I am looking for wind protection for my Sennheiser MKH416 for wildlife filming. How effective will be the Rycote 18cm/STD SOFTIE FRONT ONLY - RYS18M?

I don't mind spending more because this can really ruin the film. Please suggest if there are any better options.

Cheers,
Sabyasachi

PS: I will be using it with a Canon 1D Mark IV.

Don't see why that wouldn't work for what you're doing. I've used a number of different screens for my Sennheiser, but generally am most pleased with my Rode Deadcat Microphone Wind Muff. Amazon has one for $39.

The Rycote Softie is good in low winds up to about 10-15 Mph but not as good as the blimp for higher speeds so you may want to go with the more robust solution if you are staying in the Rycote family. Not sure how to rate other solutions effectiveness in comparison.

Depends on where you'll be shooting. If you know that you'll be experiences gusts of more than a few mph on a critical shoot, you'll want to go full blimp. Even a blimp without the harry provides great protection. Here is an example we shot in our studio to demonstrate. You might recognize the microphone. This is the Sennheiser pistol grip, blimp, and harry which amounts to about $800+ US. Rycote makes a great system and on a budget, the Rode Blimp (http://www.dvcreators.net/rode-blimp/) provides great bang for the buck. For a simple slip over, I also like K-TEK.

Wind Protection for Shotgun Microphones on Vimeo

I'm aware some folks turn up their noses at the Indian blimps on ebay (not sure why), but at least they should also be considered. They are a fraction of the cost of others, but most definitely not a fraction of the quality. The quality is great and the wind noise cutting is as good as the test shown. I have done a similar test with large powerful fan I have and all wind noise is removed. The one I got comes with an extra section to take really long shotguns, two different length dead cats (as in link), different diameter mic holders to fit in the shock mount, pistol grip with two thread sizes to fit booms etc. Only thing they miss is carry case...

For example:

60cm Blimp Windjammer Furry Fur fr RODE Sennheiser Mic - eBay (item 140417066789 end time Jun-23-10 21:17:43 PDT) (http://cgi.ebay.com/60cm-Blimp-Windjammer-Furry-Fur-fr-RODE-Sennheiser-Mic-/140417066789?cmd=ViewItem&pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item20b1826725)

Hey Rinso .. here you go :)

http://www.dvinfo.net/forum/all-things-audio/239479-carry-case-rode-blimp.html

Cheers.

Yeah Allan, you made me think about doing something similar when you first showed us what you had done.

I've got my Indian windjammer in a cardboard box - top of the range protection!!! And painted black to look professional! I'll post a photo one of these days. :-)

Must put a handle on it...

Dear All,
Thanks for your responses. The pistol grip of the Sennheiser blimp looks nice for holding. However, I would like to have the flexibility of mounting it on the camera. Not sure whether that mount can be configured for camera. And am not too sure whether I should immediately jump and invest 800 usd on the blimp. May do so couple of months down the line.

Renton,
Since I am from India, let me try to get in touch with the ebay seller to explore the quality.

Guy,
Thanks for sharing the video. A very nice demonstration.

Allan,
The workmanship looks good. I am not sure, I would be able to reach that level of quality.

Cheers,
Sabyasachi

Hi Sabyasachi,

If on-camera mounting is required, you may want to look at the Rycote Universal Camera Kit:

Universal Camera Kit » Rycote (http://www.rycote.com/products/universal_camera_kit/)

It has a mini blimp and furry wind cover that is supposed to be much more effective than a simple "softie" windjammer on the mic. Check out the photos on that website to see how it works.

It is cheaper than a full size Rycote blimp, but it doesn't offer any protection for the rear of the microphone, which is where a lot of wind noise can come from on some models.

Another one to think about is the Rycote S-Series, which is cheaper, lighter and more compact than their full size blimp, I think it's around US$ 400. Not suitable for on-camera though.

http://www.rycote.com/products/s-series_kit/

I am looking for wind protection for my Sennheiser MKH416 for wildlife filming. How effective will be the Rycote 18cm/STD SOFTIE FRONT ONLY - RYS18M?

I don't mind spending more because this can really ruin the film. Please suggest if there are any better options.

Cheers,
Sabyasachi

PS: I will be using it with a Canon 1D Mark IV.

For on-camera use the Rycote Universal Camera Kit (http://www.rycote.com/products/universal_camera_kit/) is the best option.

The mini-screen with a windjammer over is is actually better than a Softie.

The best protection is a Rycote Kit 4 - with an S-series as second best, but neither of these will fit on a camera.,

I hope this helps.

Hi John and Mike,

Thanks for the suggestions. At present I am using the Pearstone DUSM-1 Universal Shockmount to hold the Sennheiser MKH416 on the camera. The camera doesn't accept microphones with phantom power. I am attaching the microphone input to Juicedlink DT454 preamp and attaching the juicedlink at the bottom of the camera. These are just initial days.

Cheers,
Sabyasachi

Dear All,
As I mentioned earlier, I am using the Rycote 18cm/STD SOFTIE FRONT ONLY - RYS18M over the Sennheiser MKH 416. I tried the foam that comes included with the Sennheiser.
It is not helping much in cutting down the wind noise. Ofcourse, it is raining now and the wind speeds may be higher than normal. I was suggested that I should first place the foam over the microphone and then mount the Rycote softie over it. I am not sure, whether that would fit and if at all it will fit, how much of sound/lower frequencies it will cutoff.

