5 Shotgun Microphones Comparison And Off-Axis Test

In this video by our colleague photographer and videographer Curtis Judd, takes a look at 5 different shotgun microphones at different price points and how they perform on and off-axis.

For this quick comparative test, Judd decided to take a look at 5 microphones – starting at under $250 and way up to the $1800 price range. These microphones do have some differences in terms of size and features as well but for the most part, the interesting thing is going to be performance.

In terms of performance, you are advised to listen to the different tests from this video with good over the ear headphones or monitor speakers. Surprisingly we didn’t find huge differences between the mics (at least not with our headphones – but maybe your hearing is more sensitive), we did find the Rode NT4+ to be better at rejecting noise off-axis and the expensive DPA 4017B as well. Again – listen for yourself and decide which mic sounds better for you – you can even try to close your eyes and do a sort of blind testing and view it again later to see which is which.

Here are the microphones in the test:

Azden SGM250 Shotgun Microphone – $230 on Amazon.
RODE NTG2 Shotgun Microphone – $270 on Amazon.
Aputure Deity Shotgun Microphone – $370 on Amazon.
RODE NTG4+ Shotgun Microphone – $400 on Amazon.
DPA 4017B Shotgun Microphone – $1800 on Amazon.

You can check out more of Judd’s videos which focus mostly on audio and video here on LensVid finally if you are into sound recording for video productions check out this link which covers both equipment and techniques here on LensVid.

Iddo Genuth

Iddo Genuth is the founder and chief editor of LensVid.com. He has been a technology reporter working for international publications since the late 1990's and covering photography since 2009. Iddo is also a co-founder of a production company specializing in commercial food and product visual content.