Rode NTG-3

Great, balanced sound on this. Side by side with my entry level (sub $200) shotgun this thing is night and day. So clear. So smooth. I'd recommend anyone wondering what mic to buy with a bit of coin in their pocket pick this up. You're not going to find anything better unless you spend twice as much.

For the price this sounds just as good as the rival MKH416. Use it for commercial ads, corporate videos, etc.. Very happy with my purchase of this microphone.

During a week long shoot my producer had headphones on listening to the talent and himself doing some Q&A, he was so impressed with the warm rich sound and the audio quality of this mic that he is ordering one for himself. That says it all. I upgraded from the NTG2 and really like this mic even more. Not powered but most audio techs are going to prefer their pre amps anyway.

Purchased this mic and two days later did a series of interviews at an incredibly noisy expo conference. Used a 9 foot boom pole picked up from BNH also, Ved directly into the Sony FS7 camera. Pick a pattern was perfect for us, even with noise that we could not yell through and hear each other the mic performed flawlessly. The sound was warm and natural. Highly recommend this Mic, definite improvement over the NTG2. My producer liked it so much he is buying one for himself.

Although, only an amateur, I hear the difference immediately, in the use of a mike like this ... while I can't give professional advice, I can say that I like the resulting sound!