Comments on: TAKSTAR SGC-598

By: Marshall

Marshall — Tue, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Why you should trust me: I make money off of YouTube videos and need to keep quality high without killing my profits making equipment purchases. Casey Neistat can afford to smash his equipment like a rock star, I can’t.What’s frustrating about low-budget gear is that they often get the tough stuff right and screw up the easy stuff. Case in point, the Takstar SGC-598.Sound is really quite good for the money. I compared it to a Rode VideoMic which cost about 5x the price. The Takstar lack an even balance, but is more than passable for quick takes and can easily be EQ’d for more critical work. In it’s core function, the Takstar is great.Build quality seems okay at first glance, we’ll see how it holds up. I wouldn’t count on the shock mount doing much to cut movement noise; it’s far to stiff.The only critical functional miss is the lack of a 20dB boost. Most folks are going to buy this to cut the noisy audio pres in most DSLRs (like my Nikon 5300). When you buy a DSLR for video work, they neglect to tell you that the built in pres are noisy to the point of being unusable (why do they bother). The 10dB boost in the Takstar allows you to drop the internal gain to about half of where you want it. It’s passable, but a 20dB boost is needed to cut the DSLR noise entirely.Then there are things that are just plain annoying. Why is there no power light? You are guaranteed to leave this on after a shoot and have a dead battery next time. A single dim LED for power in addition to the low-battery warning is all it would take to raise my rating.A detachable cord would be nice, but I’m not going to deduct stars for it.Plus stars for easy battery removal and access to switched. The Rode stinks in this department.Stars:+3 Overall Sound Quality+1 Price+1 Easy battery change and access to switches-1 No Power LED-1 No +20dB setting which is essential for clean sound with DSLRs

By: Hayes Tech

Hayes Tech — Tue, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

First off, I am not a professional audiofile but I own several different style microphones for my YouTube channel. They are Lapel style, desk top mics and a shotgun style, a Rode Videomic. The Rode is my “go too” mic and I use it for all my videos. I decided to give the Takstar a try after watching a couple YouTube videos giving this shotgun style microphones pretty high marks. When compared to the Rode, the Takstar is much louder, which means I can turn down my camera’s microphone pre-sets, which allow for way better audio quality. The Takstar does come across much higher in the sound range though and my Rode has much better base. This, however can be boosted in post (boosting the base for the Takstar) to get a little deeper sound out of this $25.00 microphone.Bottom line is you can’t go wrong getting this mic. You won’t have that “radio show host” deep base but can get it a little deeper in post. This is a good value for money microphone.

By: Justin Elwell

Justin Elwell — Tue, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

We have been using this for a few months now. The microphone is extremely effective at 5 to 10 feet away. Good clear sound. Really the only thing that would give it 5 stars is the microphone Jack is too thick to insert into phone it the phone has a case on. Minor annoyance but important for those looking to use this with a mobile device.

By: LaKesha Smith

LaKesha Smith — Tue, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

I purchase this for a Canon EOS T6 but the jack was too big for it. So end up becoming very hand for another Canon camera I have.!!

By: lbambam

lbambam — Tue, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Good price but static sound that can't be eliminated. I have reduced it to a tolerable level, but for serious functions like weddings or awards events the static is unacceptable.

By: @Goditoloko

@Goditoloko — Tue, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

I’ve got 4 of these little puppies. They work great for my YouTube videos. It’s always a good idea to shoot in quieter places if you’re looking to isolate an actor’s voice or whatever. Like always, get closer to the subject or get a dead cat for these for the wind. Just know that they work great, okay?

By: Rylan Hill

Rylan Hill — Tue, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Over all this mic is worth the money the price might turn you away with it being so cheap but once you pair this with an external preamp the mic is arguably on par with some $70-$100 micsI'm only 2 days in but as it gets further down the line I'll be sure to update this review.

By: W. Wilson

W. Wilson — Tue, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

I bought two of these for my canon DSLR cameras for shooting videos. Picks up sound well. Low background noise. Bought covers for outside recording. Very happy with price compared to higher end brands. Did research and sounds just as good.

By: Lobo

Lobo — Tue, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Es exactamente lo que esperaba, útil a buen precio.Buen producto, obviamente va a meter un poco de ruido por el precio, nada que no se remedie en post producción en un minuto, solo ocupa una batería AA, dura bastante no podría decir cuánto. Tiene para cortar graves que en la calle te ahorra muchas frecuencias indeciadas y tiene un galón de +10db. Consejo juega con la configuración bájale a lo mínimo a la cámara y ponle el gain luego quitarlo súbele a la cámara, prueba todo con unos buenos cascos hasta que encuentres la configuración que te gusta y te vas a ahorrar mucho en Post. Es un buen micro para comenzar o uso ocasional ya para después ir por un rode o algo de más calidad. Buena compra pero si esperas el sonido de un micrófono de 200 o 300 dólares, compra un micrófono de 200 o 300 dólares.

By: Sean J Conway

Sean J Conway — Tue, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Great value and nice sound quality!A real improvement over my camera's internal microphone. Great for voice recording, and recording of acoustic instruments. Can't beat the price! Feels sturdy and does what it's supposed to very well.