The only one I would buy is the NT4 with the omni capsule. Having said that, even though I own them I never use them.

I've been considering the Videomic as a solution to improve the quality of my sound directly out of camera in instances where I don't need top notch recordings, but I don't think I'd trust it for anything beyond that.

I chose the Audio Technika 875r for my main shotgun after watching this video from the guy who builds the Juiced Link preamps:

Mainly as he seems a little obsessed with capturing quality audio (in a good way!) and it allowed me to get both that and a sound recorder with XLRs (went for the Tascam DR-40) without breaking my budget. It's a great setup for getting interview audio but when on a shoulder rig it makes things a little unwieldy, hence looking at adding the Rode.

I like to think I'm kinda operating on a semi-pro level :-P Still learning, but also done a fair handful of paid work which will only be growing.

My hacked iRig Pre allows me to power XLR mics too if I wish. http://www.dslrfilmnoob.com/2012/11/25/irig-pre-hack-cheap-xlr-phantom-power-preamp-dslr/

My uses would primarily be things like weddings and interviews, where I'll be primarily be operating by myself. (I can use Lav mics too for this, but want a better on camera mic either for back up or for when I need the extra speed of not using a lav mic such as last weekend when I was doing a lot of very short and quick interviews at a conference)

Though I could use a boom operator for when I do short films I suppose, this is of lesser importance to my primary semi-pro use.

I think NTG-2 might not be a good choice because it isn't particularly sensitive thus useless if I'm too far away? (or does that not matter if I've got a pre-amp to use beforehand?) So maybe I should go with with the VMP instead, as it is the most directional which I think is handy. (is it worth the extra US$80 though? Hmm... that is a fairly large jump from US$149, more than 50% increase)

Getting off-topic here. Other brands will not do because this topic is about RØDE mics and you have to use RØDE mic in the RØDE competition.

I've been very happy with Rode NTG-3. It's basically just like Sennheiser MKH 416, just a lot cheaper.

. I don't need to ever get new shotgun microphone.

However, it's not that good for indoors, because shotguns picks up reflections coming from walls. For indoors you need hypercardioid microphone. I haven't made too much research on RØDE's hypercardioid selection, but it seems that most of them are mainly for recording instruments (drums etc.).

Has anyone had a problem with the NTG2's inner case moving around and making noise against the outer case? Even when I tighten the mic as much as I can there still seems to be some wiggle especially at the connector end (see red ring in photo) which causes a lot of audible clicking in the audio when changing positions of the mic.

Do I have a faulty mic or is this common with all of them? The brute in me wants to get a hammer and give it a gentle tap to make it snug.

But I guess the problem is the inner casing rotates around the outer whenever you replace the battery so it needs to be able to move.