Tascam TM-200SG — a condenser shotgun microphone for video recording
Tascam continues to develop equipment and accessories for video recording. In April 2021, the company added the TM-200SG on-camera microphone. This is a condenser shotgun microphone that can mount on a camera shoe.
The TM-200SG is interesting mainly for its compact size and low price. At only 15 cm long, it is small for a shotgun microphone. It is also one of the most affordable shotgun microphones on our market.
The microphone requires +48 V phantom power. It is a simple design with no battery option. If the camera does not provide +48 V, it is best to record the microphone through a dedicated recorder or another device with a suitably powered microphone input.
Shotgun microphones are not new to Tascam. A similar on-camera model, the TM-150SG, appeared in 2017 and has since been discontinued. Before that, the company introduced the DR-10SG recorder for DSLR cameras, with a built-in shotgun microphone. The manufacturer therefore has experience in this field.
Tascam TM-200SG specifications
| Type | Condenser |
| Polar pattern | Supercardioid |
| Frequency range | 30 Hz–20 kHz |
| Sensitivity | -40 dB, ±3 dB (0 dB = 1 V/Pa at 1 kHz) |
| Output impedance | 200 ohms, ±30% (at 1 kHz) |
| Low-cut filter | 3 dB per octave, 160 Hz |
| Connection | 3 pin XLR, Male |
| Signal-to-noise ratio | 74 dB |
| Maximum sound pressure level | 132 dB |
| Power supply | 48 V |
| Dimensions | 23 × 153 mm |
| Weight | 53 g |
| Package contents | Windscreen, camera mount, pouch, printed manual |
The TM-200SG looks like a typical on-camera shotgun microphone. It has a cylindrical metal housing that cannot be taken apart. Multiple side openings help prevent housing resonances. Fine metal mesh also protects the capsule and internal parts from dust and dirt.
The capsule is at the end of the microphone. The TM-200SG uses a 16 mm electret capsule in a special rubber suspension. This helps keep camera handling noise out of recordings. Because the camera mount is rigid, extra vibration isolation at the capsule is useful.
Along with the camera mount, the package includes a foam windscreen and a zippered fabric pouch. A threaded hole underneath the mount allows the microphone to be used on a photo tripod as well as a camera shoe.
Unfortunately, no cable is included. Any inexpensive microphone cable with an XLR connector will work. The windscreen, however, is essential for recording in noisy conditions and outdoors. It reduces unwanted noise and also protects the microphone from dust and moisture.
A low-cut filter switch is on top of the microphone housing. The 160 Hz cutoff is fairly high, although the slope is only 3 dB per octave.
Below are the manufacturer's frequency response and polar pattern graphs.
The frequency response shows an even midrange and some variation above 5 kHz. The graphs clearly show the low-cut filter's effect. The polar plot confirms a supercardioid pattern. Unfortunately, it does not show how directivity changes with frequency.
Inside is a full circuit with discrete components and a transformer.
The low-frequency filter is on the other side of the circuit board. Transparent film prevents the components from touching the metal microphone housing.
The TM-200SG provides quite good recording quality. Despite its compact size, it behaves like a proper shotgun microphone and captures a full frequency range. Voice tone is reproduced without obvious tonal shifts, with good low-frequency body. The polar pattern is not very narrow. Even well off-axis, the source remains within the pickup area, without a large treble loss or change in tone. Sources beside or behind the microphone are picked up very weakly or almost not at all. The low-cut filter works gently, effectively reducing the lowest frequencies while only slightly affecting the lower midrange.
Overall, our impressions were very positive, even slightly better than expected. The one drawback is the rigid camera mount. The capsule's built-in isolation is not enough to remove all camera handling noise. Some button presses will probably be audible in recordings. We would like a better suspension system, as offered by other manufacturers, even as a separate accessory. On the other hand, the microphone's low price fully compensates for its simplicity and lack of extra features.
Note. This is an adapted machine translation into English. It follows the “In simple terms” approach. Read the original article at https://prosound.ixbt.com/microphones/tascam-tm200sg.shtml.