I ordered the ISK from the Swamp Industries website and it arrived today only 10 days later. Not bad from Australia to east coast US. Will test over next few days and report back.

@matt_gh2 Be aware that shotgun mics don't block sounds per se but rather are very directional and so much more sensitive to sounds approaching the capsule from a particular direction - it won't magically make undesirable background sounds disappear since a lot of the time those sounds are reflections approaching the mic from the direction it's pointing at. A small exercise that will help you manage expectations regarding recording in urban areas is to block one ear, cup the other and point it in the direction of the sound you want to pick up. If you are still hearing traffic/background/fridge/fan, etc... I guarantee your boom mic will pick it up; if the offending sound is as loud as the talent's voice, expect the same in your recording. An important thing to remember is that the closer the mic is to the source, the louder that source will be in your recording relative to ambient sounds. Second thing to remember is that shotguns are also sensitive to sounds approaching them directly from the rear so mic placement is very important. Since a shotgun's greatest rejection occurs from the sides (and that's dependant on frequency) its usually best to have the mic pointing down towards the source you want to record. All very general info but important to understand to get the most from your gear.

Ordered one of the ISK mics. Will test and report back once I receive it. I liked the background rejection on the beachs shot in @Rambo 's videos. I want to test in urban environment to see how well it blocks out traffic and general din of busy areas.

If its background rejection you're after I would go with the Super Cardioid, as you can hear in the 2 videos I posted above the sounds of the ocean and beach are very much in the background considering the mic is 18-24 inches from the talents mouth.

Has anybody tried the

• Superlux PRA118 L (or S), http://www.ebay.de/itm/Superlux-PRA118L-540-mm-Shotgun-Condenser-Microphone-/400335097527?pt=UK_Sound_Vision_Microphones&hash=item5d35d4ceb7

or

• iSK EM-526, http://www.ebay.de/itm/iSK-EM-526-Broadcast-Interview-Condenser-Microphone-/110885628713?pt=AU_Pro_Audio&hash=item19d14c6b29

?

I'm looking to replace my MXL FR-300.

I have one MXL FR-300 which is a very good (sensitive) mic, but I also have one FR-300 that is faulty (loud hiss). The FR-300 is no longer available and the followup FR-333M is not available yet.

I bought a couple used beyer dynamic mce 86 version 1 mics months ago for ~150$$.. I like their sound pickup as it's flat, but they have a hiss, which seems to be common to the beyer mics.. any ideas as to how to remove the hiss? Check any of the MCE 86 vids and it is evident

It can plug into GH2 direct with xlr-3.5 cable ( but needs a phantom power supply) or as I did above into XLR connections on a H4n with its phantom power. I'm not sure why but this mic with the H4n bottom XLR connections results in surprisingly quiet preamp noise from the H4n even when set to 100% level.

This next video was the day before, same camera/mic.

Vitaliy_Kiselev August 2013

VK that $40 ISK CM-20C hyper cardioid mic is a very good mic, my SennHeiser K6 is now in the bottom draw. No internal battery, but works excellent on 48v phantom power. Nice rich tone for voice and very low noise, actually it's the quietest mic I own and good sensitivity.

Glad that you like it. In fact it is very little known mike. Most go to Oktava. Hope that more guys start to use it with time.

@Vitaliy_Kiselev VK, all the interview audio in this outdoor video was recorded with that $40 ISK CM-20C hyper cardioid mic you recommended above ( except for the 2 women at the beginning they were Zoom H1 internal mic ) its quite good at rejecting background noise of noisy beach locations even with the mic 2ft from the speakers mouth. ( all video was shot on GH1)

@DrDave I enjoyed the commentary and examples. Thanks for taking the time to go into such detail and I fully agree with everything you said about mic placement in the studio - it's pretty close to what my mentor taught me when I was younger. :)

The dialogue recording in the video you linked to had a very different sound from most of the clips I listen to, and I both liked and disliked parts of it on first listen. The stereo image was very wide and specific and it was a little jarring to hear just how much the speaker's voice changed as they turned after getting used to the more common dialogue recording approaches, and the early reflections were quite pronounced... but also very natural and detailed. It definitely captured a lot of the vibe, didn't suffer from excessive sibilance and had a real "you're there" quality to it. I'm looking forward to listening again later.

Anyway, for what it's worth, I'm partial to the Rode microphones if I need microphones with consistent build quality and low self-noise. I have an NT-2A (switchable between omni, cardoid and figure 8) for studio recording and am thinking about getting a NT-1A (single pattern but extremely low self-noise) in the future.

Should anyone care, my copy was actually a dud. The seller sent me the money back, so kudos to them for the good service.

@vitaliy_kiselev I've ordered the ISK CM-20C as it gets good feedback. Has anyone any experience with their shotgun mic the EM-526?

@acuriousman we used a Rode NTG-2 w/ a Tascam Dr-100 for a recent feature doc and we're happy with the results. (mic was actually sitting on the lap of the reporter who sat next to Judy E. (not a good setup), and Judy Bear is recorded in the opening of her garage)

Also, used the same setup for narration, but soundproofed an old victorian closet. Ended up like this: