Rycote Focuses On Video With New Mic Mounts And Windshields

Rycote For Video System Comprises New Low-Noise Shockmount & Compact Windscreen

Stroud, UK, May 2009: Rycote, the respected manufacturer of microphone windshields and hi-tech, low-noise mic suspension systems, has announced the first in a series of new products for 2009. The Rycote for Video system is a combined microphone shockmount/suspension and compact windscreen aimed at videographers. It is designed for use with high-quality camcorder microphones, providing improved low-noise performance for video professionals who use physically separate mics on commercial camcorders.

"If you've gone beyond using built-in camcorder microphones for video sound, Rycote for Video is aimed at you," explains Rycote's Technical Director Simon Davies. "It's essentially an affordable, low-noise, physically robust shockmount system for camera-mounted microphones."

Rycote for Video comprises several new Rycote products, all designed and manufactured within the UK:

• The InVision Video shockmount/suspension. At the heart of this suspension is Rycote's Lyre technology, the patented and virtually unbreakable non-elasticated suspension design introduced in several of Rycote's shockmount products over the past two years. A lightweight (84g) but hard-wearing noise-reducing clamp, designed for high-quality camcorder microphones between 19 and 25mm in diameter and up to 300mm in length, is suspended in two low-noise W-shaped Lyre webs fixed to a mounting bar. The bar may then be connected to a camcorder via two further optional adaptor accessories also launched today, and detailed below. Both of these allow the mounting bar, and thus any connected microphone, to be freely rotated 360 degrees around the camera mounting point.

• The InVision Video Hot Shoe Adaptor slides into the hot shoe mount on top of most commercial camcorders. A built-in cable clamp is designed to reduce cable-borne noise.

• The InVision Video Quarter-inch Adaptor also offers a built-in cable clamp, but this mounting accessory fits into the quarter-inch thread available on some camcorders. Cleverly, the adaptor includes a male and female quarter-inch screw thread on its connecting thumb wheel, so that attaching the Rycote adaptor does not deprive users of the ability to connect further accessories with a quarter-inch thread to the camcorder; following connection of the adaptor, further accessories may be attached to the Rycote thumb wheel instead.

• The MiniScreen windshield. While the InVision Video mount reduces noise generated by knocking the camcorder, the camcorder mic or its cable, the lightweight (51g), durable black mesh-fabric MiniScreen offers a reduction of up to 20dB of wind noise for camera-mounted shotgun microphones and on-board camcorder mics. A universal rubberised mounting disk holds mics from 19 to 27mm in diameter in place in the windshield, while the optional short-fur Mini Windjammer cover improves the wind attenuation by around another 3dB. Discreet and with a low profile, the MiniScreen is available in four lengths (10, 12, 14 and 18cm) for different microphones.

All four main components of the Rycote for Video system will be available from Rycote dealers from June 1, 2009. For further information, contact your local Rycote distributor or check out their new web site at www.rycote.com