RØDE VideoMic On-camera Shotgun Microphone with High-pass Filter and Pad for Filmmaking, Content Creation and Location Recording
RØDE VideoMic conveniently attaches to camera hot-shoe for on-the-go filmmaking.
Key Features
There’s a lot to like about the VideoMic:
- Condenser Microphone for Detailed, Professional Sounding Audio
- 9V Battery Powered
- Integrated Rycote Lyre Shock Mounting to Isolate Handling Noise
- Two Step High Pass Filter (Flat/80Hz) for Cutting Low-End Rumble
- Three Step Pad (0, -10, -20dB) For Recording Louder Sources
Time to Transform Your Video Sound
Get Directional, Broadcast-Audio in your Video.
Having good sound in your video is essential. The RØDE VideoMic gives you clear, directional audio for your video, recorded right in-camera without the need for external recorders or other equipment
- Easy to Use: Attach to camera, turn on, and start filming
- Directional Shotgun Design: Hear More of Your Subject, Less Surrounding Ambience
- Up to An Incredible 100 hour Battery Life on one Alkaline/Lithium 9V Battery
More Details
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|---|---|---|---|
Make Your Camera Sound GreatGive your videos broadcast-quality audio with just one single product. The shotgun-barrel design gives improved intelligibility and focus on your speaking subject. | Easy to UseAttach the VideoMic to your camera’s hot shoe, connect the 3.5mm cable and turn it on. VideoMic replaces the audio in your video, without the need to synchronise audio afterwards. | Incredible Battery LifeThe VideoMic will power for up to 100 hours on one Alkaline/Lithium 9V battery – peace of mind you have high quality audio for the whole day’s shoot, and beyond. | Compatible with Accessories to Enhance Productions FurtherThe VideoMic includes 3/8″ thread for convenient RØDE Boompole (sold separately) or tripod mounting. Add a VC1 extension cable (also sold separately) for working off-camera, closer to the speaking subject for the best possible sound. |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ideal For: | Camcorders, point and shoot, entry level DSLR | Camcorders, point & shoot, entry-level DSLR (Not compatible with Nikon D7000) | Camcorders, mid-range DSLR | High-end DSLR, Full frame cameras | High-end DSLR, Full frame cameras | High-end DSLR, Full frame cameras, Smartphone and USB Computer Use |
| Built in pre-amp? | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ||
| High Pass Filter | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ||
| +20db Boost? | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |||
| Rechargeable Battery? | ✓ | ✓ | ||||
| Safety Channel Feature? | ✓ | ✓ | ||||
| High Frequency Boost? | ✓ | ✓ | ||||
| USB Microphone Capability | ✓ | |||||
| 3.5mm TRRS Smartphone/Tablet Compatible? | With SC4/SC7 Adapter (Sold Separately) | With SC4/SC7 Adapter (Sold Separately) | With SC4 Adapter (Sold Separately) | With SC4 Adapter (Sold Separately) | With SC4/SC7 Adapter (Sold Separately) | Natively (Auto-senses with included cable) |
| Frequency Response | 100Hz – 20kHz | 100Hz – 16kHz | 40Hz – 20kHz | 40Hz – 20kHz | 20Hz – 20kHz | 35Hz – 18kHz ±3 dB |
| Weight: | 340 g |
| Dimensions: | 30.48 x 10.16 x 12.7 cm; 340.19 Grams |
| Model: | VIDEOMICR |
| Colour: | Black and Red |
| Batteries Included: | 1 Lithium ion batteries required. |
| Colour: | Black and Red |
| Origin: | China |
This is an amazing microphone. I was hesitant to buy because of price and so many cheaper options available. However there is a reason why so many pro vloggers use this mic. I used first time in Isle of Skye in really bad wind to record vlog. I was amazed at how good the sound was recorded even before being post processed. Highly recommended.
Probably the best bang for buck microphone
I cannot say enough good things about this microphone, it’s amazing for the price. Yes there are better microphones out there and this is only mono, not stereo. However for the price. It’s next to none. My only issue is the anti vibration mount, it is quite delicate and replacements can be pricey, so be careful with i
Ditch your on board mic and spend 50 quid on this.
What a difference in audio.
I start just me talking in my room, then background noise of a youtube video and then both me and the video making noise. I have a Canon 70D and the audio the mic produces is very defined in the sense that it is natural yet punchy. I can’t place my finger on what makes it so nice (Maybe its because it’s a mono mic).
Listening through a pair of studio monitors (Focal Alpha 65’s pair) It’s obvious I won’t ever use the on board mic’s again. Solid choice, glad i bought it.
I’ve bought this mic for my note 8 since I’m going on holiday soon and decided to pick this up.
Just to clarify some things;
It records mono not stereo
Mounts onto a hot shoe or cold shoe mount
Requires the SC7 patch cable (~10) to work with mobiles (the cable included only works for TRS to TRS)
Audio Quality
Thankfully, they’ve included the windshield because without it, the audio picks up quite a lot of windy noise. Indoor use without the windshield is okay, but for conveniences sake you may as well keep it on. The windshield does an excellent job at keeping the wind out and softening loud breaths when you speak into the mic. I don’t pick up any ‘hiss’ as other people have complained about, but I do get some noticeable background noise. I’ve found that cleaning it up using Audacity makes the mic sound extremely high quality.
Mic Design
The mic feels very high quality with its full metal body. There are no complaints from me about the mic design.
Mount Design
The main problem I have with the product is actually to do with the Rycote Lyre Mount. Since the mic is only fixed on it at one point, the mic is able to rock forward and backward quite noticeably when you are moving about (i.e. walking). This is extremely noticeable on the audio, meaning it is more aimed towards stationary vlogging and filming (thus defeating the point of making it compact and easy to travel with). Using a different mount or using a gimbals should solve this, but falls heavily outside my budget (Rycote mounts are ~50 and gimbals are ~100). Also, the plastic of the mount feels very cheap and susceptible to snapping at any point. You do get 2 years warranty on this though, so I will see if it is needed at all.
