What’s Changed? This Second-Generation Sennheiser MKE 400 Shotgun Microphone boasts a whole slew of serious upgrades over its predecessor. It has swappable 3.5mm TRS and TRRS output cables, a 3.5mm headphone jack with its own volume control, three-stage gain control compared to the original MKE 400’s two gain positions, auto-power function, built-in wind protection, and an included furry windshield for greater wind protection when you’re working outdoors.

Great in Noisy Settings. While most camera and smartphone mics use an omnidirectional pattern to pick up sound from all directions, the MKE 400 Mark II uses a supercardioid polar pattern enhanced by an acoustic interference tube that enables it to focus on sources directly in front of the mic while attenuating sound coming from beside and behind the mic. A user-activated 200 Hz low-cut filter lets you diminish bass frequencies

Compact, Lightweight Build. The Sennheiser MKE 400 Shotgun Microphone (2nd Generation) is just five inches long and weighs a mere one-fifth of a pound, so it’ll never be an obtrusive part of your rig. It won’t interfere with your shots, and you’re likely to forget it’s even there. The built-in shoe mount lets you connect the MKE 400 II directly to your camera with no external hardware.

Easy Setup. You can connect this mic’s 3.5mm output port to a range of devices with the two included coiled cables. One cable terminates with a standard 3.5mm TRS plug for easy connection to a camera, DSLR, or handheld audio recorder, while the other cable terminates in a 3.5mm TRRS plug that you can connect to mobile devices like smartphones and tablets.

Built-In Wind Protection. The MKE 400 II was designed with built-in wind protection that minimizes the ambient sound it picks up from fans, breezes, HVAC units, and the like, all without the need for a foam windscreen. If you need additional protection from outdoor wind noise, the included furry windshield has you covered.

Adjustable Gain. This mic’s adjustable gain gives you three settings to optimize the signal volume. The -20 dB position is best for capturing loud sounds that might distort your recording, the 0 dB position is ideal for normal dialogue levels or times when you’re using an external preamp, and the +20 dB setting is great for capturing quiet sources or using a camera with low input sensitivity.

Headphone Monitoring. If you’re using a camera without a headphone jack and need to check your levels before you record, you can simply plug any 3.5mm headphones into the MKE 400 II’s monitoring port and use the built-in volume control to make sure the sound is clear.

Integrated Shock Mount. The integrated shock mount conveniently mounts the Sennheiser MKE 400 Mark II onto any camera accessory shoe while effectively suppressing handling and vibration noise.

Long Battery Life. The Second-Gen Sennheiser MKE 400 Shotgun Microphone is powered for up to 100 hours on a pair of AAA batteries, so you’ll have plenty of shoots under your belt before you’ll need new batteries. A low-battery indicator will let you know when you have roughly three hours of operating time left, and the mic has an auto-power function to prevent unnecessary battery drain when not in use.