Review on 🎙️ TAKSTAR SGC-598 Shotgun MIC Microphone with 3.5mm Interface for Nikon Canon DSLR Camera – Ideal for Photography Interviews by Duane Kerr

I've had this mic for 4 years, but right after buying it I noticed that I had constant problems hearing "ping" and "ringing". in my sound that I couldn't identify so I threw it in a drawer and forgot about it. I haven't shot a lot of videos until recently, so it really wasn't that important. I've taken it back and started using it again in the last few weeks as I begin to expand my photographic work. in video filming; immediately ringing and pings back. I spend a little more time examining it and apparently due to the poor build quality it only picks up internal noise. If I lightly tap the plastic casing behind the microphone, I can play the ping tone. Unfortunately, the noise only occurs during normal use when mounted on a camera or other hot shoe mount along with the camera. Although the microphone has a dampening/absorption system, slight camera movement can cause internal components to bounce off the body. was free I reconfigured the cable, moved the bracket from the center to the back. I managed to soften the sounds a bit (I'm not sure what exactly did that), but not completely. Also, the boot tie is all plastic (a plastic ring around a plastic thread) and the entire time I've had it it's been out of service meaning it doesn't tighten evenly to the boot cleat. This leaves the mic susceptible to slight slippage and movement no matter how tight it is. Cheap stuff again. I removed the piece and tried putting the ring back on the thread at least a dozen times, but to no avail. I even found a few spots on the threads that looked bent and used a precision knife to cut the plastic hoping the ring would line up. no So I buy another microphone of another brand. Since this is almost unbearable, I might give it to my teenage daughter, who is a videographer herself, to play with. If he wasn't making annoying noises inside, he was doing a decent job. I used it on a Canon 70D until I sold that unit and switched to the Fujifilm X-T3 (which has a built in headphone jack so I can hear the sound from the mic while recording); both support 3.5mm TRS cable connections. I bought a TRS-TRRS adapter to use with my phone's headphone/mic jack and that worked. If you want to use it with a phone or other device with a standard microphone input jack, remember that you will need an adapter. The microphone is powered by 1 AA battery which lasts a decent amount of time. I haven't used the mic long enough to wear out the battery, and I've tested it fairly extensively over the past few weeks - probably put in about 20 hours non-stop, and I haven't had the battery changed yet. The low-pass filter worked reasonably well, slightly blocking low frequencies without cutting off all bass; The +10db switch also worked well. Note, however, that if you decide to toggle one of these switches while recording, it sounds like you're turning on the Ghostbusters Ecto Containment System via the microphone. (Obviously changing these settings while active recording is a bad habit anyway, but most of what I've done so far has been just testing, so I wanted to flip the switches while recording and see what changed.) *Maybe* I'm having a bad session. I don't think it changes the fact that it's just very cheaply made. The plastic is pretty thin throughout. If the mic is $12 or $15, then I see that it's a trade-off in cost; However, at $25-$30 I would recommend spending the extra $20 and getting something better.