…there’s a new kid on the block, and it’s the Rode VideoMic Pro:
This seems like Rode’s answer to the Sennheiser MKE400. This has put a kink in my plans! Now I’m gonna see if I can get my hands on one to do some testing, or at least keep my eyes peeled on the reviews.
There may be a part two to my last post of mic review … this time just between the two frontrunners, the Sennheiser and the Rode. I’ll try to keep it a little more short and sweet!
Knowing about the limitations of DSLR built-in audio, I’ve been looking to purchase an external microphone for a while now. However, in trying to look up reviews online comparing some of the most popular on-camera mics, I was a bit disappointed to find very little detail. There was no comparison of popular brands, and at best the reviews said “This mic is not as good as what you’ll get from a boom, but will be a good improvement over your camera’s built-in audio.” Well, duh – I kind of knew that already. That’s why I’m looking for a mic in the first place.
So, I’ve decided to make a small contribution to that gap, and took it upon myself to review a few of the popular DSLR Mics.
Here are the mics reviewed:
1) Rode VideoMic
2) Sennheiser MKE 400
3) Rode Stereo Video Microphone
4) Rode NTG-1 (Officially a boom mic, but I wanted to compare quality)
5) Zoom H4n (Using its built in microphones to see if that would suffice)
I have to put a small disclaimer in here that while I’m a professional photographer and cameraperson, I’m not an expert in audio and am always learning more. There are probably things that a full-time audio person would hear that I didn’t or didn’t even know to look for. However, I do know just by listening what sounds clean and what doesn’t, and I do know how I’ll be using my camera and the mic, and I hope this gives a better idea to DSLR users in general.
