please recommend a starter general purpose shotgun mic used with h4n and DSLR

L

liukaitc

Active member
hi..I am new to this fourm also pretty new to audio

ok...my need is straight-forward

I just start learning HDSLR

just bought a h4n a few days ago

it seems need to use a shotgun mic with h4n to take most use of h4n

so I am a poor man...obviously I can only afford 1 shotgun mic..

so please recoomend a general purpose shotgun mic for no more than 300 bucks ( I assume it would be better than the on-board mic of h4n...)

thanks....
 
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I'm using the T.Bone EM9900 . Cheap, highly directional and good enough sound to start with.
It's a bit long but for booming and at the shoulder-end of a shoulder-rig it works very fine.
Used two of them a few times aimed at large stage-speakers when at the back of a room with way too much echo (an airplane-bunker) or a noisy audience (an indoor stage-event).
Worked very, very well.
 
Recommended "starter" shotgun - Rode NTG-2. You'll also need boom pole, shock mount, and wind protection. Not to mention you usually need an extra pair of hands to work the boom - mounting the mic on the camera and trying to do it all as a one man band usually will NOT cut it. Remember there is no such thing as a mic that reaches out to capture distant sounds - even a shotgun needs to be within about 20 inches of the person speaking to capture speech well. So why do you feel you need a 'gun as your first mic?
 
Steve House said:
Recommended "starter" shotgun - Rode NTG-2. You'll also need boom pole, shock mount, and wind protection. Not to mention you usually need an extra pair of hands to work the boom - mounting the mic on the camera and trying to do it all as a one man band usually will NOT cut it. Remember there is no such thing as a mic that reaches out to capture distant sounds - even a shotgun needs to be within about 20 inches of the person speaking to capture speech well. So why do you feel you need a 'gun as your first mic?
Click to expand...
thanks..I understand all of these..and I will purchase them too..
I consider myself semi-pro photographer
I really want to go deep into video segement now...
so I want to get everything, just as u mentioned..every party of equipment..I do not have money to buy the expensive but I still want to get the whole system.
so I can start learn and practice.

of course I can use h4n as my first mic...I actually mount it to my boom light stand and place right above the person talking..the sounds is way way better than on-camera mic...first time hear it..I am very pleased to the result...

but I think it is still better to have a shutgun as my general purpose mic, right?
 
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Thanks for ur recommendation of ntg-2...
checked review online..looks promising, and price is right for me..
can I use it as my general purpose mic?? U know I can only buy 1 shotgun...
or it is more specialized in certain situation?
 
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Before you take that plunge, it's worth mentioning that the NTG-2 and the H4n don't play nice together. Use the search function on DVXUser and you'll find several posts about this. It's a combination of the NTG-2's slghtly lower output and the H4n's weaker pre-amps. The Audio Technica AT875r has a high enough output for the H4n to work with.
 
Best bang for the buck in mics is the Audio Technica AT875r, should go around $200 leaving you enough to get a starter shock mount like this : http://www.ebay.com/itm/Shotgun-Mic...395?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item43a0072bf3

and one of these: http://www.ebay.com/itm/windscreen-...727?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item4cf72a287f

then follow the DIY instructions to use a painter's pole for it untill you can afford a real boom pole.

this will work fairly good out doors and will work in a pinch indoors if you take the steps to deaden the room acoustically (if possible).

I got this setup when I first started dabbling in audio for Vid, and it turned out to sound great, since then I have grown the mic locker a bit and although I know there are better sounding mics, this mic can get you there with not a whole lot of needing to mess with the audio at post.

Hope this helps

Hope this helps.
 
it might work if you can figure out a way to securely attach the mic shock mount to it. from one of the reviews it looks like there is a way.

BTW, the AT875r is Phantom power only so you will have to activate that in the H4n.

Cheers.
 
Don't waste your time with the DIY painter's pole version, or by trying to adapt your light pole. If you're investing in a system, go ahead and get one of the several budget-friendly boom poles that are available. (RØDE even has one that sells for $50: LINK)

You can even find packages that bundle the AT875r with a shockmount and boom pole, plus cables. B&H has one (LINK), or you could talk to DVeStore about their Location Audio Kit, and swapping the NTG-2 for the AT-875r.
 
You could go to the market place to get something that might fit in your budget. You just need to search through it.
 
hey, I see there is a brother of at875 that is at897..would that be better???
I know one thing people like at875 is the small size..but I do not mount it on camera anyway..
 
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