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.