Microphone Comparison: Blue Yeti vs Rode Podcaster

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You know the drill: When you’re shooting videos or recording podcasts there are a few essentials you’re going to need – and the microphone is possibly going to be the most important tool in your arsenal.

In fact, I’ve heard it said that people will endure low-quality video, but they will not tolerate low-quality audio.

So, if that’s true it makes sense to spend more time, and money, in getting the right sound for your videos and podcasts. Over the years I’ve tried a wide range of microphones to try and get the highest quality audio that I can.

I love shooting videos, (and not including my phone which does a surprisingly good job), I’ve only tested three cameras in the last seven years.

In comparison, I’ve tried at least a dozen microphones during the same period.

The one I’ve settled with, for most of my videos is undoubtedly the  Zoon H4N – combined with the Audio-Technica ATR-3350.

However, because I’m a creature of convenience, I like to have a permanent microphone on my desk too, so I can quickly shoot screen-capture videos and record directly-to-the-computer, without the hassle of transferring the file from SD disk. And without the hassle of syncing the audio file to the video footage.

It’s time-consuming and at times when I’m mainly recording the tutorial screen-capture videos, the Zoom H4N set-up is overkill. And I record a lot of tutorials.

So if you’ve ever spent a caffeine-fueled afternoon of researching the wide variety of microphones on the market, two names keep cropping up; the Blue Yeti and the Rode Podcaster.

The Blue Yeti is a condenser microphone – that means it’s more sensitive than a dynamic microphone, and it could result in picking up background noise on the recording.

The Rode Podcaster is a dynamic microphone – that means it’s less sensitive than a condenser microphone, and it could result in less accurate audio.

So it’s largely a personal preference and the end result will be different for each environment you record in.

For me, I couldn’t tell a great deal of difference between the two.

I loved the overall sound of both, and struggle to find fault with either.

I had to get in close to the Rode Podcaster, so leaning back was out of the question.

Getting in close with the Blue Yeti made me sound too breathy.

It’s a difficult one for me to call, and I’m not sure which one I prefer – both do a fantastic job and produce professional-sounding audio.

In the end, it’s up to you to decide which one you prefer, so watch my side-by-side comparison and decide for yourself.

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