With the best shotgun mics, you can capture clean audio from a single subject and cut out unwanted background noise. Shotgun mics are designed to be pointed in a particular direction, rejecting noise from other directions, and so are usually mounted directly on top of a camera. They’re simple and highly effective, and are commonly used in film and television production.
If you’re new to shotgun microphones, you’ll quickly realize most of them look pretty similar: a long, usually metal cylinder with some slatted grooves flanking the sides and a cable connector. However, there are many hidden features that make a huge difference to the quality of sound recorded. I’ve picked out a selection of the best for this guide – there are plenty of options for different use cases and budgets to suit your needs.
If you want to look at more types of mics, like lavalier and studio, we have a more general guide to the best mics. But if you’re definitely looking for a shotgun, read on!
George has been freelancing as a photo fixing and creative tutorial writer since 2002, working for award-winning titles such as Digital Camera, PhotoPlus, N-Photo, and Practical Photoshop. He's an expert in communicating the ins and outs of Photoshop and Lightroom, as well as producing video production tutorials on Final Cut Pro and iMovie for magazines such as iCreate and Mac Format. He also produces regular and exclusive Photoshop CC tutorials for his YouTube channel.
Best shotgun mics: the full guide
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Best budget shotgun mic
Røde makes a vast range of video-specific audio kit, from enthusiast-level all the way to high-end broadcast equipment. The VideoMic Go II is at the more affordable end of the spectrum and mounts onto a hotshoe, with an effective shock mount to reduce handling noise. It's fuelled by plug-in power from the camera's mic socket, so it doesn't need a battery, and there are no switches on board to attenuate the output or change polar patterns.
This means you just plug it in, set your recording level, and start shooting. It comes with a foam windscreen to reduce wind noise, but there's an optional "dead cat" WS12 windjammer for breezy conditions that costs another $25 / £20. Frequency response stretches from 20Hz-20KHz, but recordings were rich and full, so we didn't find it lacking in bass. Overall, this is a well-made, good-sounding mic that's very easy to use.
Read our full Rode VideoMic Go II review
Best premium-priced shotgun mic
If you're looking for the best shotgun mic on the market, Sony's ECM-778 definitely deserves to be in contention. It's much more expensive than its rivals from Røde, but I found that it simply outperformed the competition, inside and out. It somehow manages to achieve fantastic directional recording despite its short and compact body (normally, a longer acoustic tube is required to achieve such finesse). This means you get a mic that balances really well when attached to a camera, without sacrificing functionality.
One thing that really impressed me was the frequency response of the mic. The new capsule delivered fantastic results for recording human voices, even at the kinds of distances where you'd expect a mic's quality to start dropping off. The signal-to-noise ratio is also first-rate, with the Sony mic considerably outperforming the other mics in this regard.
As I said, it's certainly not cheap. But if you're serious about video, audio is one of the areas where it makes most sense to invest – and the Sony ECM-778 is one of the best investments you can make.
Read our full Sony ECM-778 review
Best shotgun mic for ease of use
The Audio-Technica ATV-SG1 is a phenomenal on-camera shotgun microphone that is perfectly tailored for vloggers, content creators, and solo shooters. It features a robust, weighty construction highlighted by a solid metal grille and an intuitive layout. One design element I particularly like is the partially shielded gain knob, which completely prevents accidental adjustments on a chaotic shoot.
Performance-wise, this microphone is amazingly seamless. It operates without tedious apps or complex menus, and it automatically powers on and off alongside your camera. The built-in USB-C rechargeable battery is a massive selling point, lasting me well over 24 hours on a single charge. Sonically, it delivers deep bass and a sparkling high end across its 60Hz-20KHz range, with a wide, mid-focused balance that keeps vocals incredibly natural. It handles volumes up to 114 dB without distorting, and the "Safe" mode is a lifeline redundancy feature that records a backup track at -6 dB to prevent blown-out audio.
My only minor niggle is that when the wind shield is fitted, you have to move the fluff aside to read the mode switch. But overall, it’s a brilliant, highly recommended audio solution.
Read our full Audio-Technica ATV-SG1 review
Best small shotgun mic
The little Shure MoveMic 88+ is a veritable Swiss army knife. With four polar patterns, it can not only function as a shotgun mic, but can also double as a free-standing desktop mic for podcast recording and the like, or can connect via Bluetooth to act as a wireless lav mic (it's light enough to carry around, though it is a little big to clip to clothing). If your video recording typically involves lots of different shooting situations, I'd say the Shure MoveMic 88+ could be a cost-effective way to cover all your bases.
In testing, it performed very well, producing clean audio through all its various configurations, including Bluetooth (which can have a deleterious effect on audio quality). Voice quality was clear and rich, and the mic's noise-reduction features also worked well. If you're looking to use it mostly as a shotgun mic, then simply clip it to your camera, set the polar pattern to Mono Cardioid, and you're away.
