What's a top of the line wind screen for mics?

[Luis Ortiz]

Need help.

I used a Rycote windscreen like the one listed in the link blow and the mic was picking up all the wind.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...indscreen.html

What's a top of the line windscreen? What's the difference between the furry ones and the blimps?

Thanks in advance for your help.

[ericyoung]

Rycote are certainly amongst the top of the line.

The one in your picture is called a "softie" and is OK for light breezes or gusts. Certainly better than foam or nothing. Make sure your softie is long enough to cover all the slots on the side of your mic, or it will not work!

The blimps, high wind covers, and windjammers from Rycote, Sennheiser and others significantly improve on the softie for reducing wind roar.

From Rycote's website FAQ:
http://www.rycote.com/products/faq/

Q: What is the difference between a Windshield and a Softie?
A: Windshields allow the entire microphone to be suspended in a protected environment. This gives the ultimate in windnoise suppression. Softies are a simpler, push-on design which, though still very effective, are primarily aimed at those for whom robustness is a priority.

Q: Can I use a Hi Wind Cover in conjunction (ie, underneath) with a Windjammer?
A: Yes. However, as you add more covers – even Rycote ones – you must expect some reduction of sound quality (mostly HF), but this may well be quite acceptable compared to wind roar.

Q: At what wind speeds are Softies and Windshields effective?
A: Wind speed figures are averages over a certain time; whereas, what ruins a recording is the momentary peak that causes a “blast”- and wind can be a fairly steady blow from one direction, or turbulent gusts from everywhere. The criteria for “noise” also vary with use. For music one “putter” of wind could be very annoying, but for a gritty news report in a storm, one only cares if it is intelligible. So, correlating effectiveness with wind speed is all but impossible – but with the right mic, the right user, and the right Rycote successful recordings have been made in full gales.

[Luis Ortiz]

Thanks for you help, Eric Young.

[Nicole Hankerson]

Rode Blimp with a Deadcat works great. I took advantage of the $1 Rode blimp special when I bought my Rode NTG-3. I used it on a windy night and it worked really good. Below is it in action and a link to it online.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KImKWfucfdw

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...indshield.html

Nicole

[Andy Roberts]

Can the Rode NTG-3 be used indoors for a drama type film?

If not, do you have a good recommendation for a non-shotgun condenser?

For indoor shots, do pros or serious hobbyists use blimps or do they just attach the mic to a boom.

Any good boom recommendations? I wish this forum had a buyers guide for small-medium budgets for all the supporting equipments to film making... audio, dollies and steadicams, lighting, etc.

[Lancelot Jean Mallia]

Or if your cheap (like Me :) ) I like building them.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bqJRn2im4qE

[Dave Blackham]

You Need a Rycote suspension and basket. Over the basket use a windjammer. The windjammer needs to be unmatted and in good condition to work properly, if its lost its long hair it wont work properly.

I've used a basket cover for the basket before now with Windjammer over the top and also had a foam pop shield on a mic also. It worked OK in a gale 8 set up like this. Bear in mind the more layers the less top end you get. The idea about using a wind jammer is it presents a soft layer over which the air flows. They are really great devices.

[ericyoung]

Can the Rode NTG-3 be used indoors for a drama type film?

If not, do you have a good recommendation for a non-shotgun condenser?

For indoor shots, do pros or serious hobbyists use blimps or do they just attach the mic to a boom.

Any good boom recommendations? I wish this forum had a buyers guide for small-medium budgets for all the supporting equipments to film making... audio, dollies and steadicams, lighting, etc.

The NTG-3 has very similar characteristics to a Sennheiser 416, so it can be used for drama type film recording. If used near ceilings, the rear facing sensitivity lobe can pick up reflections from the rear which colours the sound, and so traditionally recordists have not been keen to use 416 indoors especially with low ceilings.

I hear good things about the Sanken CS3e but that's as expensive as the 416!

You only need a blimp where there's wind, so unless you're shooting indoors with strong draughts, you can just use the mic in a suspension on a boom without the blimp - saves weight and bulk.

Buy booms secondhand off Ebay - not much to go wrong with them.

[Stephen Pruitt]

Boy, speaking from experience here, I will never again use any boom microphone indoors without a zeppelin on it. We ran into way too many times when an unexpected wind current hit it out of nowhere and ruined a take. I'd rather lose a touch of high frequencies all of the time than ruin a great take even once.

Stephen

[ericyoung]

Boy, speaking from experience here, I will never again use any boom microphone indoors without a zeppelin on it. We ran into way too many times when an unexpected wind current hit it out of nowhere and ruined a take. I'd rather lose a touch of high frequencies all of the time than ruin a great take even once.

Stephen

Indoors really shouldn't need a blimp. Were the windows are open or the aircon blowing?