Overall, this mic is definitely worth the money. It falls within the budget microphone price while delivering premium microphone quality (especially after editing audio in post). Pick this up if you’re looking for a compact budget mic!
Bought this for my camping vlogs as I use my Samsung Galaxy S7 to record, but wanting better sound quality. Tested with and without the microphone plugged in. Now you won’t notice much difference in volume, but you get a more rich sound and the dead cat cover ensures you don’t get that naff wind distortion ruining your videos. If like me you want this for your phone, you’ll need the SC4 adaptor cable too, otherwise it won’t work on any smartphone including Apple phones. You’ll also need a mount similar to the ones you get on a selfie stick but it has a cold shoe mount to attach the microphone, I’ve bought the Ulanzi one from Amazon and can recommend that too, sturdy metal. See video.
Having now used this a few times in various conditions, the sound quality is excellent, even picked up my voice clearly on a windy boat trip. Would this be without this mic for vlogging now.
A really effective mic for your DSLR. I have a Canon EOS 70D and was asked to film a musical concert given at a prominent venue.
I have spent more than a thousand pounds on the camera and felt that a small investment in a microphone was in order. I was not wrong. The sound quality is revolutionised with this external microphone. The build in mic is a waste of time and a small investment pays enormous dividends if you are thinking of using your DSLR for video.
It comes with a fluffy microphone cover and needs no batteries as it takes power from the camera (make sure the Mic jack is powered).
Well worth the investment. If you’re using your DSLR for video, make this investment – you won’t be sorry!
Well pleased with the audio quality
Well pleased with the audio quality, the only issue I have is those curved mount things break very easily, mine broke after a few days of use taking in and out of bags, I’ve used gaffer tape to fix and that seems to have it well to this day.
Will probably end up buying another anyway.as it’s a great product when doesn’t need batteries.
Not very good audio quality, but good as a microphone!
Not a perfect microphone and the quality isn’t ideal but for the cost and my needs of a small microphone for my camera it was perfect.
If you need clear audio I’d perhaps invest in something of better quality but if you just need a simple microphone so that you have the additional audio track for editing then I’d say this is great.
This mic is so good! I was a little sceptical when getting it out of the box as it is really small. It looks much bigger with the wind-muffler on though, so will make you look much more ‘pro’ when taking video or photos at a wedding or event for instance.
The quality is just superb, so much better than the built in mic on most cameras, picking up sounds from much further away if needed, but also cutting out ambient noise when using it for interviews for example. When you use it indoors without the wind muffler, the small size means it is much less obtrusive. The audio it captures is almost as good as my professional Shure mic I use in my studio, great for making video clips when I’m out and avoids the need to use a separate audio recorder and merge the audio file. It connects via a fairly short, curly lead with 3.5mm jacks on either end. I had to get a 2.5mm to 3.5mm adapter for my camera but it worked fine. The fact that the lead is pretty short is good, as it means it doesn’t get in the way too much.
Perfect value+quality / money
For 45 great mic, sounds perfect, I tested it on Nikon D5200 vs Zalman ZM-MIC1 vs build in mic ( and I can say that Zalman works pretty good also but only during some specific setups – indoor, stable with mic attached to 1 place in front of camera or so 😀 ). What’s important, don’t check sound quality on camera build in preview – You will hear tons of distortions and humming due co Nikon D5200 bad ampli. After uploading clips on PC they sound much cleaner and you can eliminate all humming etc completely with video edit software if You need it. Dead cat works really perfect – must have to outdoor recording in UK.
Small edit – I have used it with PC also, works perfect and you can have very good mic for streaming etc for nice money
I had already purchase a Microphone from a German manufacturer and the wind noise on video was unbelievable even in the slightest of breezes, it spoiled 3 instances of unrepeatable video shots – so I bit my tongue and purchased the Rode VideoMic Pro… what a difference (both Mics were about the same price) – I use a windjammer and the Rode performs 100% better than my previous purchase, its quite a large microphone but for the money I think it may be hard to beat & if you register your product with Rode you get a 10 year Guarantee too, can’t be bad, wind noise is now practically removed from my video clips…wish I’d bought the Rode first…Great price…great Microphone for video use.
Great value, great sound, worth the money.
I have been using this with Tascam DR40 and Canon SLRs. The sound quality with the right setup is very nice, especially if you take time to get the settings correct.
Although a shotgun style mic it does still pick up quite a lot of sound from nearby but from my limited experience only far more expensive mics will be more isolating and they cost multiples of this one.
Only minor dislike is the very short cable, which although stretchy Im worried may degrade with use.
I’ve used it for on location filming and for filming voice overs. Very happy indeed, great value piece of kit.
It’s certainly much better than the regular RODE videomic by a landslide, I most make films but it seems like it would be perfect for people that make vlogs, the 20+ boost is without a doubt the best thing about it, you’d obviously have to manually turn the volume down in your camera for the best results though, but it’s awesome!
It’s certainly much better than the regular RODE videomic by a landslide, I most make films but it seems like it would be perfect for people that make vlogs, the 20+ boost is without a doubt the best thing about it, you’d obviously have to manually turn the volume down in your camera for the best results though, but it’s awesome!
Great MIC.
Great product. Exactly what I needed.
Great quality and arrived super quick
looks nice. I use it for vlogging most of the ...
Clear sound, looks nice. I use it for vlogging most of the time. Rode mics are top rage and the price is perfect.
Five Stars
It is an awesome mic for mirrorless X-T2. Buy and use very easy..
Works well on my GH5
Using this on my new GH5. Ok – maybe not as good as using an XLR mike but I didn’t want to fork out for the XLR adapter for the GH5 as well. I saw some advice to crank down the microphone input levels on the GH5 when using an external mike so this is what I’ve done and the results seem reasonable to me.
This is the most amazing Mic I have ever used and produces very high quality audio. My Son has also used this really well on his Canon 5D Mark ii – a local band, 110 db, with a rubbish sound engineer – this Mic sorted everything out and the resulting audio sounded like the band had been recorded in a recording studio. As with all cameras, the noise that comes through using the built in Mic is rubbish – on the Canon, using manual with no in camera gain, the input gain was turned right down to just one click above nothing – this mic sorted out everything beyond that point with NO Noise !!!!! Totally amazed and you will never be disappointed. Please please please also invest in the
Dead Kitten Windjammer- when outside, the slightest gust of wind will undo all the great work that’s gone into this mic. I truly am totally amazed with this mic.
I had my doubts about this microphone but it performed well on my Nikon D3300. It is mono but that means it is more ‘directional’ and seems to give a clear natural sound just as one would expect from a professional video. The ‘dead cat’ really does work well as I can verify from recordings made on the balcony a ship in 56 knot winds – there was no wind noise at all resulting from the microphone. The only thing I don’t really like about it is the bright red cable – it looks naff! The dead cat is essential but does look a little over the top – nonetheless it works.
The rode videomic pro is a improvement over the built in mics on a dslr or videocam,
It is a good mic but your subject needs to be close to it to get the full benefit and sound quality from it.
It is very good the closer you are to it, more depth and clarity over the built in mic on my dslr but the quality gets less and less the further away you are from it.
The battery cover is fiddly to get back on and is not the easiest to see which way to put the battery in.
There is a small sticker on the inside of the battery compartment showing which way to put the battery in but this could be easily missed if you did not know it was there, there is also a image on the back of the battery cover showing battery position as well. This mic is more suited for interviews and vlogging etc, it will pick up noise from behind and sides but this will not be as clear as what is in front of the mic as this is what it is for. If you were looking for a more ambient sound of the area you are in then the rode videomic stereo would be better for this purpose. If you purchase this mic you will also need to get your self a 9v battery as there is not one supplied with the mic, overall i am happy with this purchase.
Excellent product, i always wanted a rode microphone for my gopro hero 4 as the sound on them is terrible but i couldnt decide on which one to buy, after watching countless videos on youtube to try and see which was best i decided on this one. It arrived quickly and was well packaged.. i was not dissapointed, you recieve everything that you need plus a dead kitten (windshield) for outside use. It has made a significant change to my videos. I would totally recommend this product to anyone who wants a good microphone that isnt too big sitting on top of your camera.
It has very good sound indeed – I use it with my Nikon DSLR on a tripod. As is well documented on YouTube reviews, to avoid hissing sounds you need to use the Rode’s 20db setting and turn your camera’s mic gain down – I have mine set to 7 which is about half way on a Nikon. The sound picks up really well and is very clear when I’m making YouTube videos. The other thing I found is that it’s better to have the microphone mounted on a bracket and not on the camera hotshoe – this is to avoid the mic picking up autofocus noise from the lens motor. You could always turn off autofocus I guess but brackets are so cheap to buy on Amazon you might as well do that.
You don’t get much in the box but then you don’t need much – it’s a microphone at the end of the day. But a very very good one.
Five Stars
Fantastic shotgun mike and works great with the Canon 500d as it has its own power supply.
I have owned the Rode VideoMicro for a few weeks. I am still getting to know the best way to use it but I am really impressed with it so far.
The package includes the TRS connection cable, a shock mount, a windjammer/deadkitten, and the microphone itself.
I am not planning on this being my main camera microphone. It will be mainly used as a backup. The reason I love it so much is because it is so versatile.
I can use this with my Panasonic Lumix G6. I can use this as an external microphone with my audio recorder. I can connect this to action cameras. I picked up the Rode SC7 TRS to TRRS connection cable too so I can also use my Google Nexus 6P with it too.
It really is versatile and for the size of the microphone it punches above its weight and stands well against more expensive options. My plan is to keep it with my portable little camera bag at all times so that I have it there for whenever I need it. For example, if I just want to record a quick video on my smartphone I can connect it up.
You may have to mess around with the mic level on your camera if you want to get the right sound. On my Panasonic Lumix G6 the mic levels go from 1 to 19. At the highest level (19) there is a lot of buzzing and hissing. I need to set the microphone between level 1 and level 12 so that the sound is ok.
The windjammer works ok. I really like how well it slides easily onto the VideoMicro, though I didn’t find that it reduced noise as much as other windjammers.
Check out my video for a series of audio tests I performed with the microphone. Be sure to leave a question below in the comment area if you have any questions about the microphone. I tested it in a lot of different situations to see how it performed, but I would be happy to answer anything I didn’t cover in the review.
Kevi
Having done lots of research on adding a microphone to my DSLR, I have chosen this product. It has the advantage of a high pass filter, and three gain settings, one of which allows you to significantly reduce the gain on your camera’s audio pre-amp. This will reduce the noise on the audio feed. I have yet to test it outside to see how it performs. Inside it offers good rejection for sounds from the side. So don’t buy one of these if you are trying to pick up ambient sounds. Do buy one if you are looking for a directional microphone that picks up sounds from what you are pointing your camera at. So ideal if you are blogging, or interviewing people. The mic sits in a cradle, it does look as though the cradle is an integral part of the assembly, and I am not sure what might happen if it breaks. The earlier and more expensive model had elasticated bands holding the microphone in the cradle. My one criticism is that the battery holder is poorly placed on the unit. Plus you have to take great care to look at the battery holder to figure out which way the battery goes in. I noticed quite a few reviews where people had talked about batteries getting hot, I suspect it is because the batteries have been put in the wrong way around and burned out the electronics. The battery clip is not the easiest one to release or reapply. There is a sticker inside the battery holder which shows the correct orientation, however it depends which way you open it. I did not see it at first. There is also a plus and minus symbol on the inside of the battery cover, but that is not easy to see in a darkened room. So 10/10 for the microphone, but 3/10 for the mechanical design.
Couldn't recommend enough!
I needed a new mic for my camera, I wasn’t prepared to pay 100 for RDE PRO MIC, I saw the “Videomic Go” and I read a few reviews, came across this mic and found that there is an issue with a hissing noise in the background with certain Canon cameras, so I was tempted to go back to the Videomic Go, I found out that using audacity you can sort the problem out extremely easy keeping in mind that Audacity is a free software, and I couldn’t recommend this camera enough!!! If your on the line on whether to buy this or not, I’d say DO IT!
Best Mic for DSLR's
This is the peak of DSLR microphones. It you are a filmmaker, YouTuber or just wanting to shoot some video with high quality sound then this the microphone you need. I tried a number of different microphones that cost between 20-50 including the Video Mic Go but was always a little disappointed by the quality. I wasted money on cheaper mics thinking the difference in quality could not be significant but honestly the difference is night and day.
This is easily 5/5. Top quality product and RODE are a great supplier.
Arrived in plenty of time and worked a treat. The instructions are well worth reading correctly so that you put the VideoMicro microphone on the Rycote Lyre Shock Mount the right way. Excellent purchase for my Canon EOS-M and for ‘B’ roll camera/Vlogging.
Update;
The base of the Lycote lyre Shock Mount had snapped. I got in contact with Rode and they sent a replacement from their England base in London. There is a 2mm bolt which need a 2mm Allen wrench to remove it. I have 1 year left on my warranty so they replaced it free of charge. If you haven’t already make sure you register your Rode microphone for its 2 year warranty. Still fantastic for the price.
Good audio for Vlogs.
I use this in conjunction with my DSLR for vlogs. Audio quality is very good, however the mount in which to mount onto the camera I found to be quite flimsy. This is my only complaint as overall it does what I need it to do.
Five Stars
Superb Microphone for Amateur Video Work at a very decent price.
Quick delivery from seller. Don't expect pro standard of ...
Quick delivery from seller. Don’t expect pro standard of a full shotgun, this mic is a bit roomy for my liking.
Extremely happy with the produc
Extremely happy with the product. Purchased this for my Canon 750D and it works a treat for a not so expensive piece of kit.
Epic
Brill quality sound. Great price, just remmber to turn off so as not to drain battery
T'is a thing of Beauty.
Lovely bit of kit.
Obviously bought off the back of a thousand youtube recommendations; plus a nice discount for a refurb.
Filmed and edited three videos now with segments outside in afternoon rush hour and the sound pickup was excellent. This is not a microphone for serious directional sound but it certainly will cut through noise of the same volume as your subject to produce good useable audio.
As an upgrade from a D3200 internal mic it is a thing of beauty.
I highly recommend and as long as your fingers aren’t six foot wide and long you wont have an issue replacing the underslung battery 🙂
I own a Canon SLR and was always a little disappointed with the audio quality from the built in mic. So after a bit of research I purchased this and used it for the first time at a family wedding and wow!! The sound quality on the recordings is amazing! Any speech is clear, the loud band playing didn’t distort the sound, this mic managed to capture all the base, treble and other high pitched sounds with ease.
More importantly, when pointing the mic towards your subject the mic picks up their speech amazingly over other loud sounds nearby instead of picking everything else up. The battery lasted all day and all night and I loved using this product.
The Rode’s sound is solid with a pretty good frequency response, but in truth it only provides a moderate improvement over the inbuilt camera mic. But an improvement is an improvement.
However, if you need a slightly more focused sound at distances over four or five feet then you might want to consider a short shot gun mic – a good cheap option is something like the HTDZ HT 320A 10-inch mic (quite difficult to find these days) which in my tests produced a better, more focused, sound at longer distances than the Rode. But it does not have the convenient form factor of the Rode (direct camera mounting is a bit awkward), and it’s battery operated, whereas the Rode is battery free. So the Rode has definite advantages here.
You could also attach a longer cable and use the Rode off-camera if you wanted to, on a boom pole with the right mount adapter etc. It also comes with a furry wind protector which is useful.
In total, it’s a nice and practical little mic and a very useful accessory within its limits. But don’t expect miracles when recording sounds at longer distances. At around 45 at the time of writing, it’s a pretty good buy. But if you’re even half way serious about obtaining decent sound in different environments, the Rode should NOT be the only mic in your kit.
Five Stars
Love this mike… Hoping to eventually buy the rode videomic pro…I’d like to have 2.
... this does not come with a battery but I love this microphone
Note – this does not come with a battery but I love this microphone! Fits my budget perfectly and works really well for the price. One thing to remember is to turn it off after using it but a green light reminds you about this
Great little mic, use as a standard to measure others.
The performance from this mic is quiet good given its size. You need to turn on mic power on your camera as it has no power of its own.
I do get a good quality sound from it and tend to use it as a standard when setting up. I havent used it too much outdoors but the dead cat does work well.
Five Stars
Arrived a day earlier than specified and seems to do the job adequately!
Very pleased with this purchase
Very pleased with this purchase…used it to record a rock band gig in a club and got a very clear recording.
my husband is happy with his gif
Bought for Xmas gift, delivered within 2/4 days after ordering. my husband is happy with his gif
I like this mic a lot. If it was a slightly ‘hotter’ and ‘quieter’ mic it would be 5 stars but frankly for the cost and the size, Rode have already worked miracles – I’m just your typical demanding user and nothing will ever be good enough! 🙂
Even the RSM-191 annoyed me with it’s size and matrixing box so Rode are in very good company here with me.
Great mic, good price and good quality audio.
Pretty great mic to have on a DSLR, good audio quality and very lightweight. The shockmount is super handy and means that you almost always have decent quality audio.
The only problems I’ve had have been that using the different audio levels on the inside basically ruin the audio and when the battery starts to run out the audio gets fuzzy, with no indication on the mic that the battery is low.
This one was reasonably priced and because its RØDE it has to be good! After arriving this I was and still are ...
This was my first RDE mic so wasn’t really sure which one to go for. This one was reasonably priced and because its RDE it has to be good!
After arriving this I was and still are very impressed with the quality of sound. The mic would be perfect for beginners or even professionals.
NOTE…
If you fiddle about with the camera while recording, sometimes it picks this up. Its not a massive boo hoo but it can be annoying.
Great rode mic something thats used in hollywood also captures ...
Great rode mic something thats used in hollywood also captures chrisp sound. Will make you look like a pro. I recommend this product to all excellent purchase
Five Stars
bit fiddly with the batteries and button but a good mic with decent quality sound.
Excellent audio quality - use it for recording external audio ...
Excellent audio quality – use it for recording external audio from my SLR. Fits on the shoe and doesn’t obstruct the lens. Needs a 9 volt battery
It can only be Rode for me!
This is my second Rode VideoMic, so I was already aware of it’s excellent performance at recording sound – I use it on my XA20 Cano
I have tried no end of microphones on my camera and on a boom pole fed into the camera, including some very expensive long shotguns. Mostly, I think people are trying pick up people speaking and not wanting to pick up traffic and background noise. This microphone would be my preferred choice for both a boom pole and a camera mounted microphone. Long shotguns deaden the background noise only a little bit more than this but they also take out the ‘liveness’ of an actor or speaker making their voices seem too artificial. This microphone is a really good way of fading down background noise but keeping voices fairly realistic. Nothing… i said nothing… not even 700 pound microphones can eliminate background noise. If you hear traffic, every microphone you use will hear traffic. if want no background noise at all, you have to record in a soundproof studio, pick a location in the middle of a desert, or simply use ADR to put dialogue sound onto video. So, in my mind, this is the best microphone I have used for someone who cant do that. Mine had a different mount which used a set of rubber bands. I have tried this kind of mount now used here, both can produce the same issue if you fumble the camera you will hear it. If you hold a camera steady and with a light firm grip, and don’t whisper or breath too loudly, its great. If you wanted to put it on a boom pole, you’ll have to get a hot shoe adapter (a few quid) and away you go. i’ve had mine 4 years now and it still works perfectly. Get a dead cat muffler for outside work though. It also works well with most Zoom and Tascom recorders I’ve tried it on. My bes first choice of all mics I’ve used. They got it right with this one. mol
Four Stars
ice looking product, pity it would not work on my camera
Great mic, HOWEVER you want to invest in a ...
Great mic, HOWEVER you want to invest in a external recording device over this as your camera still records crappy audio mostly.
Good!
Its really cool, and the sound stay good… but sometimes we hear some noises… :/
Good, bu
There’s a small buzz on the line when shooting in quiet circumstances.
Four Stars
A bit bulky and pick up pattern introduce a bit of hiss.
... for about four years now and have been very happy with i
I’ve been using this for about four years now and have been very happy with it. The mic produces a very clear sound with very minimal background hiss. Well worth the money in my opinion.
Great Value For Money.
Great product that I’ve made a lot of use out of with my Canon 600D. The sound quality is really good & it’s good value for money. Would definitely buy it again in the future & recommend to others looking for a microphone.
A great addition for a DSLR
A great mic that significantly improves the quality of the audio you can record.
This mic seems to be good. I definitely get a fuller sound than I do from the on-board mic on my camcorder. The problem lies, I believe, mainly with Canon cameras. I have the Canon M52 camcorder, and as this is a video mic, I expected things to be sweet, but I was disappointed. There is a distinct hiss under all my recordings using this mic with the Canon camcorder (search the two of them for why this is). If I film in a noisy environment, the hiss is un-noticeable (so far, anyway), but when you film someone talking in a quiet environment, the hiss makes the footage quite unusable! I’ve looked into the problem and I haven’t been able to find a solution for my camera, although there are solutions out there for DSLR cameras; it didn’t work with mine.
I’ve decided to keep the Rode Videomic, because, as I said, it records (seemingly) well in a noisy environment, much better than the on-board mic, and I’ve now purchased (after much research) a separate recording device. No one said audio for video was going to be easy, I just thought it would be. It can be complicated, expensive, and time consuming trying to get it all to work the way you want it to, as different situations are going to call for different set ups, but that’s part of the fun, and definitely a major part of the learning process.
As for build quality, it is excellent, the Rycote Lyre Mount works, and, as this is by far the most important thing, it does look very good in the camera rig, especially when it’s sat on top of a camera grip!
op quality
Bought this for short videos and never looked back, perfect sound pickup and can attach it to so many points using the hotshoe adapter plate!
Using with the rode boompole to get those long shots in too.
Only arrived today and already I love it! Fits on the top of my Nikon ...
Only arrived today and already I love it! Fits on the top of my Nikon D5100 and soundwise there is no comparison with the onboard sound which is adequate but this Rode Stereo Videomic takes to sound to another level. Gone is the wind noise and sounds of the autofocus and vibration reduction – nothing but pure stereo sound with no background noise – apart from the distant birds that is! – The stereo image is excellent and everything sounds very natural. The mic itself is solidly built and feels like it too! The DEADKITTEN windshield is a great bonus, a must if you intend to use outdoors!
Seems Good
I haver owned it for maybe two hours. I plugged it into my Canon 5D3 and went outside. Its quite windy and an electrical storm is rumbling in the distance. No rain yet. I pointed the camera at a nearby tall tree that was being bent over in strong wind blasts…really strong.
The subsequent recording was of a tree getting a bit of a battering. You could plainly hear the roar of the wind in the tree as well as a blackbird getting very agitated. It did not allow wind noise on the Mic to be recorded. I am very pleased with it.
Reliable, Great Quality
I bought this top mic when I was working on corporate interviews a couple years ago and haven’t looked back since. It’s reliable, sturdy and the recording quality/battery life are great. I’d recommend getting the RDE Deadcat should you be doing a lot of outdoor filming, as this won’t filter out high winds that well.
Great Microphone for Improved Audio Quality on Your Movies.....
Having been disappointed with the sound quality of the built-in microphones on my DSLR cameras I had tried using one of the Rode M3 mics from my recording studio. This was great but the M3 was a bit big for location work and I found it difficult to isolate it from the camera noise. This Rode Videomic is ideal, it has the same high quality as the M3 but in a smaller size & with the isolating mount. The mic is very sensitive and I find I need to use the attenuated setting in most small room recording. The mic gives great results and control over the sound quality. I would recommend this to any budding film maker….
