AT875R VS NTG-2 Microphone

G

Gladiator

Well-known member
Man, everytime I see a shotgun microphone recommended it is either the AT875R or the NTG-2. Which is better, or why would one be better than the other? Thanks!
 
i've got the at875.
i love that its very short (7"), short enough to mount in the included mic holder without sticking out in front of the lens.

the ntg2 is longer (11") and needs to be mounted in a separate shock mount attached to the cold shoe.

i also love that the at875 is less than $200, sounds great and has good off-axis rejection.
i've gotten a hold of the sennheiser mkh416 for comparison and found that this $1000 mic is more sensitive in general and picks up much more off-axis sound, but the audio technica certainly holds up very very well side by side.

i'd say if your primary use is as a second mic, almost exclusively mounted on-camera, then go with the at875.
if you plan to also boom the mic quite a bit, then probably good to go with the ntg2.
the ntg2 is a little more flexible in that it can be powered by 1 AA battery if you need to record 2nd sound directly into a digital recorder like the Zoom H2 that doesn't have phantom power.

a few more tech differences:
at875 only goes down to 90hz, basically low freq cut off, ntg2 goes down to 20hz.
ntg2 has higher dynamic range: 121db vs 107db
ntg2 has lower impedance of 50 ohms compared to 100 ohms on the at875.
signal to noise ratio is pretty much the same.

so, again, i conclude that the at875 is perfect mounted on-camera while the ntg2 makes a great 2nd mic on a boom.

but that's just my opinion. hope it is helpful in your decision making!
 
ah, but the ntg-1 creates a bit of a problem :)
same sound as the ntg-2 with the length of the at875 (it's an ntg-2 that is phantom powered only just like the AT)

I picked up my ntg-2 for just under $200 from b&h when they randomly dropped the price $50 for a week and had the rode $1 mic promotion going
 
averan said:
i've got the at875.
i love that its very short (7"), short enough to mount in the included mic holder without sticking out in front of the lens.

the ntg2 is longer (11") and needs to be mounted in a separate shock mount attached to the cold shoe.

i also love that the at875 is less than $200, sounds great and has good off-axis rejection.
i've gotten a hold of the sennheiser mkh416 for comparison and found that this $1000 mic is more sensitive in general and picks up much more off-axis sound, but the audio technica certainly holds up very very well side by side.

i'd say if your primary use is as a second mic, almost exclusively mounted on-camera, then go with the at875.
if you plan to also boom the mic quite a bit, then probably good to go with the ntg2.
the ntg2 is a little more flexible in that it can be powered by 1 AA battery if you need to record 2nd sound directly into a digital recorder like the Zoom H2 that doesn't have phantom power.

a few more tech differences:
at875 only goes down to 90hz, basically low freq cut off, ntg2 goes down to 20hz.
ntg2 has higher dynamic range: 121db vs 107db
ntg2 has lower impedance of 50 ohms compared to 100 ohms on the at875.
signal to noise ratio is pretty much the same.

so, again, i conclude that the at875 is perfect mounted on-camera while the ntg2 makes a great 2nd mic on a boom.

but that's just my opinion. hope it is helpful in your decision making!
Click to expand...

Excellent response! Thank you so much, that was the information I needed. Yee-haa! The AT875R is on the way. Thanks!
 
KnoxHotch said:
ah, but the ntg-1 creates a bit of a problem :)
same sound as the ntg-2 with the length of the at875 (it's an ntg-2 that is phantom powered only just like the AT)

I picked up my ntg-2 for just under $200 from b&h when they randomly dropped the price $50 for a week and had the rode $1 mic promotion going
Click to expand...

good to know, but still think the at875 is better suited mounted on-camera.
the higher sensitivity and lower end of frequency response of the ntg line will mean you'll hear more handling and camera servo noise.
 
I think the AT897 is likely more comparable to the NTG-2. I have one and like it a lot. No problems with it getting in the way, etc.
In any event, it would be hard to really go wrong with either of these mic's.
 
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