I am trying to use the microphone mounted on the camera with the juicedlink so that I am able to record trumpeting elephants a few feet away. The wind noise is playing spoilsport. For other applications, I will now have to look at the blimp with pistol grip.

Cheers,
Sabyasachi

The Rycote Softie slips 'directly' over the 416's interference tube.
There is a secondary outer cover available.. The "Softie Windjammer", yields additional protection, but that combination is still no substitute for a blimp.

Sabyasachi: Great quality cheap Indian blimp will solve all your problems...what are you waiting for? :-) :-)

I'd buy one again any day.

I am not too sure if this is best place to put this but since you guys are discussing about this mic i thought mybe you could help me. I have sony ex1r with Sennheiser MKH416 but I have discovered that the mic seems not be functioning very well or so it seems to me whenever i tried using it on ex1r (I normally plug it in and switch to phantom power on the camera with switch on channel 1 or 2 put on ext. I have used it once or twice (i got it like 5weeks ago) but now for no reason to me it will start working and at some other time it will not work. I am suspecting the phantom power either on the camera or the Mic. pls is there anybody with similar experience or am I missing something. Your help will be highly appreciated.

I am not too sure if this is best place to put this but since you guys are discussing about this mic i thought mybe you could help me. I have sony ex1r with Sennheiser MKH416 but I have discovered that the mic seems not be functioning very well or so it seems to me whenever i tried using it on ex1r (I normally plug it in and switch to phantom power on the camera with switch on channel 1 or 2 put on ext. I have used it once or twice (i got it like 5weeks ago) but now for no reason to me it will start working and at some other time it will not work. I am suspecting the phantom power either on the camera or the Mic. pls is there anybody with similar experience or am I missing something. Your help will be highly appreciated.

Have you tried a different cable? If you got the mic new a faulty cable would be the first place to look.

I am not too sure if this is best place to put this but since you guys are discussing about this mic i thought mybe you could help me. I have sony ex1r with Sennheiser MKH416 but I have discovered that the mic seems not be functioning very well or so it seems to me whenever i tried using it on ex1r (I normally plug it in and switch to phantom power on the camera with switch on channel 1 or 2 put on ext. I have used it once or twice (i got it like 5weeks ago) but now for no reason to me it will start working and at some other time it will not work. I am suspecting the phantom power either on the camera or the Mic. pls is there anybody with similar experience or am I missing something. Your help will be highly appreciated.

Check the cable and connectors.

I am looking for wind protection for my Sennheiser MKH416 for wildlife filming. How effective will be the Rycote 18cm/STD SOFTIE FRONT ONLY - RYS18M?

I don't mind spending more because this can really ruin the film. Please suggest if there are any better options.

Cheers,
Sabyasachi

PS: I will be using it with a Canon 1D Mark IV.

The Softie is OK in most normal conditions.

The S-series windshield is better and the full basket windshield kit is better still.

IMPORTANT NOTE:- If you put a foam windshield on a mic. inside a basket windshield it makes the protection *worse* and not better as the size of the foam windshield reduces the volume of still air inside the windshield making it *less* effective.

Check the cable and connectors.

thanks, for some reason that I dont know the Mic start working again so I am putting it down to human error for now.

Depends on where you'll be shooting. If you know that you'll be experiences gusts of more than a few mph on a critical shoot, you'll want to go full blimp. Even a blimp without the harry provides great protection. Here is an example we shot in our studio to demonstrate. You might recognize the microphone. This is the Sennheiser pistol grip, blimp, and harry which amounts to about $800+ US. Rycote makes a great system and on a budget, the Rode Blimp (http://www.dvcreators.net/rode-blimp/) provides great bang for the buck. For a simple slip over, I also like K-TEK.

Wind Protection for Shotgun Microphones on Vimeo (http://vimeo.com/2095874)

I forgot to mention earlier, that I decided to get the rycote blimp with harry. It took time, because I realised that placing the micropone on camera is not the ideal solution. Frankly speaking I was surprised by how big the blimp looks.

The next question is how do you manage the harry. The false hair flies off like a bird in moulting condition. How do you guys manage?

The next question is how do you manage the harry. The false hair flies off like a bird in moulting condition. How do you guys manage?

The hair can come out of a Rycote Windjammer when it's new. This is part of the design as the Rycote method of fitting the hair to the backing minimises high frequency loss.

Fit the Windjammer and use the supplied hairbrush to brush the hair backwards to get the tangles out. Then lightly brush it forwards to make the hair stand upon end for use.

At the end of the day, brush the hair back to get rid of tangles before taking it off and packing it away.

But you will find a bit of moulting the first few times - but it settles down quickly and the hair does not came out. If you have long-term moulting (which I have never heard of) then give Rycote a shout and they will sort you out. They are always very helpful.

John,
Thanks a lot for your advice. Apart from clearing my doubts and also for pointing out that the hair should stand.

Cheers,
Sabyasachi