A smart gun mic
Just the job! Love the suspension, pretty good sound. With an slr this is quite an efficient set up. I would recommend it.
Good
This went well with a JVC camera very useful to cut out back ground noises, needs slightly up dating to be more compac
a great produc
having looked at 20-40 pound entry level mics i chose this one, the hot shoe is good quality and comes with a very long guarantee
Great mic for the price.
Good price and fast shippong for this on camera mic. I’m no sound expert but for the price and the ease of use it seems to do a great job.
Brilliant Mic and great mount!
Same great quality Rode microphone as usual but with a much improved mount.
Sits much more comfortably on my camera and I don’t have to worry about any broken or lost bands.
Great Video mic
I have used this at one wedding so far and it records pretty decent sound quality. Miles better than any in camera mic.
Great microphone!
Produces awesome sound and battery life lasts a longgg time! Sometimes I’ve left the mic on for a day without realising and the battery is still green and carried on for long time. I recommend this for you film makers, great purchase!
Top produc
It’s not to bulky and easy to fit. It catches all the sound and its very clear. My brother uses a lot for wedding event and he loves it.
Rycote Lyre Mount Rode Videomic
I’ve had other shotgun mics before, but nothing compares to this mics quality of sound without the usual hiss. For the money I’ve not found one that comes close the good results of this one. Mind you I’m just an amateur, but I’m happy with the sound reproduction for home use.
Brilliant for a piece of amateur ki
OK so no balanced output here, but the sound quality is really very good for a domestic semi-pro piece of equipment. You need to remember to switch the thing off though as it has its own battery. The Lyre shock-mount does a good job at minimising the sound of the DSLR auto-focus and the directional cardioid pattern is pretty good so long as you are fairly close and sitting in front of the mic. (There is an extension lead for boom work as an optional extra) Like Photocel – Rode has identified that there is a need in the semi-pro video market for a quality product – and they have delivered it with the VideoMic
Fury thing
I bought the fury dead cat thing as well but it dangles in front of the lens of my cam Corder 🙁
Cheap but pretty cheerful.
I’ve been using this to collect ambient sound for video, recording direct to the camera or sometimes a Tascam DR60D. It isn’t a MKH416 by any means, but for non critical ambience – interior and exterior – it produces a reasonably crisp, low noise output which is perfectly usable. The battery arrangement is a little clunky but battery life is sufficiently long it shouldn’t be a problem provided you keep spares on hand and don’t go into a mission critical shoot if you’re not sure of how much juice is left.
Amazing!
This is a great microphone and records sound at very high quality! I use it for everything from film making to voice acting work. With a good, cheap recorder (like the Zoom H1) you can capture most sounds at a very high quality!
Good mic, clear sound, little hiss but can be sorted in the edit and really pleased with the product. For the price, you can not complain.
Great mic but.....
Lovely sound quality, only downer is the noise you get from the suspension system.
I tried many different ways to reduce the squeaking noise.
Excelle
Quality item, which produces first class audio. I use mine with a Canon DSLR and it is ideal. I would suggest buying the RODE deadcat furry windshield to cut out wind noise and further enhance the clarity of audio recordings.
Quite good.
Decent microphone with decent sound. Not too expensive, although well worth also getting a wind-muffler because background noise can be an issue.
Son's Xmas pressie.
My son is very happy with the microphone. Says it works well and would recommend to anyone for home use.
Brillia
Brilliant product,I use this on shoots and I am very pleased with it. Brilliant mic and brilliant sound quality would definitely recommend.
First impression - wow!
I’m no expert but having just bought a Sony A77 I thought I would give video a try.
On camera Mic is faint and lacks tone. It also amplifies every little bit of focus “buzz” from my not so quiet Tamron 18-50, which blanks out everything else.
Mounted on the top of a Polaroid V bracket (on the camera hotshoe with adaptor), this mic is about 20cm (8ins) from the lens and the lens noise is hardly audible. Compared to the on camera mic, the sound quality is amazing – a lot louder, clear and sharp with plenty of tone.
In time I am sure I will become more critical and find it’s limitations, but so far I am really impressed with it.
The main reason I purchased this microphone was that it is unidirectional, and hence ideal for recording music in a relatively noisy environment. I have found that this works very well as evidenced by the video filmed with a Panasonic SD90 outside a pub at a music festival, with quite a lot of noise going on at either side of the performer. Unfortunately I can’t give you a link to the video, as external links are not allowed in Amazon reviews. However if you Google “Sue Stevens Laddie 2012” you should come across a YouTube video titled “Dear Laddie, Sue Stevens, Bromsgrove Folk Festival, July 2012”. If you can find this video have a look and see what you think. If you are wondering why I didn’t jsut upload the video to the “video review” here, I tried, but it just didn’t work.
The directional microphone needs to be used with care. For example if you are interviewing someone who points out something of interest behind you, it’s no good panning round as they continue to talk, as their voice will fade away!
The other reason for purchasing this microphone was to improve sound quality and to lessen the effect of wind. The sound quality of the built in microphone of the Panasonic camcorder was pretty good, and so it was difficult to recognize a significant improvement in general recording, but it did noticeably overcome problems of recording in a light breeze.
The microphone is attached to a mounting system that is designed to cut out camera and it is questionable as to how long the rubber loops will last. However another reviewer has made the point that these can easily be replaced by inexpensive O-Rings and so this is not a problem. The microphone is relatively large and dwarfs my camcorder, but at least it’s not very heavy and so again not much of a problem, as long as you have a bag that it will fit into. Finally, the only real problem that I have had is to forget to switch it on. I would strongly recommend that once you start filming for the day switch it on and leave it on. The pp3 battery is supposed to last for more than 100hrs, and so the cost of doing this far outweighs the cost of losing valuable footage!
