RØDE - NTG5

Are you looking for on camera shotgun mic? or wireless lav mics? I use the Rode Wireless Pro for lavs and I've liked them quite a bit. Range is good, sounds is good, kit comes with a lot and they record internally for a backup if the sinal cuts. For on camera shotgun I use the Rode Video Mic Pro and it's also great though I think I'd like to try the Sennheiser MKE 400 I've heard good things and I don't wanna have to keep buying 9v volt batteries for the Rode. Also I have a Rode NTG 5+ and with an xlr to 3.5mm cable I've used it with my Z6III succesfully so I guess that's an option too if you need a longer or ofcamera shotgun.

I’m a huge fan of the Rode NTG’s. I saw KEH.com has an NTG2 used for ~$180usd. This assumes you have a way to handle an XLR cable instead of a 3.5mm TRS and some kind of microphone mount. I run a NTG-5 to a Zoom H6 recorder. That also works as an audio interface so I can use my NTG-5 for zoom meetings & etc. I also prefer this setup over Lavs for interviews or talking heads on my video work.

I use my MKH50 outdoors as well as indoors, but I use a Rycote baseball windscreen and that makes it much easier to work with. The MKH416 / 8060 are also great choices, HOWEVER if budget is a concern you can totally get away with the new Rode NTG 5, I've used that a bunch and it's quite good for the price point.

If you insist on 3.5mm, Sennheiser MKE 600 is the best but takes 1x AA battery. Still preferable to Rode Videomic NTG, etc., with built in rechargeables. For batteryless, I would go with the Videomicro or VideoMic GO II (if you also want a USB mic) for grab and go event stuff and EQ to your taste. It will be smaller with wider cardioid pattern but fine for documentary. But getting the Sony XLR module or, say, a Zoom F3, will open up many more XLR choices from the cheap and good AT 875R to rugged RF-bias options like NTG5 or NTG3.

I run dual K6 on a zoom F3. or my Rode NTG5. the Ntg5 has become a favorite mic. it is superb.

Though you are correct, the Rode NTG 5 is a shotgun and what I like to call the “416 killer”…and at half the price.

I use a second hand Rode shotgun mic, homemade pop filter, homemade mic stand, positioned about 2" from my mouth when I'm recording voiceover. My voice comes out clear, no background noise despite not sanitizing my environment at all. Moving closer to the mic is my recommendation, if you haven't already, it does wonders.

Did pretty much my whole feature doc I used neewer cm28 and a rode shotgun.

There aren’t many amazing TRS mics I’m afraid. Rode makes the NTG which might be worth a look. Or get a preamp for the camera that supplies phantom. If you could find a secondhand me64 or me66 with a K6 module - those are Sennheiser shotguns that you can use a battery instead of phantom & adapt to TRS

You could use a Rode NTG or Rode Videomic Go in that 1/8 port if you want a shotgun mic specifically, I believe they can be powered up through it. But using wireless lavs like Rode Wireless Go 2, Pro or Dji Mic II are also good options, so you can have good audio embed into your video, but also a 32 bit backup on the mic internal storage. If you want to use specifically shotguns with an XLR cable, it's better to record audio on a separate device like the Zoom H1 XLR and sync the audio in post production. If you intend to use multiple microphones simultaneously in the future, it's also a good idea to look into recorders with multiple ports.