I'm in Australia and have a friend who oftens buys photographic stuff. We generally combine orders when buying from B&H and share the freight costs. Small items are no longer cost effective to purchase from overseas from the likes of B&H and Adorama.

@kavadni all 3 links are "deadcats" that fit over the microphones. They are not the Rode Dead Wombat that fits over the Rode Blimp. I'm building a blimp, so need a fluffy that would fit over it, not inside it ;)

@kavadni

Please do not turn topic in ebay links collection.

@kavadni There's no Rode Dead Wombat that I can get in the UK for £25. They start at £39+shipping, comes to £43-£46. I spoke to B&H. $49.95+$43 (for shipping) .. $93... hmm.

I'm redesigning my Blimp to be bigger, with more "dead air space"... 125mm in diameter and 490mm long (exactly like Rode Blimp).

@kavadni , Can you please tell us where exactly can we purchase a Rode Dead Wombat for £25. At that price-point, I won't mind dressing my DIY blimp with a Rode Dead Wombat. Please provide a link.

@Roberto thanks, you forgot to mention "and a cup of tea" ;)

@kronstadt

that he/she will make for me a custom cover with 7-8cm diameter and 40cm length for £25

same price as Rode Dead Wombat furry cover

I admire your desire to make forself, I think this is project you might find not worth while.

I will go out on a limb and say you will get a better a result with a foam pop cover designed for the microphone and a furry cover made to fit that from a fabric designed for the purpose .. than you will from a birdcage with a non purposed fabric

This project will take a while to complete, because the parts I've ordered will take time to arrive (we don't have stores like Home Depot here (it's a small town in the middle of nowhere), so I have to order overpriced eBay items for my DIY projects). And I will post updates when I complete it. Hopefully it will work.

If not, the most I can afford (well, I can't even afford those) is these cheap Indian blimps http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/140596801213#ht_4978wt_1172 Has anyone used them? Do they work okey?

@Vitaliy_Kiselev I'd love to get a Rode Blimp, but simply can't afford it.

@Roberto , thanks for the support. I think you get the spirit of this project "Of all things, photography is noted for the ingenuity of its practitioners. Film sets are full of gaffer-tape. DOP Jack Cardiff would breathe on a lens to fog it up, etc. It's all lots of fun."

You said you used "a genuine fluffy dog replacement cover, complete with drawstring" - I have no idea what this is, can you please post a link? or a picture?

It's not about a £12 mic deserving no more than a £20 blimp. Yes, it is about a guy embarking on an ambitious project to make a film with a budget of no more than £6000, so budgeting and being inventive is an integral part of any filmmaking (even when your budget is $60mln). And I think the spirit of GH13 - the crazy idea that you can take a photo-camera, put lenses on it that were manufactured in 1970s and hack/overclock that camera (kudos to @Vitaliy_Kiselev) to make it produce motion pictures comparable to cinematic releases, fits perfectly with the spirit of filmmaking -- that's what intrigued me to buy my second-hand GH1 in the first place. Like anyone else, I'd love to be filming on 35mm filmstock (or even 16mm stock if I could afford that kind of workflow) or Arri Alexa or Red, but I've got GH13 and that's what I've got to shoot a film with.

For now, if I can get a sound clean enough to be comparable to Aranowski's "Pi" or Nolan's "Following", I'd be happy.

But there's another element of innovation in this Blimp project, when one day I took my Zoom H1 and a tea strainer and headed to the beach (I live by the sea, so it's VERY windy), and did a little experiment with the tea-strainer on and off. The difference was huge. I am not aware of any manufactured blimps using double layers of mesh (one for the frame and one additional layer of fine mesh to "break" the wind), and then I found that video on YouTube (see above), and it seems that using fine mesh doesn't compromise the audio transparency. So I decided to go for it. At best it could be a blimp that works better then expensive ones, at worst it could be £20 spent on a lesson.

As for DIY, I do it (even with primitive tools) to cut corners. And so far I've made a slider for £31.57, a crane for £79.87 and many more tools and accessories that are way more capable and useful on locations than Kessler or Philip-Bloom-signature-overpriced-toy.

As for using the fake-fur ladies ankle warmers, what if I cut out the "silky" internal cloth and leave just the fur? Will that restore audio transparency of the fake fur? I asked the seller about which one is the thickest fur and they said #9 "Wolf" here http://www.ebay.com/itm/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=130649552475&ssPageName=STRK:MESE:IT#ht_7692wt_1241 Should I go for it?

Instead of using the fake-fur ladies ankle warmers (which I don't see the reason why any less effective then usual fake fur used in so many DIY blimps), I've negotiated with this manufacturer http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/camera_nation/m.html that he/she will make for me a custom cover with 7-8cm diameter and 40cm length for £25. For a review of what this manucaturer's cheap but effective windshields are capable of see

I'll also contact micover.com to see if I can get the cloth only. Thanks @kavadni

Any more pointers, links, sugestions would be greatly appreciated!

The biggest issue I've had with wind/handling noise was my Oktava MK-012's which I mostly use with hyper capsules indoors. I trawled through various forums and saw many posts from those with identical problems. The most successful solution appeared to be a Rycote Baby Ball gag and Rycote Invision 6 Shockmount, However that was nearly as much as each mic cost. So I tried a bunch of different DIY things none of which completely solved the problems. Finally I gave in and bought the Baby Ball Gag and Invision Shockmount. The Oktava's are much better now but it took me quite a while and a lighter wallet to fix the problem.

@disneytoy

$19 for a mic, we need a $20 blimp

Well, sort of. Not that I don't see where you're coming from. But it gets complicated. For example, for my own $39 budget I might be so tempted by some $37 mic that I might only leave myself enough for a $2 mouse-mat that I'll wrap around the windward side of the mic (as I've done countless times). Or decide to shoot on a different side of a building..

My point is rather that, when we understand the principles involved and our budget, we can make very pragmatic decisions. A grasp of the principles of wind protection is indeed something a keen mind can apply well.

Conversely, manufacturers have constraints (like appearance, freight costs, etc) which limit their ability to make their stuff work properly. Some products are extremely good value, especially these days; others (like miserable attempts to produce something more expensive to do the job of a $1 sock-full of rice for tabletop camera positioning) are no more than snake-oil.

Of all things, photography is noted for the ingenuity of its practitioners. Film sets are full of gaffer-tape. DOP Jack Cardiff would breathe on a lens to fog it up, etc. It's all lots of fun.

So look into it, build your blimp - if possible build one in some way better than anyone else has. Then tell us about it.

My point is, for those of us not serious sound people. Who are investing $19 for a mic, we need a $20 blimp. If we wanted to spend $250 for sound, than we'd be better off spending $200 on a good mic and $50 on the fixings.

+1 Rode Blimp .. love it .. the NT2 lives in it .. it never comes out.