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Filed under: Audio •Production •

Review: Rode NTG-3 short shotgun microphone and Blimp windshield

Blimp Windshield

The Rode Blimp windscreen system costs about half the price of competing systems, but weights a bit more.

When recording exteriors, I housed the NTG-3 in Rode’s Blimp shock mount and windshield. The Blimp has a construction and appearance similar to the industry standard Rycote modular windshield kit: A four-point shock mount, pistol grip, rigid housing, and furry “dead cat” wind cover (which the Aussies at Rode call a Dead Wombat). But Rode’s system costs only $299, about half the price of a similar Rycote set up. The well-built Rode system performs very well, adjusting to accommodate a wide-range of shotgun microphones, and isolating those mics from handling and wind noise without significantly attenuating frequency response. However, I found two drawbacks with the system.


The tail cable that runs from a mic and through the Blimp’s handle is a few inches shorter than I’d like; that limited my ability to position the handle toward the middle of the windshield. Buying or building a slightly longer tail cable will easily rectify that problem, so that’s not a big deal. Resolving the other issue requires Rode’s intervention. The complete Blimp system weighs a bit more than the Rycote windscreen systems I usually use. It’s only a matter of several ounces (with the exact difference depending on the configuration of the windshields), but when those extra ounces are at the end of a 10 to 16-foot boom pole and I need to hold that pole steady during long takes, the weight takes its toll. On one documentary shoot where I had to hold a pole for very long difficult shots, the extra Blimp weight motivated me to stop using the Rode Blimp. I’d like to see Rode offer a lighter-weight Blimp system, perhaps with a simpler (and lighter) boom mount in addition to a pistol grip. But for people working with shorter poles or holding those poles for shorter takes, the monetary savings may outweigh the, uh, weight penalty. The Blimp is a well-made system that could benefit from a little dieting.

The “Dead Wombat” - included with the Rode Blimp system - attenuates high-wind noise without significantly cutting high-frequency response.

Bottom Line

The NTG-3 is a well-designed and well-built audio instrument. The smooth response, generous pick-up pattern, and outstanding interference rejection make the mic a pleasure to work with. While some may find the $699 price beyond what they want to spend, the NTG-3 is more than worth it. Even at a higher price, it would be a very good value that should serve its owners well for many years. And what digital camera can you say that about?

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