The main reason I purchased this microphone was that it is unidirectional, and hence ideal for recording music in a relatively noisy environment. I have found that this works very well as evidenced by the video filmed with a Panasonic SD90 outside a pub at a music festival, with quite a lot of noise going on at either side of the performer. Unfortunately I can’t give you a link to the video, as external links are not allowed in Amazon reviews. However if you Google “Sue Stevens Laddie 2012” you should come across a YouTube video titled “Dear Laddie, Sue Stevens, Bromsgrove Folk Festival, July 2012”. If you can find this video have a look and see what you think. If you are wondering why I didn’t jsut upload the video to the “video review” here, I tried, but it just didn’t work.
The directional microphone needs to be used with care. For example if you are interviewing someone who points out something of interest behind you, it’s no good panning round as they continue to talk, as their voice will fade away!
The other reason for purchasing this microphone was to improve sound quality and to lessen the effect of wind. The sound quality of the built in microphone of the Panasonic camcorder was pretty good, and so it was difficult to recognize a significant improvement in general recording, but it did noticeably overcome problems of recording in a light breeze.
The microphone is attached to a mounting system that is designed to cut out camera and it is questionable as to how long the rubber loops will last. However another reviewer has made the point that these can easily be replaced by inexpensive O-Rings and so this is not a problem. The microphone is relatively large and dwarfs my camcorder, but at least it’s not very heavy and so again not much of a problem, as long as you have a bag that it will fit into. Finally, the only real problem that I have had is to forget to switch it on. I would strongly recommend that once you start filming for the day switch it on and leave it on. The pp3 battery is supposed to last for more than 100hrs, and so the cost of doing this far outweighs the cost of losing valuable footage!
Good for everything, brilliant at nothing
I first got my Rode to do complete a multimedia project that required better audio that could be attained that through the my 5D’s mic. I rather foolishly used it straight into the audio input and not my Zoom audio recorder (a h2 or h2n, I think!) The first time I used it I was amazed by the clarity, if a little bland. A couple of weeks later I used it for the interview section of a mockumentary. It could not pull speech so I was left with the annoying hum of a desk fan (it was one of those rare English heat waves) and that really disappointed me. Since then I have used it to record a couple of song’s. I originally (in a test) used it to record drum overheads, it was good, and the stereo image was noticeable, but it wasn’t brilliant. My 2 new AKG C 414’s (XLS) are much better. I have since used it on guitar and piano, though vocals (against Rode’s very own words-just watch their product demo) just fail with this mic, and the sound leaves a lot to be desired.
Pros
Good Sound Quality
Ok in a studio
Good on a boom pole
Cons
Rubbish at vocals
Rubbish at pulling speech.
You get what you pay for!
The Rode Video Mic is a great microphone for any camera, however on Canon DLSRs it can be tricky to gain good audio without the dreaded hiss in the background.
I spent a lot of time doing the AGC hack instead of using the manuel audio levels on the Canon 600D as that still makes the hiss. if you want to use this microphone on a Canon DLSR, make sure you look up on google or youtube about the AGC (auto gain control) hack as this will get the best audio for your Canon DSLR without the use of a seprate recording device like a ZOOM H1.
Basically the AGC hack works like this… you spilt the stereo sound using a simple cable and then effectively you have two separate mono channels, no need to worry the rode video mic is mono on two channels anyway, so on one channel you play a 19khz tone from a ipod shuffle, and in the other you put you microphone in. adjust the level fo the tone on the ipod to change the level fo the mic and there you have it, no hiss 🙂 i recommend looking online for a better explanation as that was only brief
I fully reccomend getting this pmicrophone for any camcorder/DLSR as it will be a lot better than any on board micrphones. again if your getting this micrphone for a Canon DLSR make sure you research about the AGC (auto gain control) hack or else you will be disappointed in the quality as the Canon DLSRs do not have good audio recording.
Looking for a mic to add to my Nikon DSLR as the internal is only mono and picks up the lens noise.
I have used Rode stuff before and always thought it was pretty good quality.
There are cheaper mics out there, but having watched more then enough Youtube video reviews and tests, it was aparant that Rode was the only real option on my budget.
Purchased it for 79, which was the best price i could find by at least 20.. arrived quickly, works a treat and audio quality is spot on for my video work.
no hesitation… like the fact the mic has its own suspended cage to minimise the vibration.
might have been nice to include a deadcat, but heyhoo, ill grab one soon.
Careful how you use it!
Great microphone and good value for money – a little on the large side however.
This microphone is a mono mic for interviews, one on ones etc, I ordered it to record music and got disappointing results.
I sent it back and now have the Rode stereo video mic at twice the price!! The stereo video mic does what I wanted it to do.
A Gift for Hubby
I bought this Mike as a gift for hubby after he borrowed his friends, he is thrilled to bits with it.Finds it very easy to use and has recommended it to friends
My Panasonic TM900 Full HD 1920x1080p (50p)) standard mic was a pain for wind noise including that slight background noise from the internal mic that everyone complains off?
Here is a relatively inexpensive solution. The Rode Video Mic.
Great mic and plenty of settings to play around and experiment with.
The switches do make a difference, so dont be shy trying them all until you have one that suits your type of work.
Some have commented on the rubber mountings breaking?
I can see, in my situation, how this might happen, which is due to the leaning angle of the Mic.
When placing your camcorder down, especially if you use a videocam stabiliser system as I do, then you will notice that the mic leans to the right, so I dont place your camcorder down on its right side or it will place pressure on the mics mountings possibly causing them to snap.
I have had no trouble with the mic, other than strong winds affecting sound, which is a normal challenge regardless, in my opinion.
I also use a rechargeable 9v battery and this works fine despite the instructions advising a normal 9v batt.
Fantastic
I have used this a number of times now and can not recommen I highly enough. It’s VERY sensitive at picking up sounds. But do be advised as it’s not stereo. Same signal is fed into both left and right channels.
