Today I am testing out my very first Shotgun microphone, the Tonor Stereo Shotgun Mic. If you don't know what a shotgun mic is, it is a uni directional microphone on steroids; meaning it is very very uni-directional. These are typically the kind of microphones you will see on film sets at the end of long boom arms, hanging just above an actors head to pick up what they are saying. These are used in those situations because they are great at isolating what they are pointing at while ignoring the surrounding noise. And if you are interested in this mic, it'll cost you about $30 on Amazon.
What's In the Box
- Super Cardioid Microphone
- Windscreen
- Microphone Mounts
- Cold-Shoe Camera Camera Mount
- 5/8" Mic Stand Mount
- XLR to 3.5mm Cable
- 3.5mm to 1/8" adapter
- Documentation
- Storage Box
Performance / Features
Before I mention anything, I want to mention that this thing requires a single AA battery to work. Moving on. The construction is all metal and feels relatively sturdy. The metal construction does not lead to a heavy microphone; it is still fairly light, which is what you want with a shotgun microphone (when you have a mic on the end of a 7 foot boom pole, you want the microphone to be as light as possible). As far as accessories, the microphone clips feel cheap, the box won't offer much protection, the cable is super long, and I'm sure the adapter would work.
The microphone has two settings on it: (1) Normal, and (2) Tele. The normal setting is what I use for the majority of the video, and I think it sounds natural and pretty good for the price. The tele setting is supposed to zoom in the microphones focus and make the polar pattern even more narrow, which it does. However, once you switch to the Tele setting, the audio sounds overly processed and becomes unusable in my opinion.
The frequency response lacks on this mic providing 100Hz - 16kHz. I wish that this microphone didn't omit everything above 16kHz and below 100Hz, but it is a $30 microphone and I can't expect it to rival a $200 shotgun mic. That being said, the normal mode still sounds pretty decent.
Pros
- Super Directional
- Power Provided via Battery
- Metal Build Quality
- Light Weight
- Included Mic Mounts
- Normal Mode Sounds Decent
- Low Cost!!!
Cons
- Tele Mode is Unusable
- Lacks Full Frequency Range
- Bulky
Conclusion
I was rather impressed with the normal mode on this microphone, but once we switch to tele mode, this microphone becomes a paper weight, so as long as you stick on normal mode, you'll be fine. I think that this microphone has a very specific target audience that can benefit from it's use, that is video creators who have a home studio and are on a budget. Let me explain.
If you are making a film, I do not think that this will provide clean enough audio to work for you. However, if you're on a budget and can't afford anything better, this is a decent option. If you're a vlogger who goes out and about who wants to improve your audio, this microphone is definitely not for you. It is too big to put on top of your camera and use. Basically the only people who I can see using this are people who have a boom arm at home, and can place this microphone just out of frame in their videos, who are also on a budget...those are the only people I can fully recommend this mic to.
If you have any additional questions about this headset, leave them in the comments on this site or on the youtube channel, and I will try to reply ASAP.
Buy it on Amazon: http://amzn.to/22qS5Mu