Sennheiser MKE 440 Compact Stereo Shotgun

Great purchase and customer service! They honored my coupon! Great recommendations on this product

I had a Rycote wind-muff and decided to try the Sennheiser. It fits much better that the Rycote, and is a hard inner shell covered by the outer fuzzy layer. The hard inner shell provides protection the the microphone, which is an advantage for me since I put it in a waist pack while recording wildlife in the field. I have not compared the wind reduction of the Sennheiser to the Rycote but the Sennheiser does a reasonable job in light winds.

I have been trying for a long time to find a good on-camera mic that suits my needs. This one is excellent. Most of what I do is filming live music. That means I need a good sounding mic, in this case stereo, with a high SPL level that allows for the loud impact of drums without distortion. This, with the mic level on the MKE 440 set to its lowest setting works great. I did have to buy an adapter cable (about $11), since my camera only has XLR inputs, but that was a very small added expense. The mic uses two AAA batteries, and has a very long life before requiring new ones. The mic attaches very securely via the cold shoe mount. I havent had occasion to use the fur windshield, but I can say that it fits very securely over the microphones.

Fantastic mic. Nice and compact. Would love to see a lightning connector version for iPhone and iOS.

I expected better from this brand. I have the MKH 416 and figured this would also be reasonable. The foam falls off easy - no steady light battery indicator. Not impressed.