power either on the camera or the Mic. pls is there anybody with similar experience or am I missing something. Your help will be highly appreciated.

Have you tried a different cable? If you got the mic new a faulty cable would be the first place to look.

[John Willett]

Originally Posted by Olakunle Olanrewaju

I am not too sure if this is best place to put this but since you guys are discussing about this mic i thought mybe you could help me. I have sony ex1r with Sennheiser MKH416 but I have discovered that the mic seems not be functioning very well or so it seems to me whenever i tried using it on ex1r (I normally plug it in and switch to phantom power on the camera with switch on channel 1 or 2 put on ext. I have used it once or twice (i got it like 5weeks ago) but now for no reason to me it will start working and at some other time it will not work. I am suspecting the phantom power either on the camera or the Mic. pls is there anybody with similar experience or am I missing something. Your help will be highly appreciated.

Check the cable and connectors.

[John Willett]

Originally Posted by Sabyasachi Patra

I am looking for wind protection for my Sennheiser MKH416 for wildlife filming. How effective will be the Rycote 18cm/STD SOFTIE FRONT ONLY - RYS18M?

I don't mind spending more because this can really ruin the film. Please suggest if there are any better options.

Cheers,
Sabyasachi

PS: I will be using it with a Canon 1D Mark IV.

The Softie is OK in most normal conditions.

The S-series windshield is better and the full basket windshield kit is better still.

IMPORTANT NOTE:- If you put a foam windshield on a mic. inside a basket windshield it makes the protection *worse* and not better as the size of the foam windshield reduces the volume of still air inside the windshield making it *less* effective.

[Olakunle Olanrewaju]

Originally Posted by John Willett

Check the cable and connectors.

thanks, for some reason that I dont know the Mic start working again so I am putting it down to human error for now.

[Sabyasachi Patra]

Originally Posted by Guy Cochran

Depends on where you'll be shooting. If you know that you'll be experiences gusts of more than a few mph on a critical shoot, you'll want to go full blimp. Even a blimp without the harry provides great protection. Here is an example we shot in our studio to demonstrate. You might recognize the microphone. This is the Sennheiser pistol grip, blimp, and harry which amounts to about $800+ US. Rycote makes a great system and on a budget, the Rode Blimp provides great bang for the buck. For a simple slip over, I also like K-TEK.

Wind Protection for Shotgun Microphones on Vimeo

I forgot to mention earlier, that I decided to get the rycote blimp with harry. It took time, because I realised that placing the micropone on camera is not the ideal solution. Frankly speaking I was surprised by how big the blimp looks.

The next question is how do you manage the harry. The false hair flies off like a bird in moulting condition. How do you guys manage?

[John Willett]

Originally Posted by Sabyasachi Patra

The next question is how do you manage the harry. The false hair flies off like a bird in moulting condition. How do you guys manage?

The hair can come out of a Rycote Windjammer when it's new. This is part of the design as the Rycote method of fitting the hair to the backing minimises high frequency loss.

Fit the Windjammer and use the supplied hairbrush to brush the hair backwards to get the tangles out. Then lightly brush it forwards to make the hair stand upon end for use.

At the end of the day, brush the hair back to get rid of tangles before taking it off and packing it away.

But you will find a bit of moulting the first few times - but it settles down quickly and the hair does not came out. If you have long-term moulting (which I have never heard of) then give Rycote a shout and they will sort you out. They are always very helpful.

[Sabyasachi Patra]

John,
Thanks a lot for your advice. Apart from clearing my doubts and also for pointing out that the hair should stand.

Cheers,
Sabyasachi