I am considering buying a new shotgun. I currently use my Sennheiser ME64 hyper cardioid for most applications as it is a fair all purpose mike - but I want a better quality shotgun.

As I travel a lot - and unfortunately use the mic mounted to the camera all the time (one man band) I must have a short shotgun for convenience (camera is a Sony Z1, but I have a decent isolation mount for the mic). To this end I have been looking seriously at the Sanken CS-1 - a mic that is not mentioned much in these pages, but I have auditioned it and it is a really nice sounding mic. The other mic I was considering was the AT 4073a - which I know a few people on the forum are using, but this one is much more difficult for me to audition - I haven't been able to find one in Sydney!

Just wondering if anyone has any experience with the good and bad points of these 2 - or if there is another mic in the similar price bracket that might be worth a listen. I guess Spot is the best person to comment on this one - but I am open to suggestions from all. I like the Senn MKH 416 as well, but it is starting to get a bit long for me - and the very upper limit of my price range.

Don't have Spot or Ty's expertise but I've heard very good things about the Sanken. Also suggest looking at the Schoeps CMC641 hypercardoid.

When I was trying to figure out which shotgun to buy, i hooked up with a local sound guy wnd tried all his mics.I tried the Neuman and Sennheiser, AKG blue line and a few others. he didn't have a cs-1, but did have a cs-3. If I had the money, I would definately get the cs-3.The sound was realistic, full and beefy.In addition ,it's good for indoors as well as out (comparativly speaking).
Since I had so much other gear to buy, and had just gotten my XL2, I could only justify an AT 897 at that point (and I'm happy with it). But that Sanken cs-3......
Bruce Yarock
P.S. I wasn't able to listen to the Schoeps in that comparison.

I would venture that the Schoeps CM 641 is likely the most common mic you'll find for indoor shoots, although the AT 4053 will more commonly fit the budget. The Sanken CS1 is very common as well.
The Shoeps MK41 is very popular, and so is the AT 4073, as are the Senn MKH 60/70.

In other words, there are a lot of "common" or popular mics, but they each hve their place, depending on the environment in which you are shooting, and whether you'll be keeping the audio or if it's just reference for ADR.

I just bought the AT4073a. I was able to test this mic out at B&H in their sound room. I compared this with the ME66. The ME had a nice crispness to it, but lacked the low end the AT4073a can produce. The 4073a is also a very short mic, and I have it on my Z1U all the time.

Sanken CS-3, Rode NTG-1

Ty Ford