Best external microphone for Nikon d300s?

I shoot nikon. I have done some research and am looking for the best " bang for my buck". I was wanting something under $250.00. I know nikon now offers one and Rhode seems to be popular. Good sound quality, easy to use( i don't want to have to add the audio in post) and well made.

I have owned the rode shotgun mic and it works great. I picked mine up for $150.

Yes looping audio can be a real pain in the patoot alright.

I did a career in television news / sports photography. The only two brands we would ever accept were Sennheiser and Schure. If you watch any baseball game when the flash a shot of one of the cameras you'll see a long silver tube strapped to the top of the lens = Sennheiser.