Recording with Shotgun Microphones in the Wind

When recording dialogue for my video projects, I prefer to use a shotgun mic when working outdoors. But up until this point, I have not had a proper wind cover for my shotgun mics, just the foam wind covers and furry covers that fit over the foam. And while these help, they don't stop all the wind so I still end up with plenty of distorted bits when the wind makes its way through all of the fur and foam.

B&H Photo was kind enough to loan me a couple of things to evaluate and see whether they would solve this issue. Specifically, they sent over the Rycote Modular Windshield Kit and the K-Tek Avalon KEG 1550 CCR carbon fiber boom pole.

So I put an Azden SGM-250 shotgun microphone into the windshield kit, put it on the boom pole and tested it out in aproximately 15 mph wind for an interview.

And I was pleased to find that it cut all of the distortion that you normally get in the wind when the wind hits the microphone's capsule directly.

The K-Tek boom pole was a pleasure to use with its carbon fiber tubing, internal, coiled cable, and the 90 degree XLR connector near the bottom of the pole (so that you can rest the end of the pole on the ground between takes). The carbon fiber adds a bit to the price but makes for a lighter pole and when you're holding this thing overhead for more than a couple of minutes, every ounce really counts. I plan to buy this one as my first proper microphone boom.

A couple of days later, I met up with my friend Levi Whitney who runs a small production company here in the Salt Lake City area and he happened to have his RODE Blimp wind cover with him. So we had a look over both of them to compare:

It's very similar in design to the Rycote Wind Cover but the first thing I noticed is that it is larger in diameter so it offers a little more space between the diffusion material and the microphone and according to Levi, he hasn't experienced any distortion from wind with it yet. It also comes with the furry cover that RODE calls the Dead Wombat. Cheeky. In any case, I really like them both and they both seem just as effective at eliminating noise. Here's Levis piece demonstrating the RODE Blimp:

So I think I have some pretty good options here in terms of wind covers!