A shotgun microphone picks up the person it is pointed at and rejects the room around them, which is why it is the standard tool for filmed speech: drama on location, interviews, a piece to camera in a busy corridor. The Sennheiser MKH 416 is the shotgun the film and television industry standardised on, and most professional location sound is still recorded with it. It needs 48 volt phantom power from a mixer, recorder or camera adapter. It hires at £27.75 per day, on its own or with an operator.
A shotgun microphone solves a specific problem: getting clean speech when the microphone cannot be close to the person talking. The interference tube along the barrel cancels sound arriving from the sides, so what reaches the capsule is mostly whatever the mic is aimed at. Hold it on a boom just out of frame and dialogue comes back clear while traffic, wind in the trees and the rest of the playground fall away.
The Sennheiser MKH 416 is the shotgun the film and broadcast world settled on decades ago, and nothing has really displaced it. Its RF condenser design keeps working in damp outdoor conditions that upset other condenser microphones, self-noise is low at 13 dB(A), and the output is strong enough that a modest recorder does not have to work hard. It is also, slightly unfairly for a location mic, one of the best-known voiceover microphones in the world: close up in front of a script it gives the pushed, present sound of the movie-trailer voice.
It needs 48 volt phantom power down its XLR cable, and there is no battery compartment. Any mixing desk, field recorder or audio interface with a phantom switch will supply it. A camcorder or DSLR with a 3.5 mm mic socket will not, so if your camera has no XLR inputs, hire a small recorder or an XLR camera adapter with it and we will set the pair up before you leave.
In use, keep it aimed at the mouth and just above or below frame; it is forgiving enough that a steady arm and a pair of headphones get usable results on a first shoot. The one place it needs thought is a small, hard-walled room. An interference tube cannot cancel reflections coming from everywhere at once, so in an echoey classroom the answer is a closer working distance, some soft furnishing, or a different microphone. Tell us about the space and we will say which, honestly.
Hire by the day, on its own or with an operator to boom, monitor and record. If the shoot needs more than one, we can supply as many as the job calls for, bringing extras in from trusted suppliers when we need to.
What you get
The microphone, with its foam windshield and stand clip, in a padded case
An XLR cable — tell us the distance to your recorder or desk and we will send the right length
Not included as standard: boom pole, pistol grip and furry windcover for outdoor work. All can be added, so say if you are filming outside
No recorder, mixer or camera adapter as standard — if your camera has no XLR input, ask and we will add something that supplies phantom power
An operator to boom, monitor and record, if you would rather not run it yourselves
Good for
School and college media courses filming drama, documentary or news pieces on location
Pieces to camera: open day videos, a head teacher's welcome, fundraising and recruitment films
Voiceover for promotional videos and show reels, recorded close up in an ordinary quiet room
Vox pops and interviews where nothing can be clipped to the person and no mic can be in shot
Dance school and am-dram promotional films where speech has to carry over music and ambience
Recording a service or event for streaming without a microphone visible at the front
What you need to know
What it does
A short shotgun microphone: it picks up what it is pointed at and rejects sound from the sides, so speech stays clear with the mic held out of shot.
Phantom power
Needs 48 volts sent down the XLR cable, which almost any mixer, recorder or audio interface supplies at the press of a button. A camcorder's 3.5 mm socket will not power it.
Connections
Balanced 3-pin XLR out, into a mixer, field recorder or a camera with XLR inputs.
Where it goes
On a boom pole over the action, on a stand for interviews and voiceover, or on a camera with the right mount. At 250 mm and 175 grams it booms comfortably all day.
Who runs it
One person with headphones. Keep it aimed at the mouth and just out of frame; we will show you the basics when you collect, or send an operator.
Check availability
See whether this is free for your dates. This is an indication from our current bookings, not a reservation.
Full technical specification (11)
Manufacturer and model
Sennheiser MKH 416-P48U3
Microphone type
RF condenser short shotgun with interference tube
Pick up pattern
Super-cardioid / lobar
Frequency response
40 Hz to 20 kHz
Sensitivity
25 mV/Pa at 1 kHz
Equivalent noise level
13 dB(A)
Maximum sound pressure level
130 dB SPL
Phantom power
48 V (P48), 2 mA
Connector
3-pin XLR, balanced
Dimensions
250 x 19 (length x diameter)
Weight
0.175
Common questions
Phantom power is 48 volts sent up the microphone's own XLR cable by whatever it is plugged into; there is no battery in the mic. Almost every mixing desk, field recorder and USB audio interface supplies it at the press of a button, usually marked 48V or P48. What will not power it is a camcorder or DSLR with a 3.5 mm mic socket. If that is your camera, hire a small recorder or an XLR camera adapter alongside and we will set the pair up before you leave.
Both, with one caveat. Close up on a stand it is one of the best-known voiceover microphones in the world, and in a decent-sounding hall it booms dialogue perfectly well. Where it struggles is a small room with hard walls: the interference tube cannot cancel reflections arriving from every direction, so the recording can pick up a boxy edge. In that situation work closer, soften the room with curtains or drapes, or ask us whether a different microphone would serve the job better.
Sometimes, and we hire those too. A clip-on radio mic wins when people move around a wide area or you need several voices at once on separate channels. The shotgun wins when you cannot rig anything on the person: vox pops, interviews with visitors, drama where costume rules out a clip-on, or anywhere you want natural sound with nothing in shot. Plenty of shoots use both. Tell us what you are filming and we will suggest the sensible mix.
Wind protection, mainly. The foam windshield in the case handles indoor air movement and nothing more. Outdoors you want a furry slip-on cover at minimum, and a pistol grip or full windshield basket for anything exposed, plus a boom pole if the mic has to reach over the action. None of that is included as standard, so say the shoot is outside when you book and we will send the mic ready for weather. The microphone itself copes with damp air better than most condensers; it was designed for location work.
