Which mic should I go with VP89 or NTG3

[Eric Toline]

The Rode NTG 3 is a very good choice. Be sure your camera can provide 48v phantom power to the NTG 3 and has XLR female input audio connectors.

“I push the RECORD button and hope for the best”

[Bruce Watson]

[Alok kumar] “I do most of my recording indoors, no professional acoustic treatment has been done in the recording room. I just added a few thick carpets so that the room is not noisy.

Now I’m looking for a mic that will record better audio. All my previous videos were spoiled just because of poor audio. I have a tight budget however I can afford Shure VP89 or Rode NTG 3. Which one shall I go with?”

I don’t normally recommend any interference tube mics for use inside. You’re a math teacher, you can actually do the math and show how an interference tube mic can comb filter when hit with rapid reflections from close interior walls.

Better to use a hypercardioid for interiors in general. I’m not saying that you can’t use a shotgun mic inside, just that it takes experience and ingenuity. The safer play is the hyper.

You didn’t say how you are going to deploy said mic, so I’ll just add this. Don’t even think about mounting the mic on your camera. If that’s what you’re doing, that’s probably why:

[Alok kumar] “All my previous videos were spoiled just because of poor audio.”

Mic placement is way more important that mic brand. Just sayin’.

[Alok Kumar]

Thanks Eric !!

Yes my camera does have a 48V phantom power and the XLR female connector. Since I’ve read good reviews for both NTG3 and VP89, so I was confused which one should I go with. I landed up here where I can get professional and expert advise.

Thanks to you Eric and Creativecow team.
Thanks a ton, you made my day !!

God bless !!

[Alok Kumar]

Hey Bruce !!

Thanks a lot for your advise. I actually checked with a hypercardioid lapel(Shure WL184)and it worked perfect. The reason I was looking for a shotgun mic is because the same camera will be used by my brother as well for recording interview of 2 or more person sitting next to each other. Now I cannot afford 3 lapels with transmitter and receiver. And in that case I might need a audio recorder or a preamplifier and this will add more cost. That is what I think, I may be wrong !!

[Bruce Watson] “Better to use a hypercardioid for interiors in general.”

I thought shotgun mics have cardioid/hypercardioid/supercardioid pickup pattern. Please advise !!
Do you think I should go with Hypercardioid Lapel ?

[Bruce Watson] “Mic placement is way more important that mic brand. Just sayin’.”

I always place the mic as close to the subject as possible.

I am a maths teacher however not an expert with audio equipment. Do you think that I shouldn’t go with shotgun mic ?

Or please suggest me a mic I should go with in this situation, my budget is $1000.

Thanks again !!

[Bruce Watson]

I love a language barrier. 😉 I apologize for my failure to be more clear. I’m going to try to do better below, but if I’m not clear, ask more questions.

One thing at a time — you were trying to make a choice between two shotgun mics. Not lavaliers. This discussion is only about condenser mics designed for booming. That is, on the end of a boom pole, typically over the head of the person you want to record and in front of them, with the microphone pointed directly at their mouth. When possible a boomed microphone should be 45-60cm from the speaker’s mouth. Usually the farther away the microphone is from the source, the worse it sounds.

While it’s true that shotguns have a microphone capsule that is typically a hypercardioid or supercardioid, that capsule has an interference tube in front of it to make it even more directional than the capsule by itself. It’s the interference tube that becomes problematic when used near surfaces that reflect the direct sound. One way around this is to eliminate the interference tube. That is, to go to a hypercardioid condenser mic like the Sennheiser MKH 8050, the AT 4053b, and the Audix SCX1/HC.

All of this is just speculation anyway. If you could post a sound sample we could better understand what you mean by: “previous videos were spoiled just because of poor audio”. If we understand better, we can perhaps offer better suggestions on how to improve your audio captures.