I am satisfied with the purchase. The barrel works perfectly and is the ideal complement for my Sony PXW-X70 video camera. This is not a fancy microphone, but it is perfect for recording outdoors and for interviews. The quality is good and does not give you the noise and noise pickup problems you have already experienced with the Rode NTG2. It works well with modest phantom-powered cameras and is also valid for placing it on a pole with a multi-meter cable, using an external mid-range recorder or the camera itself. Recommended for its value for money.

A great mic at a reasonable price. Accurate and articulate voice quality

The NTG-1 is an excellent choice for voice recording for videography. I use it with a Tascam DR-40 which provides the needed phantom power. It requires only a moderate amount of preamp gain and noise is quite low. The sound is crisp and articulate with a nice robust low end that is not overpowering. It sounds real nice without much processing. It does what a microphone should do . . . Produce accurate audio with minimal coloration. This is an excellent choice if you need a solid, short shotgun microphone. Just remember to position the mic no further than 24 inches from the subject and the voice will come through wonderfully. I find that mounting it high and pointing downward toward the chin or chest produces a pleasing and accurate voice quality with low room or ... MoreThe NTG-1 is an excellent choice for voice recording for videography. I use it with a Tascam DR-40 which provides the needed phantom power. It requires only a moderate amount of preamp gain and noise is quite low. The sound is crisp and articulate with a nice robust low end that is not overpowering. It sounds real nice without much processing. It does what a microphone should do . . . Produce accurate audio with minimal coloration. This is an excellent choice if you need a solid, short shotgun microphone. Just remember to position the mic no further than 24 inches from the subject and the voice will come through wonderfully. I find that mounting it high and pointing downward toward the chin or chest produces a pleasing and accurate voice quality with low room or ambient noise. Enjoy!

Amazing sound for the price

I'm using the microphone with my Canon 7D and a Zoom H4n recorder. I got a Rycote Universal Camera kit that includes a mount and windshield. I was very hesitant to buy a microphone at such a comperatively low price, since I know how important sound is and that it is better to invest in the best quality. I am very impressed, however, with the quality of sound I am getting. I know a sound expert will probably be able to tell me how much better a Sennheiser 416 is. But to most ordinary people, including me who have been doing professional camera work for years, the audio sounds, well, just great. The look and feel of the microphone speaks of quality. The length is also perfect for a DSLR and even on a wide lens, the microphone mounted on the camera's hot shoe does not ... MoreI'm using the microphone with my Canon 7D and a Zoom H4n recorder. I got a Rycote Universal Camera kit that includes a mount and windshield. I was very hesitant to buy a microphone at such a comperatively low price, since I know how important sound is and that it is better to invest in the best quality. I am very impressed, however, with the quality of sound I am getting. I know a sound expert will probably be able to tell me how much better a Sennheiser 416 is. But to most ordinary people, including me who have been doing professional camera work for years, the audio sounds, well, just great. The look and feel of the microphone speaks of quality. The length is also perfect for a DSLR and even on a wide lens, the microphone mounted on the camera's hot shoe does not get into shot.

Beyond bang-for-buck

I wouldn't consider myself a professional nor have I experience with any other shotguns. HOWEVER, I don't need to be a pro to tell that the noise level is very low and that this mic produces very good sound. I bought it for personal projects that I won't be making money on and it's been worth every dollar (well, shekel)! It's small and light which makes putting on a camera simple and easy. I just finished filming an indie short with it and got great results. I was able to get very usable sound from about 10' away. If you're not a pro, like myself, and you're hesitant about this one I'd say go for it! I can't recommend it enough!

Excellent Mic with superb sound quality

Having bought one of these I was so impressed I bought another (as my camera has dual XLR input), I also have the NTG2 which has slightly more gain. Although the NTG1 is slightly quieter than its successor it delivers excellent sound quality, clean, warm sound with no discernable background hiss that I have had with other (cheaper) mics. This is a well made, slightly shorter shotgun mic that simply delivers, Rode provide a 10 year warranty with all of their mics which is transferable as long as you have proof of purchase which shows how much confidence they have in their products, this means that should a repair be required it will be carried out at a local service centre as long as the warranty stands. Great value for money, great sound, great build quality.

Good on-camera mic so far

I bought this microphone to attach to the shotgun mount of my Sony PMW-200 camcorder. It's short enough to attach to the camera without invading my shot. It was a little too thin to fit into the camera mount, but I taped a small piece of foam paper around the base of the microphone and now it fits perfectly. I've had it for a few months and it has worked well so far. I ran into a situation where I needed to record someone talking and didn't have ideal equipment with me. We were outdoors in a noisy environment and only had this microphone attached to my camera to try to pick up some useable audio. Obviously, the end result wasn't amazing quality audio, but I still felt that this mic did an amazing job considering the situation and I was able to use some of what we ... MoreI bought this microphone to attach to the shotgun mount of my Sony PMW-200 camcorder. It's short enough to attach to the camera without invading my shot. It was a little too thin to fit into the camera mount, but I taped a small piece of foam paper around the base of the microphone and now it fits perfectly. I've had it for a few months and it has worked well so far. I ran into a situation where I needed to record someone talking and didn't have ideal equipment with me. We were outdoors in a noisy environment and only had this microphone attached to my camera to try to pick up some useable audio. Obviously, the end result wasn't amazing quality audio, but I still felt that this mic did an amazing job considering the situation and I was able to use some of what we recorded that day. It has certainly served me well so far and I would recommend it to others.

