I just got a Schoeps CMC641 and a Sanken CS-3e. From what I've read, shotguns are generally better outdoors, but some use small diaphram condensors outdoors instead of a shotgun. Most seem to agree that the Schoeps has better sound quality when in the right conditions than the Sanken or other shotguns in the right conditions. When would be a proper time to use the Schoeps outdoors? In quiet outdoor environments when the mic can get close?

I got a Rycote S-Series 330 for wind protection which is sized for the Sanken. How suitable is this for the Schoeps? Would a Baby Ball Gag be much improvement over the over-sized 330 Rycote? If there's no wind outside is using just the B5 Pop-Filter ever sufficient for outdoor use? I don't have a Cut 1 Low-Cut Filter and am recording audio into a C100 camera, Tascam DR-40, or Zoom H6, and I'm unsure of the quality of the low cut filters in them.

On the flip side, I've gathered that the Sanken CS-3e is better indoors in noisy environments and when the mic can't get as close. The Sanken CS-3e I got didn't come with a windscreen; when indoors should I use a basic windscreen (like this: Sanken Foam Windscreen for the CS3E CS-3FW B&H Photo Video) to protect from wind when the boom swings around and then take it off for static shots?

I'd suggest leaving the foam on indoors and replacing it with a full windscreen outdoors.

Many of the answers you are seeking would be better discovered by experimenting on your own. Because they depend a lot on exactly WHAT you are recording, and HOW. Feel free to go out with both mics and experiment with both (perhaps even simultaneously with one in each channel of the recorder).

A full Rycote windscreen rig is typically superior to a simple foam gag, especially outdoors where any breeze is expected.

A shotgun *is* a "small diaphragm condenser".

But I have answered this question more fully in one of the other forums where you posted the same question.

"When would be a proper time to use the Schoeps outdoors? In quiet outdoor environments when the mic can get close?"

Any time you have a lot of unwanted surround noise and reflective surfaces like pavement, hard walls, windows, or any flat hard surface off of which sound will bounce.

Regards,

Ty Ford

FYI I've had a CS3e for years and have never used a windscreen on it indoors. Never had a problem.