I’m a music professor and, when classes were forced online in 2020, scrambled to recast my courses in cyber form. Besides creating graphics, audio and HTML pages, that meant shooting lecture-demo videos. My Tascam TM-2X Stereo X-Y mic sounded good recording music in a quiet classroom but, at home, picked up frustrating amounts of noise from the street and AC units. So I bought a Sennheiser MKE 400 Shotgun Microphone and tossed the TM-2X in a drawer.
Sennheiser MKE 400 | Mounted on a Canon EOS 90D with +20 dB set. The mic barrel acts like a sound blimp.
Build Quality and Features
This matte black beauty is a hybrid of metal and plastic, and has impeccable fit and finish. It's attractive and petite for a shotgun mic: doesn't overwhelm small cameras or draw attention on the street.
The MKE 400 is optimized for close voice pickup needs of a video blogger shooting from a desktop or self-held camera. The super-cardioid polar pattern is designed for enhanced rejection of off-axis sound, allowing you to work in less than ideal conditions.
Unlike similar mics in this price range, the MKE 400 lacks USB for connection to computers and smartphones. If you need USB, look elsewhere or buy a TRS to USB-C adapter. The Movo UCMA-1 (female 3.5mm TRS Adapter Cable to USB-C) sounds good recording the MKE 400 directly into my Mac.
Cables
The two supplied cables—TRS to TRS and TRS to TRRS—have a locking nut for mic attachment and 3.5mm plug for cameras. They seem sturdy and the bright blue color makes them visible in the bottom of a camera bag. Attachment to my EOS R, R7, R6 MK II and 90D cameras was secure. However, the thick molding on the TRS plug prevented connection to my EOS M6. If you have a camera with a small cable bay, you may need a cable with a narrower plug housing.
The output cable is detachable and may be swapped with different cables or replaced if it fails. The cable attaches to the frontal part of the mic, rather than the rear, allowing EVF use without getting poked in the eye!
Incidentally, the TRS to TRRS cable worked well on my iMac Pro, making a decent voiceover or Zoom mic in a pinch.
Sennheiser MKE 400 | The green power light is a thoughtful touch that many video mics lack. The adjacent switches are a low cut filter and gain sensitivity (-20 dB, 0 and +20 dB). | Image courtesy Sennheiser
Battery
Two AAA batteries are needed for operation. Sennheiser estimates 100 hours of runtime. I've been using Eneloop rechargeable AAA and they last a long time albeit I've not tallied hours of use. If you need to install batteries during a session, the rear facing battery door is accessible without removing the mic from the camera.
Auto Power
I love the auto power feature: when my camera powers down or enters sleep mode, the MKE 400 also powers down but wakes up with the camera. No more missed takes due no turning on the mic! The MKE 400 senses the device's mic plug-in power and uses it as a signal to power up or down. For this feature to work, be sure the mic plug-in power is enabled on your camera or audio recorder. Auto on/off is compatible with all my current Canon cameras, including the 90D, R, R7 and R6 MK II. Auto on/off also worked with my Tascam audio recorders.
Sensitivity
The MKE 400 has three sensitivity settings on the left panel: -20 dB, 0 and +20dB. If you record race cars or rock bands, you'll probably need to use the -20 dB setting! I don't think I'll ever use -20dB—all my mics are at stuck at +10 dB or +20 dB—it but it makes this mic versatile. For my speaking voice, +20 dB is ideal, allowing me to dial down the camera's preamps for reduced noise but still have a good signal.
For best results, control camera audio levels manually. Auto audio level algorithms defeat the background noise reduction benefits of shotgun mica: levels surge upwards on quiet sections, bringing out background noise. With +20 dB set set on the mic, I set gain on my Canon EOS R6 MK II to about 25% and see -12 to -6 dB levels for my speaking voice at a meter (3 feet).
High Pass
The high pass or low cut filter rolls off the bass beginning at about 200 Hz. Bass reduction is progressive, so by 100 Hz the cut is about -17 dB. Such a cut eats into male voices and sterilizes the bass frequencies of musical instruments such as guitar and piano. Wish it had a setting beginning around 60 Hz.
Sennheiser MKE 400 | If your camera lacks a headphone port, one is available on this mic. | Image courtesy Sennheiser
RFI Resistance
I live in the inner city where RFI is chronic, but I rarely encountered static or rogue radio stations using the MKE 400 on my cameras.
Sadly, when the MKE 400 was attached to a boom with an extension cable, RFI reared its ugly head: static and a classic rock station faded in and out as I moved around. With that said, the cable worked fine in my classroom, basically a concrete bunker in a rural area.
