27Feb Rode Deadcat v.s. Micover windscreen – First impressions
Adding a windscreen to your microphone is a good way to reduce wind noise when you’re filming outdoors. There are many options on the market and some cost more then others. Above is the Micover Slip on windscreen attached to the Rode VideoMic. At a price tag of around $24 it covers the VideoMic with a nice looking gray rug of fuzz.
This, on the other hand, is the official Rode Deadcat Windscreen, total cost $40 and it looks like a rats nest. The fuzz is flat in some spots, the velcro attachment gets stuck in the fur, and it cost $16 more the Micover Slip. So far I have not been impressed by the quality of Rode’s official windscreen.
If you where to hide the tag and ask me which one was the more expensive windscreen, I would probably have told you the gray one. The sad thing is that in the tests I’ve done so far, the Micover has actually done a better job of blocking wind noise then the more expensive Rode Deadcat windscreen.
I still have a few more audio tests to record, but as of this writing the Micover has preformed better then the Rode Deadcat windscreen in the last few outdoor tests. I will try to get some audio results posted this week, but it’s starting to look like the Rode Deadcat was a waste of $16.
UPDATE: Check out the full video test here.
February 28th, 2012 at 11:35 am
I read recently about people using fuzzy seatbelt covers for just a couple of bucks as windscreens. Have you ever given that a try?
March 4th, 2012 at 9:08 am
The thing I’ve found with most of the cheap brands is they don’t offer the same sound as Rycote, turn your Rycote socks inside out and you’ll see thousands of tiny pinholes so the mic pickupisn’t obscured so much by the cover. They’re still the best, rode is a new budget mic company only making mics since the late nineties, a small electronic company aka mom and pop store in the 60’s sure but mics are still new, as for wind protection cheap versions of rycote likes the mics low cost cheap components clones of neumann etc, they’re not SHURE they’re cheap but not bad starting points, they’re starting to make some original stuff now which is great like the videomic pro etc, the ntg2 and ntg3 are abysmal and if you like them it’s because it’s all you’ve ever had.
March 4th, 2012 at 11:05 am
When I get my full audio kit out the Rycote Windjammer does an excellent job. As for the quality of Rode’s microphones I know quit a number of people that are happy with the ntg3. I have been told more then once that I have “poor taste” for using the at4073a even though I have a nice MKH 416 in my bag. So i suppose that disqualifies me from judging the ntg3.
The mic I would like to add to my collection right now though is the Sanken CS-3. That thing sounds like butter and cream to my ears, but I don’t think it’s going to happen anytime soon.
March 5th, 2012 at 7:05 pm
Are you 100% sure you purchased a Authentic deadcat? It doesn’t look anything like my deadcat on my Rode blimp.
Also, I too love the NTG3 (and my NTG2 for that matter).
March 5th, 2012 at 8:15 pm
That is an official Rode DeadCat VMP Wind Muff for the VideoMic Pro. If you look close you’ll see the Rode tag in the picture. After filming this I promptly returned it and ordered a Micover for my VideoMic pro. Rode’s Blimps are made of much nicer material then the VideoMic pro’s deadcat. But the Rycote Windjammer is one of the best I’ve ever used.
I always thought the sound quality of the ntg3 was very good for the price. Sure you’ll be able to hear the difference between a Schoeps or a Neumann against the ntg3, but it holds its own in the under $1000 category. I love my at4073a (paid $825 new) for the strong signal and the crisp sound, but a lot of people consider the mic to be to “hot” and the crisp sound to be sterile. I think there is a price point where audio quality becomes subjective.