Trying to think what there is here and not
coming up with much. I know there's the
NT3. Could anyone else add to this list?

tick....tick...tick....DING!

I guess not, but thanks for trying, Dave. I was a good question. 8>)

Okay, I'll get the ball rolling here. : -)

I found that the AKG C1000S comes with some type of
adjustment option to make it hypercardioid, and
it is battery powered.

Now it's your turn.

Good find on the AKG! Haven't seen any others either...theres gotta be more though...

A little birdie told me this week that RODE may soon be introducing some hyper caps for the head of the NT4. This is their stereo mic in XY configuration. It is battery powered and includes long stereo XLR cables as well as a stereo XLR to 1/8" stereo miniplug cable. As a condenser mic with a 9V battery I have used it on the GL2 with the SM3 shockmount. Sounds very nice. Compared to the camera's built-in mic it is absolutely incredible. It does look dorky though :) But on the bright side, you don't need a BeachTek.... the cables kinda bunch up too, they're around 8'
Cool if you want to go from on-camera to a stand quickly though.

http://rodemic.com/?pagename=Products&product=NT4

Hi Guy

Is the NT4 about the same size and weight as the NT3?
Would you say it's a reasonable thing to do to mount it on a smallish cam like the Sony A1? Also since it's cardioid, i suppose it would actually be quite good indoors. Can i ask what scenes you were typically shooting when you had it on your Canon GL2?

also, off-topic i know, but any progress with dvestore's potential test of a bunch of lav mics?

thanks

I had heard rumors a while back that Rode would be
coming out with a hyper mic along the lines of NT5,
which means it wouldn't be battery-operated. I believe
the name given was NT6. Haven't heard anymore about
it.

Sorry to hijack your thread Dave...but just to digress for a sec...

Stu-

The NT3 and NT4 share the same casing.

The NT3 hyper weighs on our scale at 13 oz with battery.
The NT4 stereo weighs on our scale at 18 oz with battery.

The mics do not share the same mic elements. The NT3 has a 3/4" capsule.
The NT4 is 1/2" and its cardioid capsule can also be found on the RODE NT5 and NT6.

The NT4 would feel pretty large on a smaller camera and possibly make the camera front heavy. On a GL2/Z1U/DVX sized camera it is a pretty even fit and comfortable. I like it a lot, some may find it unnatural. Most of what we shoot is in studio so we use lavs, however if I was to go out and do any scenes requiring natural sound on a fairly windless day the NT4 would be what I reach for. It does include a wimpy windscreen. I believe Rycote has something beefier.

The lav shootout is in the "acquisition phase" We are purchasing all the mics brand new just as we did with the shotguns. Just a few more select models to go. As you can imagine, the budget is running into the thousands. It is indeed progressing, stay tuned!

Many thanks for the detailed reply Guy. (18oz. !! = 510gms ! bit of a beast the NT4)

Apologies to Dave for the temporary slight hijack.

Sorry to hijack your thread Dave

No problem. It seems my post can use all the exposure
it can get.

I see the NT6 is a cardioid. But I did hear a
rumor a few months back that Rode would
be putting out a hyper.

I see the NT6 is a cardioid. But I did hear a
rumor a few months back that Rode would
be putting out a hyper.Peter Freedman of Rode says in the vidclip on NT6 (from the rode.com.au site) that Rode would be bringing out several different interchangeable capsules for the NT6, omni, hyper etc. Says to keep watching the site for more info on that. Take a look at the Quicktime movie (link on right of page on nt6 on rode site).

Nice find Stu! There ya go straight from the horse's mouth. No longer a rumor.
http://rode.com.au/multimedia/NT6_High_QT.mov

The NT6 would just rock as a hyper at the end of boompole. That's the first thing I thought when I took mine out of the box. The thing is amazingly tiny. So, it's just a waiting game till they get 'em out there and selling. Wish it had the option to operate w/out phantom. Then Dave would have another option. BTW Dave, what kind of sounds are you capturing? What kind of recording device/camera?