The internet is a dangerous place to look for specific information. I bought a Rode NTG-2 super-cardioid microphone three or four years ago and used it plugged directly into my camera's 3.5mm input with the help of a plug adapter. When I started using the microphone with my cameras I found the output of the microphone to be very low. I always needed to boost the audio level in the camera. When I did that I ended up with files that were pretty noisy.
Searching the web led me to believe that mediocre performance is just what you can expect with a $269 microphone. "Get over it. Spend a couple grand on a decent mic." Most sites that dealt with audio presumed that a smart person would get a pre-amplifier for the microphone and only then would it work well enough for professional use. Most people started using them in conjunction with external digital audio recorders, like the Tascams and Zooms, and getting much better audio so I figured the pre-amp was needed and, like a lemming, rushed to buy a Zoom (and a Tascam). And I've been using that microphone in that manner ever since. It's become a habit. A stupid habit. I hate "double sound."
About two years ago I wanted something that would interface between the cameras I use and the XLR connectors that are at the back of nearly every good microphone so I bought a passive unit for those times when I wanted to run a microphone through the box and also have the ability to pad down the levels.
I decided that since I didn't have good results with the Rode NTG-2 I should look at the reviews for a microphone which I could both afford and get decent sound from. All reviews led me to the Sennheiser MKE 600 and I bought one. But nowadays my habit is to run everything through the little Beachtek interface. I've learned that part of the magic of that little box is internal transformers which help provide the right impedance when combining balanced, XLR microphones with DSLR/Mirror-free 3.5mm microphone inputs. I set up the system with the MKE 600 and the Beachtek and recorded a bunch of voice tests. They sounded great and the levels into the camera were ideal. No maxing out the camera gain just to get a whisper of sound...
With this success in mind I also started using the Audio Technica micrphone the same way. Success! But, of course, I had already developed a fixed prejudice against the Rode NTG-2 so I never got around to testing it with the audio interface. Until today.
I decided to do a direct comparison between all three of my super-cardioid microphones in order to narrow down my choices for my upcoming video project. I presumed the Sennheiser and the Audio Technica would be the winners but tossed the NTG-2 into the ring just to see how badly it would suck.
Surprise! Of the three microphones in my test I preferred the overall sound of the NTG-2 to its rivals. This was the first time I'd used the Rode with the audio adapter/interface and it cleaned up everything that seemed wrong with that microphone. Hmm. Proper matching, could it be logical and correct?
I'm going to say, "yes."
Funny what you can learn by stepping away from your computer and just plugging all this silly stuff in and playing with it. I'll keep the Zoom H5 and the Tascam DR60ii around for those times when I might need some portable phantom power....
Go microphones!
6 comments:
It looks like I need to go to the Beachtek website and start reading all their info. But I suppose I should also get a new camera since what I am using now has no provision for an external microphone.
And good luck on your excellent adventure in Ontario.
The lesson learned is one of understanding the technology without the Hype we often see in many of the other photography/video review sights. Sound is its own area of expertise needing its own knowledge base. Its refreshing to see such a useful explanation on The Visual Science Lab
Since you have phantom power already, I'd also consider a Røde NT-1a, or the newer black NT-1 for voice overs. The NT-1a might be *the* best deal in studio mikes, the newer and slightly more expensive NT-1 is more linear, almost like a Neumann TLM 102 (which is more than double the price). Having used Neumann mikes in the studio some 40 years ago, I know a good mike... ;-)
transformers in audio interfaces...... add some of the tone characteristic is added to the perceived sound.....look for.... sound transformer frequency response!
Does the Rode NTG-2 provide a warmer sound, a little more bass response? I thought the excellent clarity and rejection of unwanted ambient sound provided by your other shotgun mics seemed a bit crisp. Not unpleasant. In fact, my assumption was that you had EQd rhem that way after the fact to provide a sound suitable for its intended use -- speakers found in phones, tablets and TV sets. On the other hand, a litle more bottom end for larger speaker systems wouldn't hurt.
Yey you have finally réalise why people say so much good things about that mic, you know what you can do next, you can get the rode videomic pro which is an ntg2 capsule in a plastic body with a clean +20db preamp, it is cheaper, lighter, shorter and it sounds exactly the same as the ntg2 without the need for an XLR preamplified box. That is why so many people use and like it :-)
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