Rode NTG3 and AT4053b compared indoors
Channel: Ray Ortega
Date: 2015-07-29

View all my gear at http://thepodcastersstudio.com/gear. Using a boom microphone indoors can be tricky depending on which kind of mic you use. In this case, I had the Rode NTG3 and AT4053b available for review and so I put them on the boom pole and compared how the audio sounded when used indoors. 

The room this was recorded in presents a lot of challenges as far as reverb and echo getting back into the microphones goes. You'll hear how each microphone handles this as well as a comparison to the sound coming from the Canon 60D's on-board camera microphone. 

When using a shotgun microphone like the Rode NTG3 indoors, the reflections you get from audio bouncing off of close, hard surfaces can produce unwanted issues in your audio. It just doesn't sound right because the side rejection capabilities of the shotgun mic are trying to pick up while at the same time cancel your voice that is returning to the microphone. 

This phenomena along with the fact that I rarely see a long shotgun microphone being used on Hollywood films and TV shot indoors, led to search for the "proper" type of dialog boom mic. 

The answer is the hyerpcardioid, condenser microphone. In this case, I'm using the Audio Technica AT4053b. More affordable than the Rode NTG3 but still expensive. However, compared to the price of boom mic they use in Hollywood, the AT4053b is a steal. 

The idea is that without the long rejection tube actively trying to cancel out the noises that are reflecting back at the mic, you can avoid some of the weird issues you can get with a shotgun mic. 

In this case I didn't notice a lot of difference in terms of how the reflections were handled. You can hear that the NTG3 has a much deeper low end frequency response and that that AT4053b is a bit "brighter" creating a more natural sounding replication of my voice. 

However, one key factor in my own test was that I wanted to know if I could buy the Rode NTG3 and be able to use it both indoors and out. For me, I think the answer is yes. It's a great mic that I think would work in most indoor situations but could run into issues here and there. 

That said, I ended up purchasing the AT4053b because I most often film indoors and this is the proper microphone for that. And at almost half the price and the fact that I bought it used, I saved a great deal of money. I still want to get the NTG3 but I'm very happy with my 4053b as it has a very clean sound, low noise floor and has a few extra interesting features like interchangeable mic capsules. 

Did you hear a difference? Let me know below! 

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Music licensed from premiumbeat.com: http://bit.ly/1BJbspm
Track: “Making Music” by Max Brodie

*Gear used to make this video:

► Rode NTG3 http://podhelp.me/ntg3oldbh

► AT4053b Hypercardiod condenser microphone B&H: http://podhelp.me/at4053bBH 

► Tascam DR-60D http://podhelp.me/tdr60d

► Strut STR-DR60D Field Case for Tascam DR-60D http://podhelp.me/dr60dstrutbagbh

► Impact Multiboom Light Stand and Reflector Holder - 13' http://podhelp.me/impactmultiboom

► Pearstone PM XLR cable - 10' B&H: http://podhelp.me/pstonePMXLR10BH Amazon:           http://podhelp.me/pstonePMXLR10Amazon

► Manfrotto 394 Quick Release Plate and Base http://podhelp.me/394plate 

► Canon 60D http://podhelp.me/60dkit

► Transcend SD card 16 and 32GB Class 10 http://podhelp.me/tr16gb10

► Manfrotto 701 HDV Tripod http://podhelp.me/701hdv055xbkit

► Sigma 30mm 1.4 http://podhelp.me/30mmsigma

*all links should be considered affiliates. Purchases made using these links help support this channel. Please read my ethics statement at http://thepodcastersstudio.com/ethics