Five of the best shotgun microphones for filmmaking

Replay: Are you looking for more professional sound for your video projects? In that case you need a shotgun mic. Here are five of the best...

Shotgun mics are a great option for recording audio due to their directional microphones that can be easily mounted onto your camera, stand, or boom arm. There is a wide variety of different mics available, so, to make sure you use a shotgun that suits your needs, here's a quick list of some of the best shotgun mics out there for filmmaking.

Rode NTG-3 / 3B Shotgun Microphone Kit

The Rode NTG-3 has a great rep when it comes to professional filmmaking because it produces great sound quality (self-noise of 13dB-A). It is designed specifically for professional use on film, television, and wherever high-resolution broadcast audio is required. This super-cardiodic shotgun is also durable when it comes to humid environments where condensation might be an issue.

This 255mm long shotgun can reach a frequency of 40Hz - 20,000Hz which enables it to tick a whole load of boxes; highly sensitive, quiet, and durable. With its warm sounds, this microphone is great when capturing voice-overs.

Priced at £619 inc. VAT (the whole kit)

Audio Technica AT897 Mic

The Audio Technica AT897 is great for film/TV/video production, as well as professional wildlife recording and broadcast applications. Due to its long-distance audio pickup, it features a smooth, natural-sounding audio quality. You can switch its low-cut filter for better isolation of unwanted noise.

The design speaks for itself: the AT897 uses a peculiar polar pattern which the company refers to as line and gradient. Line as the tube and gradient as the rear rejection. Its frequency response is 20 – 20,000 Hz. When it comes to power you can also use this mic with an AA battery. If you want to connect your microphone to a wireless transmitter, get this!

Priced at £219 inc. VAT

Shure VP83F LensHopper Shotgun Microphone

The Shure VP83F LensHopper features a rugged build, true-to-life audio quality, and intuitive design. This compact shotgun microphone provides both form and function. The intuitive menu and one-button recording function with a windscreen make it fast and easy to use in almost any environment.

You can record straight to an internal SD card which gives you that extra security. It can record up to 24-bit/48kHz quality while simultaneously sending audio to your camera. P83F provides up to 10 hours of operation on two AA batteries. The frequency response goes from 50 Hz to 20kHz. And the best part is, it comes with a headphone jack!

Priced at £322 inc. VAT

Sennheiser MKE 600 Shotgun Microphone

If you work with more challenging filming projects, the MKE 600 is the ideal video camera/camcorder microphone for you. The MKE 600 picks up sounds well coming from the direction it is pointed in and effectively blocks any noise coming from the sides and rear. Not all camcorders work with phantom power, so the MKE 600 works with switch batteries where you can choose when to use them for power efficiency. It even comes with a low battery level indicator that flashes when running out of power. A low-cut switch alleviates handling and wind noise plus the mic is designed to be resistant to interference. The frequency response goes between 40 Hz to 20 kHz.

Priced at £259 inc. VAT

RODE VideoMic Pro+

RODE's VideoMic Pro+ is a perfect on-camera video shotgun microphone for  DSLRs, camcorders, and portable audio recorders with a 3/8” thread. Extra cool features include a two-stage high-pass filter and a gain switch (0, +20, -10db), which allows for more control over your audio. The mic can be powered with AA batteries, LB-1 Litium-Ion rechargeable battery, or continuously via micro USB. It also features an integrated shock mount to reduce handling noises. Since it is shorter in length, you need your subject to be placed closer to the microphone.

Priced at £289 inc. VAT