B&H Deal Zone: Vidpro XM-55 Shotgun Microphone Kit $59

OldCorpse

Rockin the Boat
B&H has been running 24 hour deals recently - different deal every day - and today there's the Vidpro XM-55 Shotgun Microphone Kit for $59 which is a big discount from the ordinary $99. I actually have this mic, which I bought on Rick's recommendation; I have tested it briefly, but not used it for any work as yet, but from the test it sounds amazingly good for such a cheap mic. The kit also contains some XLR cables, a mount, pistol grip, deadcat etc. - not the highest quality stuff, but serviceable. According to B&H - first come, first serve, as supplies last or deadline passes (another 23:00 from this writing), whichever comes first.
 
Sorry, I mixed things up, it was NOT Rick who spoke about this mic, it was paulears here who talked about it as a probably OK-ish first cheapo shotgun mic:

http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?306650-Vidpro-Microphones&highlight=vidpro+xm-55

The two common ones the 55 and 88 differ only in the directional pattern - longer tube, slightly greater reach. It's not a proper make, of course - as in there isn't a factory with that name over the door, and they're assembled and screen printed in a variety of different locations from fairly common sets of parts, so you see them in quite a few versions with different model numbers, brands and with different calibre accessories. They sound OK. they suffer from handling noise, but with a decent mount it can be made to work. As a cheap shotgun for a beginner they're better than many, and will earn their keep until you can afford better. The design has been around for over twenty years now, using fairly common components. The condenser mic element is a generic off the shelf one, so reliability isn't really a problem. It's wort a try - just make sure the dealer you buy from will take it back if the sound isn't for you. Looking at the dollar price, it seems cheap enough to not worry too much. I have one that is very similar, but has a different switch - apart from that, I suspect it's actually the same product!
 
Microphones retain their value for a long long time. So it is always better to buy a quality microphone even though it means planning and saving over a period of time.
 
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