This mic doesn't perform as well as a Shure or Sennheiser shotgun microphone, but it doesn't cost $999 either. I'm using it with a JVC DV camera, and a Behringer 10 channel mixer. It's well worth the money. For the best location sound, use this mic on a boom pole, and lavalier mics for each actor. I was blown away with how much better the sound from this mic is than from the Shure dynamic (handheld) microphone I was using before.If you're working on a low budget movie, and want to have professional, reliable, and easy to use sound equipment, this mic is worth the money (it even includes a shock mount). Azden Barrell Shotgun Mic With XLR Outputs
The Shotgun Mike is ideally suited for anyone picking up a prosumer camera and who needs a shotgun mike that offers excellent pickup at a reasonable rate. Be sure to pick up the 18" XLR-XLR cable and the 6" XLR-3.5 cables. The shock mount I received came with extra bands.
This is a good entry level mike for you. Couple this with a UHF lav mike (or two) if you intend shooting fiction or documentary.
A Gitzo boom pole & shockmount (sold separately) along with a Fostex data recorder can give you a killer sound recording kit.
Bought this for use with a panasonic ag-dvx100 and I haven't been disappointed--the audio quality I've captured is much better than that with the factory mic. I wish I had seen the two-barrel version of this earlier...oh well. It takes an XLR cable (well that should be obvious from the description) so a buyer should be clear that they have 3pin XLR jack on whatever equipment it is they are recording into. This is a decent mic for $150, it won't blow you away but neither will the cost. Comes in a little pleather pouch, with a foam windscreen, shock isolating mount which screws into the hot shoe adapter and is better in design than the one standard with my camera, as well as some replacement rubber rings for the mount. The mic takes two AA batteries if I can recall. It has an off /on switch, and it has a cardioid/super-cardioid switch. Pretty basic.
...I'd like to mount this on a boom eventually...
This is a wonderful shotgun mic, for anyone on a budget. It's very powerful and it is a great step up from the built-in mic rigs on most consumer camera's as well as some prosumer cams. For instance, huge step up from the built-in on the Panasonic AG-VX100B (which I own). It has a huge range, and has two modes I always use the higher cut mode that removes slighter sounds. This makes the sound a little heavier, but keeps them very clear and not muffled.
Also, if you expect to record high pitch things, this isn't too great at consistently staying high. It is more whole from the low-mid range sounds, but does not fail at high sounds.
Another plus, is the fact that it won't drain your cam batteries because it holds a single AA battery to run. I prefer it that way.
The only problem with this mic, is that with a little more research--I found out that the X2 is only 50 more dollars (approx) and that the X2 can double as either an omni mic, or a cardoid--which is a great nifty feature for the extra 50 bucks.
If you don't think you even need an omni feature, this is a great mic to start with. (and keep for a very long time)
I believe this is the BEST shotgun mic on the market priced at the 150 range.
I bought this mic in Nov, 2010 for $152.00. I couldn't be happier with it. I'm a film student and the quality of this mic is great. It is a very strongly directional (cardioid) mic and gives me better results than mics twice its price (or more). Also, the included shock mount with extra bands was a nice touch. Mine came with a nice zip-up leather case for everything with it too. I used this and an adjustable painters pole for a short film project and it did excellant.
For any of you all who are interested, I used this with a Blue Microphones Icicle XLR to USB Mic Converter/Mic Preamp and a netbook/audacity to and had great results in combination with a Canon T2i. The only problem I had was that at times my recording was a little bit quiet. However, I'm not sure what part of my setup was to blame.
I took this to Europe with me to film a documentary. It worked well. I've used a bunch of shotgun mics. I like this. Not more or less than others I have used, but it is def. a lot cheaper.
If you are on a tight budget then get it.
As an amateur filmmaker, I was searching for a great LOW COST microphone to pair with my zoom h4n for sound to my Panasonic gh2 (dslr camera)... This mic was the best solution... As others have said, the sound quality won't blow you away but its a great starter mic... cant beat the quality for the price... Eventually I hope to move to the near $500 Sennheiser ME66
As a beginning filmmaker I purchased this microphone for use with the Sony HDR-CX160 High Definition Handycam Camcorder (Black). After beginning to use it I realized that the volume was extremely low upon playback. When I increased the volume in editing it was still very clear and sounded good, but it did have some white noise. I do not know whether this is due to the microphone or the input on my camera, but that is an issue for me. I still give this product four stars because I am able to raise the volume when I edit footage and it does end up sounding great, it's just a little extra step. Also, I like everything else about this mike; the shock mount and the ease of use.
Did a lot of searching and reading about mikes. Eventually settled on the Azden Barrell Shotgun Mic With XLR Outputs. It seems to be well built and solid. Metal, not plastic construction. I had to by an XLR to mini stereo converter to get it to work with my Sony camcorder, the first adapter did not work, the second one works perfectly. The sound quality is not as great as I had hoped, but is definitely acceptable for my needs. It is a fairly large mike. I have also found that it is not as directional as I would have liked, picking up a lot of side noise. Otherwise, limitations aside, I think it is a good mike. - Budget - Shotgun - Azden - Film Making'
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