I have put this on to my Canon 550D, the only decision making was mono or stero, this really depends on what you wish to use it for. In simple terms without all the science if you wish to record a person talking to the camera go mono everytime, it is more directional. If like me its to catch all the suound around mainly when travelling as a tourist go stereo, india, africa, out-side concerts & music, shows, arts, rivers flowing and cultral sounds.
As a make I think it takes some beating, sure its on the bulky side when mount on the camera but i is a serious bit of very well made kit and you will never regret buying it.
This is an great budget mic to go with a Canon EOS 550D if you install/use the latest version of the unofficial Magic Lantern Firmware for the 550D. Without it the cameras AGC (which cannot be turned off ) produces a persistant hiss in low noise situations making it less than ideal. The Magic Lantern firmware allows you to turn the AGC off and manually adjust audio gain control etc. With this the mic came into its own blocking out a lot of the unwanted background noise and producing a nice clear sound reproduction. A word of caution though if you have the Auto Focus set on while recording video the Rode Videomic still picks up the cameras mechanical noise of the len focus constantly changing, not as bad as the internal mic but still intrusive. The solution is to either turn off the autofocus while recording or remove the mic from the camera mount, the Rodes’ cable will stretch for about 6 inches as is and extension cables are available from Amazon and others. Overall a good purchase when used with some unofficial updates for the Canon EOS 550D, not sure I would recommend this combination otherwise until Canon officially produces a firmware update that allows you to turn the AGC off.
Before looking for a mic I’d never heard of Rode, but with a business video to record I wanted something better than the ‘get you by’ mic on my Canon 5DII. After some web searching I found that Rode are well thought of pretty universally so the decision came down to which one – the mono Video Mic or this one…
I chose the Stereo Video Mic because I thought it would be more versatile, maybe not as directional and as good with voice as the Video Mic but would still be OK (it’s two of the same condenser mics) but of course it can do stereo when required, which the other clearly can’t do.
In use it’s a bit bulkier than the Video Mic, but it’s not out of place on a 5D which is a sizeable camera. Fitting it though was the problem – the first one I was sent just didn’t fit the hot-shoe of any camera I owned so I contacted Rode and they replied quickly saying that it should fit a 5DII and they advised I returned it. I did and the second I received was also tight but once eased on it became easy to fit and remove; a small burr of the aluminium was rubbed away by the first fitting. Another reviewer here had similar problems so it looks they know how to build good mics down under but aluminium castings are proving a bit harder!
Once in use the quality is great – rich and full, much better than the built-in, hollow sounding mic on my camera. It’s worth also noting that the optimum range (according to Rode) isn’t too far – only 2m – and unlike camcorder mics it won’t ‘zoom’ so an extension cable and somewhere to mount the mic can come in handy. Certainly inside at about 3m away it was fine, but in a noisy environment it might prove more problematic to get ‘broadcast quality’. I haven’t needed to use the included ‘dead kitten’ yet so can’t report on that.
In use it’s easy to set up, with basic filters for hum and booming issues but I imagine most decent editing software can apply similar things in post processing, for hum anyway. I’m using Final Cut Express and that has certainly has a reasonable sound editing tool-kit.
All-in-all I can thoroughly recommend this product – a very well made mic with a 10 year guarantee so you can’t really go wrong, though if you want to do only voice and want to stay with the mic on camera then the standard Video Mic may be a better bet. If I hadn’t had the accessory shoe mount issue it would have easily got five stars.
Before looking for a mic I’d never heard of Rode, but with a business video to record I wanted something better than the ‘get you by’ mic on my Canon 5DII. After some web searching I found that Rode are well thought of pretty universally so the decision came down to which one – the mono Video Mic or this one…
I chose the Stereo Video Mic because I thought it would be more versatile, maybe not as directional and as good with voice as the Video Mic but would still be OK (it’s two of the same condenser mics) but of course it can do stereo when required, which the other clearly can’t do.
In use it’s a bit bulkier than the Video Mic, but it’s not out of place on a 5D which is a sizeable camera. Fitting it though was the problem – the first one I was sent just didn’t fit the hot-shoe of any camera I owned so I contacted Rode and they replied quickly saying that it should fit a 5DII and they advised I returned it. I did and the second I received was also tight but once eased on it became easy to fit and remove; a small burr of the aluminium was rubbed away by the first fitting. Another reviewer here had similar problems so it looks they know how to build good mics down under but aluminium castings are proving a bit harder!
Once in use the quality is great – rich and full, much better than the built-in, hollow sounding mic on my camera. It’s worth also noting that the optimum range (according to Rode) isn’t too far – only 2m – and unlike camcorder mics it won’t ‘zoom’ so an extension cable and somewhere to mount the mic can come in handy. Certainly inside at about 3m away it was fine, but in a noisy environment it might prove more problematic to get ‘broadcast quality’. I haven’t needed to use the included ‘dead kitten’ yet so can’t report on that.
In use it’s easy to set up, with basic filters for hum and booming issues but I imagine most decent editing software can apply similar things in post processing, for hum anyway. I’m using Final Cut Express and that has certainly has a reasonable sound editing tool-kit.
All-in-all I can thoroughly recommend this product – a very well made mic with a 10 year guarantee so you can’t really go wrong, though if you want to do only voice and want to stay with the mic on camera then the standard Video Mic may be a better bet. If I hadn’t had the accessory shoe mount issue it would have easily got five stars.
Nice product, very rapid delivery.
I use this Rode mike on a Canon HV20 whenever the situation needs better sound control.
Often I can film without this external mike, and then enjoy the small size and mobility of the bare HV20. However, the internal mike cannot cope if the wind is blowing. Also the internal mike points skywards and picks up planes that my ears do not notice. Also the Canon’s internal mike seems to distort base sounds.
In any of these cases I screw the Rode mike onto the HV20, and plug little earphones into my ears to monitor the sound. It makes the HV20 more cumbersome to handle but this inconvenience is nothing compared with the better control over sound recording.
This is an excellent product, does exactly what is says on the box!
I bought it to go on top of a Canon HV-30 camcorder and the results are really good.
I’d certainly recommend it.