Read our full Shure MovieMic 88+ review
Best shotgun mic for vlogging
The VideoMicro II is the smallest on-camera shotgun mic in the Røde line-up, and its price, size, and simplicity make it ideal for vlogging beginners, as well as videographers who need a compact mic to keep in the kit bag for when it is needed.
As well as the mic and a new ‘Helix’ isolation mount, you get a regular foam windshield and a furry windshield too, for when wind noise is worse. There are also two connection cables, one of which is a TRS-TRS type for regular camera connections, and a TRS-TRRS cable for smartphones (iPhone users will need to get a Lightning-TRRS adaptor).
It cannot work as a USB mic like its bigger brother, the VideoMic Go II, however, and it does not have that mic’s audio monitoring socket – though more advanced vlogging cameras will have these anyway.
Read our full Rode VideoMicro II review
Best shotgun mic and audio recorder combo
The Zoom M3 MicTrack is an on-camera microphone and recorder for video-makers using mirrorless cameras or DSLRs. Powered by a pair of AA-size batteries, it attaches to your camera and records audio independently of the latter's built-in digital recorder, storing its data on a microSD memory card.
This will likely improve recording quality compared to your camera's own abilities in a number of ways. But its main sell is 32-bit depth sampling, which offers significantly larger dynamic range than the norm. This helps eliminate clipped and distorted audio caused by sudden changes in sound levels.
Read our full Zoom M3 MicTrak review
Best shotgun mic with a swappable design
This is another mic that can be converted into multiple types, as well as a shotgun mic, giving you a huge amount of latitude for different shooting situations. However, the Boya Magic is something really quite special for many other reasons, too. Its 48kHz/24-bit recording combines with a wide 144 dB dynamic range, resulting in truly excellent audio quality that's a cut above many kits priced at the same level. And what's more, the much-advertised AI-powered noise cancellation functionality actually works!
In testing, the Boya Magic acquitted itself exceptionally well. It was capable of producing crisp, clean audio even in busy outdoor shooting environments – distracting extras like a passing airplane and a nearby chainsaw vanished into the maw of the noise cancellation. It's tiny and lightweight and very easy to set up – indeed, our reviewer George was so taken with it that he has already used the Boya Magic to record audio on several of his other reviews!
Read our full Boya Magic review
Best smartphone shotgun
If you’re shooting in a busy location such as a wedding, then you’ll want to avoid tripping guests up with a tripod. You’ll also need to get from A to B very quickly, and you may need some additional light when shooting indoors or after the sun has set. The SmallRig All-In-One Kit is perfect for smartphone videographers as it solves all of these problems, and thanks to its supplied mini shotgun mic, you can also overcome many of the audio recording problems faced by vloggers and videographers in busy and noisy locations.
The shotgun mic slides into one of the cage’s cold-shoe mounts and plugs into your smartphone via a cable. This enables you to capture close-proximity dialogue and general atmosphere without needing to attach a wireless mic to every subject – something that would be prohibitive when filming a wedding or graduation video. The shotgun mic’s heart-shaped cardioid polar pattern focuses on sound directly in front of your rig-mounted smartphone without picking up unwanted audio from behind the camera. This makes it more effective for capturing relevant audio in noisy locations. A plastic spring mount between the mic and the cage helps reduce cage handling sounds being recorded by the mic.
I’ve used this rig professionally a few times, and it looks much more impressive than if I’d just shot an event using an iPhone, which is key to impressing your client (and not looking like a wedding guest with a smartphone).
Read our full SmallRig All-In-One Kit for Smartphone review
Best shotgun mic for safety track
The JOBY Wavo PRO is a compact on-camera shotgun mic that gave my audio an immediate upgrade, but it was some of its less obvious features that impressed me most during testing. My favorite is the Safe mode. Tap a button, and the Wavo PRO records a second, lower-level version of your audio onto a separate channel. If your main recording suddenly peaks and distorts, you have a cleaner backup waiting in your editing software. That belt-and-braces approach could be a lifesaver when filming something such as a wedding, where there are no second chances.
I tested the Wavo PRO outdoors, and it captured strong, clean audio even from a distance. JOBY’s Active Noise Reduction can tackle wind and handling noise, but I found it could also make the subject’s voice sound too thin. I preferred switching ANR off and fitting the supplied windjammer, which proved more effective. The Wavo PRO also has an input socket for an additional microphone. I plugged in a Wavo Lav PRO when recording an indoor interview, which enabled me to capture a second, closer sound source alongside the camera-mounted shotgun mic.
The companion Wavo app lets you adjust gain, EQ, and other settings remotely, which is genuinely useful when it works. Unfortunately, Bluetooth pairing proved temperamental during my shoot and occasionally left me monitoring levels through the camera instead of the app. On balance, the Wavo PRO’s excellent wind protection, external mic input, and particularly its invaluable safety channel make it a capable shotgun mic for filmmakers who can’t afford to lose a take.
