I’m a music professor and, when classes were forced online in 2020, I scrambled to recast my teaching materials in cyber form. Besides creating graphics, audio tracks and HTML pages, that meant shooting dozens of music demos with a Canon EOS 90D camera. My Tascam omnidirectional TM-2X Stereo X-Y mic sounded good in a quiet classroom but, at home, picked up frustratingly large amounts of noise from the street and nearby AC units. I finally tossed the TM-2X and bought a Sennheiser MKE 400 Shotgun Microphone.
Sennheiser MKE 400 | Mounted on a Canon EOS 90D with +20 dB set.
Sound Quality
I wasn’t overjoyed to be shooting mono, but I must admit my speaking voice has never sounded better. Plus, street noise was greatly reduced compared to my omnidirectional Tascam stereo mic. The noise was still there but reasonable and almost unnoticeable during dialogue and music passages.
This mic is surprisingly sensitive to changes in dynamics, so I had to watch levels more carefully than my other video mics.
Music
The MKE 400 is fine with musical instruments but not as full and present as the Tascam TM-2X. It’s good enough to play a passage in the middle of a lecture, but not my first choice for a musical performance. I'll continue to record music performances with a pair of Neumann KM 184, and keep the MKE 400 on lecture and run 'n gun duties.
Here's a recording I made with the Sennheiser MKE 400 and EOS 90D. It's an instructional video for my beginning guitar class where I talk about technique and play guitar. Street and AC noise was overwhelming with my Tascam stereo mic but, with the MKE 400, street noise was greatly reduced, retreating into the background.
Andantino 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.
RFI Resistance
I live in the inner city where RFI is a problem with unshielded gear, and I encountered no static, clicks or radio stations while using the MKE 400 on my EOS 90D. However, when I added a 4 meter extension cable to test it with a Tascam 60D MK II audio recorder, RFI reared its ugly head in the form of static and a classic rock station fading in and out as I moved the mic. An extension cable isn't a good idea in the inner city but it worked fine in my classroom (basically a concrete bunker in a semi-rural area).
Build Quality and Features
This matte black beauty is a hybrid of metal and plastic, and has impeccable fit and finish. After a lot handling, it appears to be fingerprint resistant too. And it's small for a video shotgun mic. Unlike most shotgun mics, it doesn’t overwhelm a small DSLR like the Canon 90D. The super-cardioid polar pattern is not as tight as larger shotgun mics I’ve tried and, I suspect, is designed for the close voice pickup needs of a video blogger shooting from a desktop or self-held camera.
Cables
The two supplied cables—TRS to TRS and TRS to TRRS—sport a locking nut for mic attachment and a standard 3.5mm for camera attachment. They appear sturdy and the bright blue color makes them hard to misplace. Attachment to my EOS R, R7, 90D and 6D MK II cameras was secure. However, the beefy molding above the TRS plug prevented a solid connection to my EOS M6—popped out constantly. If you have a mirrorless camera with a small cable bay, you may have to substitute a cable with a narrower plug housing.
Incidentally, the TRS to TRRS cable worked great on my iMac Pro, making a fine voiceover 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
Auto Power
One feature I really like is the auto power: when my 90D is powered down or enters sleep mode, the MKE 400 powers down and wakes up with the camera! The MKE 400 senses the device's mic plug-in power (phantom power) and uses it as a signal to power up or down.
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 and ready for almost any environment. For my speaking voice and acoustic guitar, +20 dB is ideal, allowing me to dial down the camera's preamps (for reduced noise) and still have a good signal.
Low Cut Filter
Finally, the 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. If I was only talking it would be fine, but reduces the low end off my guitar too much. Wish it had a second setting beginning around 75 Hz.
Sennheiser MKE 400 | If your camera lacks a headphone port, one is available on this mic. | Image courtesy Sennheiser
Final Musings
For best results, learn to control the audio levels on your camera manually. Auto audio level algorithms defeat the noise reduction benefits of a shotgun mic: levels surge upwards on quiet sections, bringing out background noise galore.
Great little video mic and well worth the price of admission!
Finally, please help support this website by purchasing this item at Amazon.
Features
Super-cardioid pattern
Pre-polarized condenser
50Hz to 20kHz response
SPL of 132dB
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 +20dB
Integrated wind protection and internal suspension
Signal-to-noise ratio, A-weighted (rel. 94 dB SPL): 82dB
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, dead kitten (wind muff) and pair of AAA batteries
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Sound Quality
Build Quality and Features
Features