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Rode NTG2 not giving me what I want. I need a good on-board mic for my EX3.
When I have the Rode NTG 2 mic on my EX3 (connected through XLR), you would have to be very close to your subject to get good, clear audio. Or am I doing something wrong? It seems to me that the Rode NTG 2 is for recording dialogue up close, like off a boom, and is not great mounted on a camera. I need an on-board mic on my EX3 to capture audio in churches, to be used alongside a Sennheiser K6 and ME66 on Channel 2. If Channel 2 ever goes down, I want to be able to fall back on Channel 1. At the moment, the built mic, although not great, is giving me better audio than the Rode NTG 2. Any suggestions for a good on camera mic? Thanks.
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10 Replies
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Any mic that’s mounted on the camera is going to sound far away.
Did you try turning up the gain on the camera? With the proper settings the NTG2 should sound the built-in mic.
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I’ve tried everything with it, but it doesn’t seem to be picking up audio as good as the in-built camera mic (even though that’s not a shotgun). It seems as though the quality of all-round audio I’m looking for is coming from the in-built mic. It’s capturing more of the room tone, and the celebrants voice is clearer.
When I play the audio back (from the NTG2) it sounds like it’s been recorded in an echo chamber…or a narrow hallway. I wonder could it be some setting somewhere? I’ll try turning up the audio level to 10 in ‘manual’ on the EX3 (again) and compare.
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I use the same microphone and have never had any such audio issues using it on-camera. Make sure you haven’t set the EX3 audio input setting to “Line” incorrectly. Otherwise you may have a faulty mic.
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Hello Richard and welcome to the Cow Audio Forum.
While it is possible that the mic is faulty. Interference tube mics like the NTG-3 all behave that way.
Here’s a tutorial that “shows” a lot about how the mics work.
https://gallery.me.com/tyreeford#100038
Listen on good monitors or very good headphones.
Regards,
Ty Ford
Want better production audio?: Ty Ford’s Audio Bootcamp Field Guide
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Thanks. I think your video shows exactly what I was saying. The shotgun mic needs to be as close as possible to the speaker in order to pick up what they’re saying. I’m approx 20 feet away from a speaker at any given time at a wedding. Although the NTG 2 is directional, the in built camera mic is actually picking up sound more clearly. It could be that the NTG 2 mic is faulty (I doubt it), but I think I might need a different kind of mic mounted on my camera. Any suggestions?
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Stick with what you have. I don’t know any mic that sounds good at 20 feet.
Regards,
Ty Ford
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Wolf: “Here’s some light reading for you… The Myth of Microphone “Reach” Wolf”
Is it any good? Who is the author? 😉
Just for clarity: I’m not thinking that the Rode NTG 2 shotgun should have a reach of 20 feet. A lot of people use this mic on their cameras. I’ve used it and I don’t think it’s useful on a camera. It needs to be really close to a person to pick up what they’re saying. It’s a wonderful mic if used near the person, like on a boom.
Perhaps I don’t need a shotgun for this purpose. Maybe I need a better stereo mic, which I believe is the name of the in built mic on the EX3?
I shot a wedding yesterday and tested both the Rode NTG 2 and the in built mic in the camera. I shot the first half of the ceremony with the Rode, approx 20 feet from celebrant. For the second half, I used the in built mic. Just a note: I’m not relying on the shotgun or in built mic. I’m using external mics, but I want to sort this out just in case anything ever happens that I need to rely on the on board mic/shotgun.
The in built mic performed better for my purpose. You can hear the celebrant a lot clearer. I think the Rode is just not made for what I’m shooting, although I know a lot of people use it for weddings.
The mic can’t be broken, as it works perfectly – if used up close to a person. A lovely quality sound.
I also used the Rode for half the speeches and dancing, and compared it with the in built mic. No dice. Any recommendations for a different mic? Thanks guys!
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Richard,
Any mic with slots down the tube will behave the same way as the NTG-2 in terms of how they pickup sound. The tube, btw, is called an interference tube because it presents an interference to some sounds.
As I demonstrated in the video tutorial, lows and mids are picked up by the side of these mics. Any shooting with lots of sounds to the sides, like a wedding reception, will behave this way.
Rent a Sanken CS-3e (slots but different intereior) and see if that helps.
Regards,
Ty Ford
Want better production audio?: Ty Ford’s Audio Bootcamp Field Guide
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I know this is an old thread but I have dealt with situations like these.
You may be better putting the NTG 2 on a stand at the speaker and either :
1) use something like a Sony UTX P1 transmitter. If you’re doing that you may be able to use the same transmitter box to get a direct XLR mono output from the in house desk then you can stand wherever you like with your camera.
2) Still with the NTG on a stand at the speaker, run an XLR cable along the wall to your camera.
3) Use something like a Fostex MR8 and take a recording again from the inhouse desk then resync later.
I have an NTG 2 and wouldn’t use it in the way you are doing here.
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