I tested the MKE 400 on a short extension arm. With the supplied coiled TRS cable stretched out 15 cm (6") inches, RFI became evident. At least with the MKE 400 in the camera hot shoe and the cable coils slack, RFI free recordings are possible.
Wind Resistance
Outdoors I was shocked at how resistant the MKE 400 was to wind noise. Unlike my other mics, the bare MKE 400 can handle a gentle breeze without flinching. Apparently the barrel of the MKE 400 is a mini blimp with a condenser inside and doesn't need the dead cat except in strong wind. And that's a good thing since I lost the Sennheiser supplied dead-cat.
Shock Mount
A highly innovative floating support structure—shock mount—is integrated into the blimp-like tube of the MKE 400. Most shotgun mics have no interior vibration reducing mechanisms but, instead, use an external shock mount such as a Rycote. Sennheiser's interior shock mount worked well for me, yielding clean audio while panning or walking around.
Sound Quality
Speaking Voice
The best vocal tone and noise rejection is from 10 to 30 cm (4 to 12 inches): full, balanced and natural. Sound is okay at arm's length (60 cm), but mids and bass are falling away. As you move beyond 60 cm vocal tone becomes progressively thin and fragile. As mentioned earlier, Sennheiser obviously designed this mic for arm's length video blogging. At close distance–10 cm—it suffers more off-axis coloration than I expected, with a noticeable loss of highs at 25 to 45 degrees off the center of the capsule. Mic tone is best speaking straight into the capsule or only slightly offset.
The MKE 400 is surprisingly sensitive to changes in dynamics, so I had to watch levels more carefully than my other video mics.
Off-Axis Sound Rejection
The super-cardioid pattern does a decent job rejecting noise from the sides and focusing on what's in front of it. It certainly whips my Tascam TM-2X and built-in camera mics in this regard. Although a super-cardioid mic, rejection of off-axis sound isn't as effective as larger shotgun mics such as the MKE 600.
Music
Musical instruments sound natural and full, but lack the directional and spacious qualities of stereo mics like the Sennheiser MKE 440. Nevertheless, the MKE 400 is good enough for a musical passage in the middle of a lecture. Surprisingly, in the video below, my small parlor guitar is louder than my voice!
Below is an instructional video I made with the Sennheiser MKE 400. Street and AC noise were overwhelming with my Tascam stereo mic but, with the MKE 400, noise was greatly reduced, albeit obviously still present. In this video, the MKE 400 is about 2 meters away, mounted in the camera hot shoe. Not the best vocal tone at such a distance, but usable in a pinch. I tried to bring the mic closer, but RFI was unbearable with an extension cable and boom.
Pie in the Sky Lecture-Demo | Sennheiser MKE 400 on a Canon EOS 90D. Manual levels set on the 90D with MKE 400 sensitivity gain set to +20 dB.
While the MKE 400 performed well considering the circumstances—2 meters out with AC rumbling in the background—I came to the conclusion that a camera mounted shotgun mic was a good solution for talking head videos.
Sound Comparisons
Below are short audio samples of the MKE 400 and other mics I've used for spoken word. Samples were recorded at 48 kHz and 24-bits in TwistedWave running on an iMac Pro. No processing was used. Mics were mounted on a boom clamped to a computer desk. I spoke into each mic at a distance of about 10 cm (4 inches) and offset about 25 or 30 degrees (except for the MKE 400, 440 and VM30). All mics wore a foam windscreen except for the MKE 400 and 440.
Sennheiser MKE 400
That was the unprocessed sound of the Sennheiser MKE 400 recorded into my iMac Pro. The unprotected MKE 400 has excellent control of plosives and sibilance, especially considering I was only 10 cm from the mic. The integral blimp-like housing—designed for wind protection—also reduces plosives and mouth noise.
I spoke directly into the MKE 400—no offset. Off-axis speaking—25 to 45 degrees—at close distances suffers severe loss of high frequencies. I'm guessing the super-cardioid polar pattern is the reason for highs dropping off. With that said, the MKE 400 sounds good—full and natural—but is darker and more recessed in tone than the MKE 440.
The MKE 400 retails for $200 USD albeit often discounted.
Comica VM30
The Comica VM30 is a condenser shotgun mic designed for hot shoe or boom use. It supports TRS output for cameras, USB-C for computers and mobile devices and wireless via a built-in transmitter. A shoe mount receiver is included. It also features stepless gain control from 0 to 10 via a rear mounted dial.
For this example, I routed USB-C output to TwistedWave on my iMac. USB gain output is ample. With onboard mic gain at 9, levels averaged -10dB to -6 dB.