Read our full JOBY Wavo PRO review
Best for power supply choice
The RØDE NTG2 has been around for a while, but it remains a solid option for filmmakers who want to capture better audio than they can from their camera’s built-in microphones, without spending a fortune. Build quality is one of the NTG2’s strengths. The metal body feels reassuringly tough, the XLR connection is solid, and there’s a switchable 80 Hz high-pass filter for reducing low-frequency rumble. I also like the fact that the NTG2 can run from either 48 V phantom power or a single AA battery. That makes it useful with cameras and recorders that don’t supply phantom power, although the lack of an on/off switch makes it all too easy to leave the battery draining!
In use, the NTG2 produces crisp, clear dialogue, and its narrow pickup pattern helps isolate a subject from unwanted noise from the side and rear of the camera. The supplied foam windshield is fine indoors or in light breezes, but I’d recommend adding a furry windshield for serious outdoor work.
My main reservation is the output level. With a signal-to-noise ratio of 18 dBA, you may find yourself adding gain, which can also bring up background noise. The NTG2’s tonal balance also leans a little toward the treble rather than sounding particularly rich or full-bodied. Despite these limitations, it can still deliver very usable results when recording voice, particularly if you can get it reasonably close to your subject. It’s not the cleanest or most sensitive shotgun mic around, but its rugged construction, battery-powered option, and dependable sound make it a worthwhile budget-friendly choice for filmmakers.
Read our full RØDE NTG2 review
How to choose the best shotgun mic
What is a shotgun mic?
A shotgun microphone is a highly directional microphone designed to capture sound from in front of it while reducing sound arriving from the sides and rear. Its name comes from its distinctive long, cylindrical shape. Shotgun mics are widely used for filmmaking because they can be pointed toward a subject while remaining out of frame.
How does a shotgun mic work?
A shotgun mic uses an interference tube – the long, slotted section in front of the microphone capsule. Sound arriving directly from the front travels down the tube to the capsule, while sounds entering through the slots from the sides interact and partially cancel each other out. This creates a highly directional pickup pattern that helps isolate the sound you want to record.
One tip I give students when teaching them how to use a shotgun mic for capturing vox pops is to treat it like a shotgun and point directly at the subject’s mouth. If you miss your target, you won’t hear them as clearly. Sometimes students forget and leave the mic pointing at themselves when interviewing a subject, resulting in a poor-quality audio recording.
What are the benefits of using a shotgun mic?
A shotgun mic’s directional cardioid (heart-shaped) pickup pattern makes it particularly useful when you need to concentrate on a specific sound source while reducing unwanted surrounding noise. For filmmakers, it can be mounted on a camera or positioned closer to an actor using a boom pole while remaining outside the frame. Shotgun microphones are also commonly used for interviews, journalism, documentaries, and wildlife recording.
Bear in mind that a shotgun mic won’t magically eliminate background noise. You’ll still get the best results by positioning the microphone as close to your subject as you can (while keeping it out of frame).
What does SPL mean?
SPL stands for Sound Pressure Level and describes the intensity, or loudness, of sound. A microphone’s maximum SPL tells you how loud a sound it can handle before its signal begins to distort.
A mic with a high maximum SPL is therefore useful when recording particularly loud sources, such as live music, engines, or other high-volume sounds. Maximum SPL shouldn’t be confused with microphone sensitivity, which describes how strongly a mic converts incoming sound into an electrical signal.
What does frequency response mean?
A microphone’s frequency response describes the range of sound frequencies it can reproduce, usually expressed in hertz (Hz). Human hearing is commonly considered to extend from around 20 Hz at the bass end to 20 kHz at the treble end, although our sensitivity to those frequencies varies considerably.
The quoted frequency range only tells part of the story. Two microphones may both cover 20 Hz–20 kHz but sound quite different because they emphasize or reduce particular frequencies within that range.
A microphone with a relatively flat frequency response aims to reproduce sound naturally, while a shaped response can deliberately emphasize certain frequencies. For example, a slight boost in the upper-mid or high frequencies can add clarity and presence to dialogue, while a reduction in very low frequencies can help minimize rumble and handling noise.
This is also why many shotgun microphones include a switchable high-pass filter, which reduces unwanted low-frequency sounds while allowing voices and other useful audio to remain clear.
How we test microphones
At DCW, we get offered a lot of microphones to test and play with before they are released – sometimes it feels like we're buried in them! Fortunately, testing is the fun bit. From the supporting videos in the full reviews, you’ll see that our reviewers test microphones in a wide range of locations. This enables them to discover how effective the windshields and the software noise cancellation features are. Find out more about how we test and review at Digital Camera World.
