Sennheiser MKE 400 Compact Video Camera Shotgun Microphone

Comments about Sennheiser MKE 400 Compact Video Camera Shotgun Microphone:

I bought a nikon 1v1 and thought a small shotgun would add to the quality. I did a test using just the camera then the mic on both settings. I turned on the tv in a room behind the camera on a level the would sound as if it were people talking at low volume. I then stood in front of the camera about 10 feet away and did a basic mic test. After loading into my final cut pro I discovered the nikon mic was as good or better. Good for the nikon, bad for this product.

Comments about Sennheiser MKE 400 Compact Video Camera Shotgun Microphone:

Unavoidable white noise when used mounted on Canon T2i. Noise not present when using internal mic. Sound quality richer than internal mic, but the noise is not acceptable. Some suggest that turning off Image Stabilizer on lens is a solution, but did not work for me. Might be ok for loud environments. Comes with battery and regular windscreen. Super easy to use, plug and play, basically. Too bad. Expected more.

Comments about Sennheiser MKE 400 Compact Video Camera Shotgun Microphone:

GREAT LITLE MIKE,QUALITY AND SIZE

Comments about Sennheiser MKE 400 Compact Video Camera Shotgun Microphone:

I used the MKE 400 on my Canon 7D and found it lacking. The 7D on board mike was better on every test. I tried the 400 in a quiet office in an interview situation and outside capturing distant voices and general street sounds using all options. I did not expect this mike to be as good as my other more expensive mikes, but it must be better than the camera mike, if it is to be of use. The size of the 400 was good and the construction was reasonably good. I will be returning this product.

Comments about Sennheiser MKE 400 Compact Video Camera Shotgun Microphone:

This mic is TINY!!! It is not even 1/4th the size of my RODE VideoMic.

Plus, not picking up a lot of wiggle noises from the shock mount means more RUN AND GUN filmmaking.

It runs on one tiny little AAA battery.

Love it!!!

Comments about Sennheiser MKE 400 Compact Video Camera Shotgun Microphone:

Unless you are spending around $2000 dollars on a camcorder, you are likely to be getting a surface mounted camera mike that gets all sorts of extraneous noise that is not coming from your picture subject. if your camcorder has a stereo mini microphone jack, This microphone really changes the sound quality of your recording and is well worth the price

Pros: Small footprint compared to the Rode camera mikes; this is especially important if you are using wide-angle lenses or want to film without calling attention to yourself. Long battery life. Good sound. Functional shock absorber.

Cons: Hard to tell if it's on. Foam windscreen easily pulls off the conical shaped mike and is not easy to replace thru Sennheiser or anywhere else if lost. Umbillical cord is in the way on cameras with a small distance between the accessory shoe and the mike jack.

Overall this is a great purchase for b-roll cameras or home video cameras where the sound is awful using the built in mike.

Comments about Sennheiser MKE 400 Compact Video Camera Shotgun Microphone:

Good and small MIC.

Comments about Sennheiser MKE 400 Compact Video Camera Shotgun Microphone:

I've owned this mic about 2 years and put it atop my small Canon HV30 HD cam for use as a go-anywhere b-roll cam. It may seem expensive to newcomers for such a small mic, but the audio is very good and clean. I believe it is a good value. They've used these little mics on small cams for a few broadcast reality shows, according to a guy I know who works for an internet audio store. Audio from this mic is crisp and clean. The mic itself is well-built, not a flimsy piece of plastic. It picks up distant audio well enough and does a good job rejecting off-axis sounds. Not as good as a $500 12" shotgun, mind you, but perfectly acceptable for on-cam audio in tight situations and significantly better than any on-cam built-in mic.

Size and durability wise, the web images of this mic make it appear larger than it is. They should put a dollar bill next to it (it would be about 3/5ths of a dollar's length). I use a fury which does a good job cutting stong wind noise. From a durability standpoint, I've carried this thing in remote locations in China and other places, mic always stays on the cam. In and out of a backpack with other items. It's held up well. I think the shock mount is an intelligent compromize between isolating a cam's vibrations and motor noise while keeping the overall package compact. Based upon my experience, one would have to be abusive to rip the shock mount. That being said, it probably wouldn't take much abuse if one was inclined to do so, it's not built to pick your cam up with, or twist around. But the same could be said for my larger Sony's on-cam mic holder too. The battery seems to last forever.

Overall, if you want to improve your on-cam audio this is a quality little mic that produces audio far greater than it's tiny size would seem.