I spoke straight into the mic from 12 cm (5") away, resulting in smooth, clear and natural sound. A pleasant bass increase from 8 to 10 cm. The proximity effect becomes overwhelming if I draw much closer. About 25 cm (10") is the maximum speaking distance for really good vocal tone, albeit it is still usable at 50 cm. Beyond 50 cm, tone quickly becomes thin and farty. This mic is optimized for video blogging at arm's length.
Clarity is good and beats the mildly murky sound of the Deity V-Mic D4. Tone is a notch brighter than the MKE 400 and Rode VideoMic Go II but a pleasant and very usable sound.
The VM30 has a tight polar pattern, resulting in excellent off-axis sound rejection. Amazing, the Rycote style shock mount nixed external hard drive vibrations and I didn't have to turn off external hard drives.
With all of the above said, the real talent of the VM30 is its built-in wireless ability. Quickly go straight to camera, computer or audio recorder with no wires.
The Deity V-Mic D4 is a shotgun microphone optimized for close use such as video blogging. It has TRS and USB-C output for connectivity with cameras, audio recorders, mobile devices and computers. In TRS mode, the D4 suffers from high levels of RFI. USB-C was used for this test sample and is RFI resistant. The V-Mic D4 has adjustable gain from -5 to +10 dB. With gain at +10 dB, USB output is low, about 6 dB lower than the Rode VideoMic Go II.
My voice sounds slightly nasal, murky and compressed with the D4. The D4 has strong off-axis coloration. When recording at 25 to 45 degrees off-axis, high frequencies are severely rolled off compared to speaking straight into the capsule. For this test, I spoke straight into the mic.
Finally, the included foam filter reduced highs severely so I used a clip-on pop filter instead. I prefer the sound of the Comica VM30 and Rode VideoMic Go II over the D4. The V-Mic D4 retails for $100 USD.
Deity D-Mic D4 Mini
Deity's V-Mic D4 Mini is a tiny camera shotgun microphone. The similar name to the Deity V-Mic D4 is confusing. The Mini is a near clone of the Rode VideoMic Mini. Like the Rode, it is a battery-less shotgun mic optimized for close pickup and has TRS output only.
The Mini has no built-in protection from wind and plosives. For a usable track, use of the included huge dead-cat is essential. With dead-cat installed, it looks like a gray squirrel sitting on the camera.
The sound is bright, aggressive and bass deficient. Not good sounding but better than built-in camera mics. Off-axis sound rejection is better than the Tascam TM-2X but not as good as the MKE 400 or Rode VideoMic Go II. I prefer the tone of the Sennheiser MKE 400, Rode VideoMic Go II and Tascam TM-2X over the D4 Mini.
This mic retails for $50 USD.
Rode VideoMic GO II
The Rode VideoMic Go II is a small shotgun mic designed for hot shoe use—smaller than the Comica V30 and Deity D-Mic D4. Besides TRS analog output for cameras, it supports USB-C for computer and mobile devices. Unlike TRS output, USB-C is resistant to RFI. It is compatible with Rode Central for settings but I recorded without processing.
The Rode has a tight polar pattern, rendering excellent background sound rejection. Clarity is good and bests the slightly murky sound of the Deity V-Mic D4. Off-axis coloration is well controlled, so you can speak 25 or 30 degrees off-axis for plosive control if needed.
The USB output of this wee condenser mic is hot—gain was about 25% for -12dB. It's also a tiny mic—size of a partially smoked cigar—and is at its best boomed just out of sight. The VideoMic Go II retails for $100 USD.
Sennheiser MKE 440
This is an unprocessed track of the Sennheiser MKE 440 made on a Tascam DR-05 at 48 kHz and 24-bits. The MKE 440 only has analog TRS output and I didn't have a long enough cable to record directly to my iMac.
The MKE 440 is a stereo shotgun mic, a rarity in the video mic world. The two capsules are in a near coincident arrangement, but tighter than the 90 degree spread of a DIN configuration. I bought the MKE 440 for videoing acoustic music ensembles but it also works well as a general purpose shotgun video mic.
The unprotected MKE 440 has shockingly excellent control of plosives and sibilance. In fact, the outer housing even does well in light wind. I have a deadcat but only use it when winds really kicks up.
For this audio sample, I spoke directly into the MKE 440 from about 15 cm (6 inches) away. The MKE 440 sounds great: crisp, clear and full bodied. Because it is a stereo mic, I was careful to keep centered so both channels were equal in volume. Off-axis isolation is good but not as effective as the monophonic MKE 400. Like the MKE 400, spoken word on the MKE 440 sounds best at 30 cm (12") or nearer.
