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I am in the market for a shotgun mic for my vx2100. I will be doing some interviewing at my next wedding shoot and need a descent mic. I was going to go with the rode mic but read where some foks didn't care for them because they pic up too much camera noise. Any suggestions?

for the VX, the Sennheiser Mk300 is probably the best..
Rode video mics are good, but their shockmounts suck the big one

P.J. so why do the shock mounts suck on the rode mic?

Lalo,

If you're set on a Rode, buy it and also buy an Azden shock mount for it.

Here's the link:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?A=details&kw=AZSMH1&is=REG&Q=&O=productlist&sku=225809

But I agree with Peter, based on your needs the Mk300 would be a better choice for a vx2000.

Ben

Well, I use the Rode VideoMic with my VX2100 and it works okay for me. Now, I've never plugged in a Mk300 for comparison, so I guess I don't know what I'm missing.

I do know when the VideoMic first came out there was a big issue with the mount and the camera noise the mic picked up. I bought mine more than a year ago after they redesigned the mount, and supposedly that solved some if not all of the problem.

Ooops, I guess I should also mention I use the DvRigPro and, when I use the shotgun, it's mounted on the Rig, not on the camera. So that might make a difference also.

I did a search for a Sennheiser Mk300 and can't find one anywhere. Can someone help me out with a link or something? Thanks!

I've always used an old standby, a Senn ME66. It's never failed me.

Andrea, I did too and its MKE 300. I decided to go with the sennheiser. Thanks to all for your suggestions.

Thanks Lalo! That looks like a nice mic. I wish I had the money for that right now, but I have too many other things to purchase first. It's definitely on my wish list, though.

ordered a sennheiser mke 300. Should I go ahead and order the shockmount with it or will it be okay mounted on the camcorder by itself?

lalo, the MK (i should have mentioend the e) has an internal mount on th capsule. When u pull the windsock off, you will see a plastic mesh grid and within that youll see a white or grey tube. THATs the mic.. youll notice that the mic capsule itself is floating within the mesh grid.
This is the internal shockmount.

the Rode doesnt have this. and even with the rubber zeppelin like mount on the battery compartment, the battery itself weighs it down to much to be of any use (IMO)

Its an incredible mic (the rode that is) let down by a marketing push to compete with Sennheiser. When we got teh prototype, the shockmount itself didnt exist. 2 weeks later they came back.. marginal improvement, but still, mount the cam and mic to a tripod then rub ur finger along the tripod leg and listen with decent phones, ull see what im talking about..
Now, imagine this mic on a stage or on a dancefloor with constant Boom Boom vibrations, and people jumping around etc... your sound will be shot just by the vibrations alone..

As for the K6/ME66 combo, i agree, but for these cameras, those mics wont work due to teh XLR cabling and u dont want to compromise that quality by running it directly into a 3.5mm plug...

Thanks Peter for that insight. Anxious to try it out. I will test it like you mentioned.