NTG-2 Mic Cable?

[Gord Trenholm]

Frustrated newbie, please help. I just purchased a Rode NTG-2 mic for my XH A1 from Vistek, here in Canada. I am trying to find a short XLR female to 3.5mm cable to connect the mic to the camera, and I'm not having much luck. Since the mic is mono, would a XLRF to 3.5 stereo cable work, or does it have to be XLRF to 3.5 mono? Also, can anyone recommend some places to try in Canada? Vistek sent me the wrong cable, and I haven't had any luck searching on their site or on Henrys' site. Thanks for any help! I realize that I could get a XLRF to XLRM cable, but then there wouldn't have been any point in buying the NTG-2.

[Edward Carlson]

The XH A1 has XLR inputs though. So it seems that getting an NTG2 just to plug it into an 3.5mm jack was the pointless part. Either way, the sound will only be on one channel unless you wire the cable specifically to not do that. Most XLR to 1/8 cables are mono, I believe. Remote Audio | 18" XLRF-MINI ST (MONO) | CAX3F1/8MS | B&H

[Paul R Johnson]

We have a mic with phantom powering, and a camera with 48V phantom on the xlrs, using the 3.5mm socket would be more unreliable and as far as I am aware, phantom-less meaning you'll need to stick a 1.5V battery in the mic. If, as I suspect, the 3.5mm mic socket is unbalanced, then any xlr cable you make up will have to be unbalanced by shorting pin 3 to pin 1 - which will reduce the mic's output a little, and remove the advantages of a balanced connection.

[J.J. Kim]

I bought this for my NTG-2 on my A1. Works great and everyone says it works great and convienently designed, and I love it.

Remote Audio Right Angled Coiled XLR to XLR Cable - 18"

ps. I am not sure why you would need Vistek, though.. just like others are saying...

[Andy Wong]

Hey Gord. I have an NTG2 with my A1 too. I just use a 0.5m XLR cable if I intend to mount the mike onto the camera. It records to both L+R channels if the switch is on CH1 CH2. Flipping the switch to CH1 will record only to a single channel.

Be sure to get a well-balanced XLR cable with Neutrik XLR connectors.

[Bill Pryor]

Most any music store has XLR cables. Or if you have a soldering iron you can buy the connectors from an electronic supply store and make your own to the length you want. There's probably a diagram on line somewhere showing how to do that.

[David Sotar]

I just bought a 1' male to female XLR cable for my NTG-2 mic.

Works great.

[Gord Trenholm]

Well, I guess I just wasted a few extra bucks buying the NTG-2 instead of the NTG-1. The reason that I bought the NTG-2 was because it was self powered, and I am trying to keep cable clutter to a minimum, since I am usually filming in heavy bush, I don't need tons of extra cable stick out of my camera. I pretty much have to do my shopping online, because I live 4 hours away from the nearest city. Ordering such a small cable out of the US will double or triple the price. I just thought that dealers selling the NTG-2 would sell the proper cables to connect it to a camera, in one of the methods that it was designed to be used.

[Edward Carlson]

Originally Posted by Gord Trenholm

Well, I guess I just wasted a few extra bucks buying the NTG-2 instead of the NTG-1. The reason that I bought the NTG-2 was because it was self powered, and I am trying to keep cable clutter to a minimum, since I am usually filming in heavy bush, I don't need tons of extra cable stick out of my camera.

I don't quite understand your reasoning. A phantom powered mic doesn't require anything other than a standard XLR cable. A self-powered mic plugged into a phantom power-able XLR jack will have the same amount of cables as a phantom powered mic would.

[Colin McDonald]

Originally Posted by Gord Trenholm

...I just thought that dealers selling the NTG-2 would sell the proper cables to connect it to a camera, in one of the methods that it was designed to be used.

A short XLR to XLR cable IS the correct cable. I can think of no reason to unbalance the connection from the microphone to the camera, and several reasons not to do so. Am I missing something here?

[David Sotar]

Originally Posted by Gord Trenholm

I just thought that dealers selling the NTG-2 would sell the proper cables to connect it to a camera, in one of the methods that it was designed to be used.

Mine came with an XLR to minijack cable in the box...

[Vito DeFilippo]

Originally Posted by Gord Trenholm

Well, I guess I just wasted a few extra bucks buying the NTG-2 instead of the NTG-1. The reason that I bought the NTG-2 was because it was self powered, and I am trying to keep cable clutter to a minimum

Gord, the NTG-2 will work without a battery if connected to an input that provides phantom power, or will work with a battery if power is not provided. Best of both worlds. You still need the exact same cable for your camera, that is, a short XLR mic cable.

If you are stuck in the middle of nowhere, you should solder your own. That's what I did for my NTG-2. I'm no wiz with a soldering gun, either, and it wasn't too much trouble.

If you can't buy bare cable and connectors where you are, maybe you could remove one connector from a longer cable, cut the cable short, and re-solder the connector on.

Trying to use an XLR to miniplug adapter cable is unnecessary and a bad idea. It will make your connection unbalanced and force you to use a battery in the mic.

[Mark Fry]

Originally Posted by Vito DeFilippo

Gord, the NTG-2 will work without a battery if connected to an input that provides phantom power, or will work with a battery if power is not provided. Best of both worlds. You still need the exact same cable for your camera, that is, a short XLR mic cable.

Seconded. The NTG-2 is much more versatile and is well worth the slight increase in price, length and weight. I wish I'd gone for the NTG-2 myself now (I have an NTG-1). It will work exactly like the NTG-1 when it gets phantom power but you can also you it with devices that don't have phantom power, such as little camcorders (HV30, etc.), mini-disc or solid-state recorders and so on (though the sound will be very slightly less good when running on battery). Actually, that's when you need the XLR-to-mini-jack cable: for the other gadgets. So ideally, you need one of each sort of cable. Use XLR-XLR and no battery on the XH-A1, though.

[Colin McDonald]

Originally Posted by Mark Fry

Seconded. The NTG-2 is much more versatile and is well worth the slight increase in price, length and weight. I wish I'd gone for the NTG-2 myself now (I have an NTG-1). It will work exactly like the NTG-1 when it gets phantom power but you can also you it with devices that don't have phantom power, such as little camcorders (HV30, etc.), mini-disc or solid-state recorders and so on (though the sound will be very slightly less good when running on battery). Actually, that's when you need the XLR-to-mini-jack cable: for the other gadgets. So ideally, you need one of each sort of cable. Use XLR-XLR and no battery on the XH-A1, though.

Mark, your post was a bit more helpful than mine.

Gord, I use and NTG-2 with my XH-A1 (XLR/phantom power) and also with an HV30 (using mic with battery installed and an XLR to minijack cable I made up myself to run the mono mic signal to both channels of the HV30 audio).

[Gord Trenholm]

Originally Posted by Andy Wong

Hey Gord. I have an NTG2 with my A1 too. I just use a 0.5m XLR cable if I intend to mount the mike onto the camera. It records to both L+R channels if the switch is on CH1 CH2. Flipping the switch to CH1 will record only to a single channel.

Be sure to get a well-balanced XLR cable with Neutrik XLR connectors.

Thanks, Andy! That's what I'm going to go with. Thanks everyone for your responses and patience.