I prefer the sound of the MKE 440 over the MKE 400 and MKE 600.
The MKE 440 retails for $330 USD albeit often discounted.
Sennheiser MKE 600
That was the unprocessed sound of the Sennheiser MKE 600 recorded into an iMac Pro using the XLR input of the Rode Streamer X. I spoke directly into the MKE 600—no offset—from 10 cm (4 inches) away. At that distance the proximity effect is apparent but still sounds good, similar in character to the MKE 400 but with more bass. Offset speaking of 25 to 45 degrees at close distance rolls off highs a little but not as severely as the MKE 400.
Spoken word on the MKE 600 sounds best at 30 cm (12") or closer. For me, the sweet spot is from 10 to 15 cm. At about 12 cm (5 inches) it yields a noticeably clearer, brighter and less bassy sound. For this sample, I used the high pass filter to reduce the rumble of a nearby AC unit and spoke from 12 cm away:
It helped reduced the rumble but ate too much of the bass in my voice.
While the MKE 600 has excellent off-axis rejection, it is extremely sensitive and picks up distant sounds directly in front of the capsule more readily than the MKE 400 and other mics I own. Careful mic placement is critical. The MKE 600 behaves like a traditional shotgun mic rather than an arm's length video blogger mic, and sounds good boomed 25 or 30 cm above a talking head.
The MKE 600 lacks the integral blimp-like housing used on the MKE 400 and 440. It needs a foam windscreen if speaking at close distances. With windscreen installed, the MKE 600 demonstrates excellent control of plosives and sibilance.
This mic retails for about $330 USD but is often discounted.
Tascam TM-2X
The Tascam TW-2X is designed for music and ambient sounds, not close vocal use. There is no protection other than a thin and flat wire screen. As expected, plosives were crazy loud without protection. With the included dead-cat installed, the TM-2X worked well for my speaking voice. Quiet sections between words are clean and noise free. Mic tone is pleasant and leans towards the clear and crisp side with rolled off bass below 100 Hz. I prefer its rendering of my voice over the Deity V-Mic D4 Mini.
For the test, I mounted it on a handle and experienced no handling noise so I imagine it could be used for street reportage in a pinch. You could also mount it backwards in the hot shoe and narrate videos while shooting.
The TM-2X retails for $100 USD albeit is often discounted.
Musings
I like the space and flattering perspective of having the camera 2 or 3 meters away. When mounted in a camera hot shoe, the mic is too far away for pleasing vocal tone. Vocal tone is best at 30 cm (12 inches) or nearer. The MKE 400 sounds thin at 2 or 3 meters and captures too much traffic sounds and AC rumble.
A logical solution would be to boom the MKE 400 just off frame—much closer but out of sight. Unfortunately, RFI rears its ugly head when an extension cable is used, so an overhead boom isn't viable in my neighborhood.
For my videos, I eventually decided to forgo a shoe-mount mic for the higher quality and RFI resistance of a boomed XLR mic close to my mouth and fed into a Tascam audio recorder. I have to sync audio in post production but audio quality and reduction of background noise is much better.
Final Blurb
The Sennheiser MKE 400 is not a shotgun mic in the tradition of the Sennheiser MKH 600 or 416. So not for distant wildlife or booming overhead for taking head videos. However, the MKE 400 is a great mic for casual use: wandering around town, travel and arm's length video blogging.
The Rode VideoMic Go II is a serious challenger to the MKE 400 due to the significantly lower cost, excellent sound quality and USB-C output. However, for outdoor use, the Rode VideoMic Go II can't compete with the blimp-like wind protection of the MKE 400. The Rode doesn't even ship with a deadcat...
The pleasant vocal tone, amazing wind busting blimp-like tube, petite size and good RFI resistance make the MKE 400 an essential mic in my camera bag.
Finally, please help support this website by purchasing this item at Amazon.
Features
Super-cardioid pattern
Pre-polarized condenser
50 Hz to 20 kHz response
SPL of 132 dB
Auto on/off when connected to cameras
Headphone output with volume control for monitoring
Low-cut filter and
3-step sensitivity switch: -20 dB, 0 and +20 dB
Integrated wind protection and internal suspension
Signal-to-noise ratio, A-weighted (rel. 94 dB SPL): 82 dB
Interchangeable 3.5 mm TRS and TRRS cables
Power: two AAA batteries (approx. 100 hours)
93.5 g | 126 x 67 x 37 mm
Included accessories
Drawstring pouch, deadcat (wind muff) and pair of AAA batteries
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Build Quality and Features
RFI Resistance
Sound Quality
Musings
Final Blurb
Features