Comments about Sennheiser MKE 400 Compact Video Camera Shotgun Microphone:

Nice compact size. Can be mounted on most cameras. Clear sound.

Comments about Sennheiser MKE 400 Compact Video Camera Shotgun Microphone:

This an very small and high quality mike built in Germany. Sound is good for on camera uses. Good for casual use but should not be used in pro applications. You will need a off camera shotgun microphone.

Comments about Sennheiser MKE 400 Compact Video Camera Shotgun Microphone:

Great little mic for run and gun audio solutions, b roll footage, and solid reference audio for later sync with external audio from a zoom, etc. Get the optional dead cat windscreen and you won't regret!

Comments about Sennheiser MKE 400 Compact Video Camera Shotgun Microphone:

I bought it for my Canon 5D MKII and used it for over 2 months. Day and night compared to the built in mic. All the camera noises from built in mic went away, sound quality is very good. My only reservation is the price. It might be too pricey for lower end cameras, but it is great for my 5D MKII. Will never record another video without it

Comments about Sennheiser MKE 400 Compact Video Camera Shotgun Microphone:

I used Sennheiser mics many years ago with great success, and I am very pleased with this current version of a top quality, short shotgun.

Comments about Sennheiser MKE 400 Compact Video Camera Shotgun Microphone:

For good on-the-fly sound for your dslr, this is really the way to go. This helps get WAY better sound than just the built in microphone. Even when working with a complete crew, my sound mixers usually ask me to use this on-camera just in case.

Comments about Sennheiser MKE 400 Compact Video Camera Shotgun Microphone:

I was surprised at how good this mic sounded. Purchased specifically for Canon 5d, I was expecting serviceable reference track audio. I was thrilled that the mic gives nice clean audio. It's by no means on par with a [$] shotgun mic but it gets the job done and has become my audio solution for smaller shoots.

Comments about Sennheiser MKE 400 Compact Video Camera Shotgun Microphone:

Im not going to sit here and write an entire review on this mic, theyre all over the net. Ill just hit on a few items that caught me off guard when we received our shipment of MKE400's. First we are using these mics in extreme conditions, hence the need for compact stereo mics. Anyways.... the overall size was a lot smaller than I imagined. Even after reading reviews, specs, and looking at a ton of photos... the mic still surprised me with its compact size. The second thing that I immediately noticed was the flimsy shockmount used to dampen sounds coming from the camera. With one day on my camera the mount was ripped and mic out of commission. Like I said though, we put these camera systems through the ringer on a daily basis.

Overall great compact mic with an amazing boost in audio quality over the internal mic. Great for crisp clear ambient sound and much nicer than having to run a designated audio recorder and mics.

Buy it.... you'll love it!

Comments about Sennheiser MKE 400 Compact Video Camera Shotgun Microphone:

I bought this mic about a year ago and my first impression was that it was a great improvement from the internal mic on my 5D MKII. I use my 5D to mostly shoot weddings and what I can tell you is that this mic is not made for run and gun type of shoots. After using it on about 4 or 5 weddings a small piece of plastic broke off that helps keep the rubber shock absorbers in place, leaving the mic flopping about a little. I managed to order a new part from Sennheizer but since then I've had situations where I don't get any audio at all or intermitten audio with static. I'm not sure what's broken on it now but it's defintely not made to last.

Comments about Sennheiser MKE 400 Compact Video Camera Shotgun Microphone:

I use this mic for when i film bands playing live shows. Its metal construction is nice to have because it gives me peace of mind when its getting thrown around. Overall this mic is outstanding for price and perfect for its uses. I have yet to find any Cons with this mic.

Comments about Sennheiser MKE 400 Compact Video Camera Shotgun Microphone:

Well Constructed, but smaller than expected.

Comments about Sennheiser MKE 400 Compact Video Camera Shotgun Microphone:

Good microphone. I especially like its small size to be used on DSLR cameras. The angled plug is appreciated, but I wish it came with an adapter to convert hte end into the tiny stereo plug used on cameras like the Panasonic GH2.
Its nice to have a high-pass (wind bass) roll-off filter built in and for those people familiar with Sennheiser mics will be comfortablew in the operation of this one. Things such as the battery check and the tonal frequency will remind you of the K-6 series. Price may seem a little high, but as always, you get what you pay for, and rest assured, you get very good Sennhsiser audio quality. Buy a Rycote fuzzy windshield for much better outside pewrformance.