Great Entry Level Mic

I bought this Microphone as part of the Bundle Kit that B&H has and I love it. I'm just starting to break into location sound and sound design so i needed a shotgun mic that was at a professional level but still affordable. The mic is plenty sensitive and captures all frequencies at fairly even levels. The lows are a little weak, but not to a level that should really cause a lot of problems. Especially for the price. i don't have a problem with it not having a battery (The only difference between the NTG-1 and NTG-2) but if you don't have a power supply or a recorder that can supply phantom than this could be an issue. The included windscreen is borderline nonsense but that is usually the case for all shotguns, and if your not buying a softy or blimp with the ... MoreI bought this Microphone as part of the Bundle Kit that B&H has and I love it. I'm just starting to break into location sound and sound design so i needed a shotgun mic that was at a professional level but still affordable. The mic is plenty sensitive and captures all frequencies at fairly even levels. The lows are a little weak, but not to a level that should really cause a lot of problems. Especially for the price. i don't have a problem with it not having a battery (The only difference between the NTG-1 and NTG-2) but if you don't have a power supply or a recorder that can supply phantom than this could be an issue. The included windscreen is borderline nonsense but that is usually the case for all shotguns, and if your not buying a softy or blimp with the microphone, that's on you. Overall it's a great entry level mic that is well worth the price.

Making TV Better In a 'Short' Way

Recently, I acquired a Sony PXW-X70 and needed to find a quality mic in a compact design and without breaking the bank. This camera would be primarily used for recording outings/trips that would end up on some Hunting/Fishing TV shows so I knew that I need to invest in a quality mic. In my initial research of compact shotgun style mics, I found a few that would fit within the maximum length requirement. I was leaning toward a shorter and less expensive mic from another manufactorer but then a filming partner of mine reminded me that good video is 90% audio. With my experience of filming, that hit home so I broke some piggy banks and vacuumed my cars out to find loose change and I purchased the Rode. In the bigger scheme of things, this is by no means an expensive ... MoreRecently, I acquired a Sony PXW-X70 and needed to find a quality mic in a compact design and without breaking the bank. This camera would be primarily used for recording outings/trips that would end up on some Hunting/Fishing TV shows so I knew that I need to invest in a quality mic. In my initial research of compact shotgun style mics, I found a few that would fit within the maximum length requirement. I was leaning toward a shorter and less expensive mic from another manufactorer but then a filming partner of mine reminded me that good video is 90% audio. With my experience of filming, that hit home so I broke some piggy banks and vacuumed my cars out to find loose change and I purchased the Rode. In the bigger scheme of things, this is by no means an expensive mic and it is well worth the few extra dollars. After getting it delivered and performing the 'Fro Knows Sniff Test,' I put it on the PXW-x70 and started doing some simple audio checks to find it's sweet spot. After spending about an hour of speaking and setting changing I found that the NTG1 needed the 20db boost from he camera pre-amps with the gain at 80% (this should vary between cameras). I was hoping that the signal strength of the mic would be a little stronger but even at this higher gain setting the noise floor is still really low (approx. 40-38db). I also did a few similar tests with the Tascam DR-60Dmk2 and the gain settings were similar as well but the noise floor was a little lower (approx. 42-40db). Which made me feel better about this purchase because I now knew that I could use this mic along with the Tascam for recording interviews (scoop or boom position). I did notice in these tests that the optimal max distance from the speaking subject was about 2-2.5ft. Once you moved the mic further away the echoes in an untreated room would become more and more noticeable. The off-axis audio is noticeable but with a satisfactory fall-off that wasn't too quick/steep. This would bring me to point out that you have to pick the mic for JOB THAT YOU WANT IT TO DO THE MAJORITY OF THE TIME. If you do not want to hear much, if any, off-axis or echo audio then this IS NOT the mic for you and you should be looking at HYPERcardioid. This mic is very directional but the fall-off is a steady and constant pattern which is what I need this mic to do. Being that this mic would be recording nature sounds and at times from a great distance, I wanted to have some of the surrounding audio present with the primary source. The size and weight of this mic fits perfectly with the PXW-x70 (and cameras of similar size, Canon XA20/25). The camera package stays small and compact without loosing quality. When I reviewed the test audio the clarity was very impressive. The sub-100hz frequencies were very clean and not boomy. This was true of the high end of the frequency range and there didn't appear to be any hot spots of frequencies that needed to be cut a few db from the start. Very balanced and true reproduction of the audio source. After all, this is a Rode mic. I have not tested the mic with the low shelf (high-pass filter) turned on so I can't commit on how that feature performs. The XLR connection spacer is a nice bonus. I am currently using mine to keep the mic connection as tight as possible to prevent any unwanted clicking noise to be recorded when on the move. The Kopul (Neutrik) cable appears to be doing its job very well being that the optimal recording levels have a low noise floor. I have not yet used the shock mount yet but it does have a snug fit around the mic. If you are looking for a great mic to put on your compact professional camera then the NTG1 would be a good option. I have been very pleased with mine. Matt P.

Quality shotgun mic

Heavy duty, solid construction, great sound.This thing is solid. It is machined out of one solid piece of aluminum and feels great. I got this model instead of the NTG-2 because I didn't want the weakness of moving parts. I was not disappointed. Sound quality is great. I tested it against my azden shotgun and rode video mic pro. This thing has much less ambient noise. It's very directional and doesn't sound thin like many other cheap shotgun mics. Great bass, nice clarity, great off axis cancelation.

Real clean proffesional microphone

This mic works perfect with a camera that can feed phantom power or a recorder that can. A nice size for an on board camera mic. I just plugged it in to my c300 and turn phantom power on, adjusted levels and was ready to go. I didn't test it before I went out and shot an event with it. Thank goodness it worked smoothly. The audio is nice and clean. That was the biggest thing for me. Plus a 10 year warranty is nice. If i had to say something that isn't great it's that it's not exactly a mic for smaller cameras that don't have phantom power even though you can buy a recorder or pre-amp thing.