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

Let's be honest, the camera microphones leave a lot to be desired. With the video quality of today's DSLRs, you really want the sound to be as impressive as the pictures. Step into the Takstar 598. Sound quality not quite Hollywood level, but much better than the in-camera microphone. Let's take a look, shall we? First the unpacking. Worth mentioning as this item comes in nice packaging. Much better than anything you would expect from Best Buy, for example. The original packaging with a contoured foam insert and individual compartments for each item is the best place to store your microphone when not in use. Inside these contoured compartments you'll find a velvet storage pouch, instructions, spare vibration isolators, a battery, a mic pouch, and the mic itself. Second, the mic itself. Out of the box, the mic itself looks as good or even better than you'd expect. The foam cap fits snugly over the shotgun, the mic attaches to the shock frame with small rubber straps, the frame attaches to the hot shoe mount with a small tension knob, and a nicely twisted cable with a 2.5mm plug connects to the camera. It's worth nothing. Some people have stated that the microphone is not suitable for their hot shoe mount. You may need to screw the tension knob onto the mic frame for the mount to fit the hot shoe. Then screw the handle back to attach to the hot shoe! .much easier than returning the mic because it "didn't fit"! Third, the buttons!. When you insert the included battery and flip the power switch on the side of the microphone, the green power indicator lights up to let you know the microphone is on. Also on the side of the microphone is 10 decibels of audio amplification and a high-pass filter to block low-frequency noise. Fourth, my opinion!. I like the Takstar 598. It cost about $30 because my camera mic picked up a lot of background noise (that's what omnidirectional mics do). The Takstar is a directional microphone, so sounds coming from the side or behind will be heavily attenuated compared to sounds coming directly in front. The battery lasted almost 40 hours for several months, so you don't have to worry about it eating up the batteries, which is nice. Fifth, my only complaints. The audio seems quite muffled, so you either need to be close to the mic or project your voice more than you would in a normal conversation. Turning on the +10 gain boosts the sound into the camera, but not without a noticeable increase in noise and hiss. Likewise. The low-pass filter is designed to filter out heavy bass, but I found it was cut into the vocal range, causing those in the chamber to sound muffled and tinny when engaged. Last and most important I think. The power indicator is on the back of the microphone, it should be on the front. So if the mic fails or you forget to turn it on (it happened!) you would know before you lose the entire recording. Overall, I would definitely recommend this mic to anyone looking for their first in-camera mic upgrade. Experienced videographers and professional cinematographers who have experience with the best mics will probably find it less than impressive, but if they can show you the best $30 mic I'd love to see it!