Rode NTG-1 and battery life

[Don Palomaki]

Turn on the phantom power switch for the XLR jack/mic you are using, see page 48 of the manual.

[Stephen Sobel]

Originally Posted by Petri Kaipiainen

Rode NTG-1 and NTG-2 (same thing as far as audio goes) are the best cheap(esh) short shotguns. You would have to pay 2-3 times more to get real improvement. Many pro productions have been done with those with no complaints.

How do they compare to the Sennheiser ME66/67?

[Don Palomaki]

Originally Posted by Stephen Sobel

How do they [Rode NTG1/2] compare to the Sennheiser ME66/67?

Price wise the Rode are substantially lower cost than the Sennheiser ME66/K6 combo.

You can read the specifications from their respective web sites adn compare them. And you can find some reviews if you google on the web.

But mics have to be heard to appreciate their differences, and different folks tend to prefer the tone of different microphones.

Some might argue that the Rode provide 90% of the quality for 60% of the cost, but opinions will vary.

[Stephen Sobel]

Originally Posted by Even Solberg

I use this:
http://www.rodemic.com/?pagename=Products&product=SM5

Works fine.

Can you explain how the SM5 fits into the XH-A1? I don't have either yet, so I'm trying to figure this out by looking at pictures. I'm not certain how it fits.

[Jack Walker]

Originally Posted by Stephen Sobel

Can you explain how the SM5 fits into the XH-A1? I don't have either yet, so I'm trying to figure this out by looking at pictures. I'm not certain how it fits.

The longer end of the SMF5 tube is put inside the microphone mount that comes built-in with the camera.

The link you give says that the SM5 comes with adapters so it will fit different size camera mic mounts. I believe there are two basic sizes uses, and the XH-A1 has the larger size.

K-tek makes a similar system for it's shock mounts. The "system" is just a short tube (there are two sizes available) that goes in the camera mic mount. The tube has a threaded bolt sticking out to screw on the shock mount. To use the K-tek tube you have to have a shock mount with a side hole.

The mic then threads through the shock mount.

[Paul Leung]

Originally Posted by Gert Kracht

The BP950 has a capacity of 5200 mAh. That means it can give the camera about 5200 mA per hour. The camera runs about 4-5 hours on that battery, so that would mean it uses about a 1000 mA per hour.
Looking at the 3.5 mA would mean that the camera would run 12.6 seconds shorter on the battery if I calculated it right.
With 2 mA it would mean 7.2 seconds. So the difference is 5 seconds shorter filming.

Hi Gert, there is something wrong with your calcuations. It's not important for little things like microphones. However, it is better to get the concept right.

5200 mAh means the battery can maintain 5200mA (37.44W) for totally 1 hour, not per hour. If the camera can run for 5 hours with BP950 (~ 7.2V). It consumes about 7.5W (Canon spec states 6.9W). If the difference between the two microphone is 1.5mA at 48V (phantom power is 48V, right?), the power consumption difference is only 0.072W. It's only about 1 % of your camera power consumption.