Best value shotgun mic

[Michael Herrick]

Hello, i hate to say that recently i set down my rode video mic at a shoot, and forgot about it, and now i have no external mic to record with, so i am now in the market for a new shotgun mic. I mainly shoot Mountain bike films with the occasional interview, so sound isn't extremely important to me, i just need something decent. I am looking to spend somewhere in the $100 range or lower, i was looking at something like this http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/444022-REG/Azden_SMX_10.html and was wondering if something like that would have comparable audio quality to the rode video mic? also, another option that i was considering buying a zoom h1 and have the mic go into that so i could control my gain, what mic is best to use for something like that?
thanks for any help

[Rusty Rogers]

I use the Azden SGM-1X and a Mike Muff fuzzy cover regularly on mine with very good results.

I can't stress the importance of the covers enough with shotgun mics outdoors.

Sorry about your loss. :~(

[Michael Herrick]

I dont recall having excessive wind noise when filming with my rode but i would probably get a dead cat cover for the mic that i purchase

[Michael Herrick]

it is for a rebel t2i by the way

[Chad Johnson]

I would say if you want to keep the price down, the Rode NTG-2 beats anything in it's class. It's an XLR mic, but you should be using a mixer with the T2i anyway. You have to defeat the AGC with something like this:

Watch the video in this page. JL-DT454 [JL-DT454] - $419.00 : juicedLink, Unique and Trusted Solutions for Audio and Video Production


The Best VALUE would be the Rode NTG-3, which is more expensive, but is such a great shotgun you won't want to replace it. It's comparible to the Senn MKH-416 at half the price. I, and most pros would never consider any Azden product. Their mics sound thin and are just basically consumer toys.

Keep in mind that the worst place for a mic is on the camera. That is OK for ambient sound, but if you want to record someone talking you need to get the mic within 18" from the mouth.

[Michael Herrick]

well that seems a little out of my price range, this is just a hobby as of now, and i dont want to drop $700 on an audio setup, just a basic mic and maybe a zoom h1 or h2 so i can control the levels and get the mic off the camera because, as you said, that's one of the worst places to put it, so i would like the keep the mic price definitely under 200 bucks, so whats the best mic in that price range?

[Steve House]

You can get the mic off the camera without going to an external recorder. Double system sound is likely to open up a whole set of additional issues with sync and such. Plus if you do want to go double, you may be able to do it using the recorder's own built-in mics without requiring an external mic as well. However, double system sync with the minimalist type of recorder that would be in your budget is going to be difficult.

In your budget limit, the Rode Video Mic and an extension cable are about it. There's no reason the Videomic HAS to be mounted on the camera - you can still put it on a stand near the subject or on a boom and run a cable back to the camera. And I concur with Chad re the Azden ... IMHO, a waste of money.

For a recorder plus mic, $200 isn't going to buy you much worth owning.

[Matthew Capowski]

I found the Rode Videomic unusuable with my T2i because of the AGC; there was just too much hiss.

[Chad Johnson]

Keep in mind that with the juicedLink AGC defeating mixer, you are left with only one channel of audio (mono) so the SVM won't work that way unless Magic Lantern has a firmware update that defeats AGC on the T2i.

[Michael Herrick]

well i would buy plural eyes or dual eyes if i had an external recorder, i can spend like $300 on mic and recroder, unless the built in mics on the h1 are good enough, i would have to see first. i didnt notice any hiss on my recordings when i used the rode video mic directly on the t2i, maybe i just dont have good enough ears

[Steve House]

Originally Posted by Michael Herrick

well i would buy plural eyes or dual eyes if i had an external recorder, i can spend like $300 on mic and recroder, unless the built in mics on the h1 are good enough, i would have to see first. i didnt notice any hiss on my recordings when i used the rode video mic directly on the t2i, maybe i just dont have good enough ears

I'd bet dollars to donuts that it's not your ears but rather your playback system. If you're using your computer, which I suspect you are, know that 'multimedia' speakers are next to useless for evaluating audio.

[Michael Herrick]

that may be so, but my videos go online anyways so they only would play through computer speakers, but even so, the hiss that could possibly exist would be taken care of if i used a zoom h1 so im wondering if thats the route to go

[Battle Vaughan]

These full-size shotguns are probably a little out of scale with your T2i; you might like the Sennheiser MKE400, which is designed for small video and video/still cameras, it has proven very satisfactory with the Vixia and HV40 cameras we purchased the mike for. Much better performance than it's small size would predict, and a much better fit for the camera, that is assuming you are planning to use it as an on-camera mike. I think the price is more in your ballpark, also.

[Michael Herrick]

ya that is definitely more in my price range, looks pretty good too!

[Ben Moore]

this is a great budget mic as well:

Audio-Technica AT875 Short Condenser Shotgun Microphone AT875R -

Ben