RØDE VideoMicro Compact On-camera Directional Microphone for Filmmaking, Content Creation and Location Recording
VideoMicro shown connected to Panasonic G7
Additional Features
- Compact size and lightweight – only 80mm (3’) long and 42gm (1.5oz)
- All-metal microphone body
- No battery required (powered by camera plug-in power – min 3V)
- Rycote Lyre shock mount included
- Deluxe furry windshield included
- Designed and manufactured in Australia
The Compact Audio Solution for Video Makers on the Move
Portable Solution for DSLR or Action Cameras
The RØDE VideoMicro is the most compact VideoMic in the range. It offers natural, clear audio in an incredibly small package, ideal for compact DSLRs or Action Cameras. There are no batteries to connect or switches to manage: Simply connect to your camera and start filming.
- Incredibly Compact: Ensures microphone out of shot with wide-angle lenses and action cameras
- Plug and Play: Connect to camera and record. No batteries required
- Windshield Included: Furry wind cover included for capturing clear audio in windy conditions
- Made by RØDE, for the Road: Built from rugged aluminium and thermoplastic to withstand tough shooting conditions
More Details – And How to Connect to Smartphones
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Perfect For Filming on the MoveCompact and versatile, Videomicro can be mounted on a wide range of cameras, especially suited to action cameras with wide-angle lenses. | Rycote Lyre MountThe Rycote Lyre mount offers outstanding isolation, protecting your recordings from handling noise during a shoot. | Windshield IncludedA Deluxue Furry RØDE WS9 windshield is included in the package – no additional purchase required. | Available Separately: SC7 Cable for Mobile Phone OperationPurchase a RØDE SC7 cable (sold separately), and your VideoMicro can also add clear, directional audio to compatible smartphones with 3.5mm headphone connector. Using an Apple Lightning to Headphone adapter (sold separately), mounted on a case such as an iOgrapher Multi Case, users can connect VideoMicro to compatible iOS devices such as iPad and iPhone. |
Avoid These Common Mistakes With Your VideoMicro and Get The Best Sound
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Sound Professional: Get Close to Your SubjectAlways get your VideoMicro as close as you can to the speaking subject for the most professional result – within four feet is ideal. This is why professional sound recordists use a boom, and you can too. Purchase and connect to a RØDE VC1 extension cable and a RØDE Micro Boompole (or Micro Boompole Pro – pictured), which are fully compatible with VideoMicro. | Avoid Hiss: Use Manual Audio Recording ModeTo get the best from any mic and avoid hearing hiss in quiet speaking environments, it’s essential you turn OFF Auto Gain Control in your camera’s movie recording settings – as well as getting the microphone close to the subject. Set the audio levels manually, so that your speaking subject is hitting around the “-12”, without going too much over. This will give a good level without distortion, and without the camera amplifying background noise when the subject is silent. | Avoid Clicks and Whirrs: Use Manual FocusThe focusing motor inside some affordable lenses can be surprisingly noisy, and any good sensitive microphone will hear this too. If you do have a noisy lens, do as they do on a professional film set, and focus manually for silent recordings. If you must use autofocus, use the VideoMicro off-camera with a boom or tripod, and a VC1 extension cable. | Avoid Interference: Turn Camera WiFi OffAll microphones, including the VideoMicro, can experience interference from strong external RF fields, such as very close WiFi transmitters. Turning off the WiFi function of your camera whilst filming is always good practice, and can help prevent any potential interference. |
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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: | 42 g |
| Dimensions: | 8 x 2.1 x 2.1 cm; 42 Grams |
| Model: | Videomicro |
| Colour: | Black |
| Batteries Included: | 1 Lithium ion batteries required. |
| Colour: | Black |
| Origin: | Australia |
Good quality Genuine Rode produc
Don’t buy the cheaper imitations. This is a genuine Rode product and the sound quality is quite good
Works well
Well made and thought out design-wise. Easy to set up and I’ve tried it on various devices. The positive increase in sound quality from the standard device mic is very noticeable. Super-clear and very directional as you would expect.
Good mic.
The ideal microphone for beginners. Well made, the sound quality is surprisingly good for such a small piece of equipment.
Bit tricky for beginners
Still have to sit quite close despite what it says about quality distance etc. Nice product. Pricy and very limited with wire length. Not used any others so can’t compare too well. Also CANNOT get this to work on a video call,/zoom with headphones on and hear it in headphones…so complicated. Does it work on mobile? PC???? Just does my head in. Works on one thing then not another.
Another quality Rode microphone
Rode has been my go-to brand for microphones ever since I took up digital movie making as a hobby and this latest device doesn’t disappoint. I’m using it on a Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K and the sound is exceptional. It also scores highly on build quality too.
There are cheaper on-camera mics available but often that can be a false economy – in my experience some of the cheaper kit produces sound which is not that much better than a video camera’s own in-built microphone. So if you are serious about shooting videos this is a very sound (groan) investment.
Perfect balance between expensive better quality mics and terrible built in ones
Really nice little package. I use on cameras where weight is an issue e.g. on a balanced stabiliser. I like how it uses cameras battery. But watch higher battery drain which has caught me out. A permanent addition to my photo go bag although I’ll probably only use from time to time
Awesome bits of kit but please read
I use these on set and they sound great and never had issues with them over the last year or so but…
I decided to order myself one for my setup moving from the videomic Pro, I thought I would save some money and order a like new one at great misfortune, there seems to be a small firmware issue with small batch that causes the mic to not turn on or off and flashes really fast when charging seems I got one of these as the used like new one, then I ordered a brand new one this was dead on arrival.
As this is a work purchase I will stick to getting items like this from a local store so I can test in store and they can sort faster than ordering online and waiting for delivery
Not as good as I expected
First of all I had to buy another cable for it to work with my iPhone, the cable that came with it only works with a digital camera. It’s constructed very well and very small, but and a big but! The sound quality is not very good.
So I expected more from Rode!
Not as good as I expected
First of all I had to buy another cable for it to work with my iPhone, the cable that came with it only works with a digital camera. It’s constructed very well and very small, but and a big but! The sound quality is not very good.
So I expected more from Rode!
Real easy to use
I purchased this for my Canon M50 Mark II. Extremely easy to install. The mic slotted smoothly into the top attachment slot. The mic has a wire which then simply inserts into the cameras mic Jack. I was filming outside and the sound quality captured from my voice improved significantly from using just the internal mic. The wind is not so much an issue now. Much more professional. A beginners dream really. Highly recommended.
Instant difference
Straight out of the box I did a video test with it plugged in and repeated the video word for word without and the difference was night and day. One was loud and clear, the other quiet and distant. Looking forward to how much this will improve the quality of my content and not having to project as loud as I normally have to for my videos! Excellent mini buy
Instant difference
Straight out of the box I did a video test with it plugged in and repeated the video word for word without and the difference was night and day. One was loud and clear, the other quiet and distant. Looking forward to how much this will improve the quality of my content and not having to project as loud as I normally have to for my videos! Excellent mini buy
Was okay
Bought for my DSLR But soon found out there is a lot of background nosie
STEREOMIC PRO - Amazing!
I have no idea why Rode would gimp themselves by putting all their mics on one page. The vast majority of reviews are useless because they respond to a different product. So to be clear, this is for the STEREOMIC PRO.
While odd looking, this is an amazing stereo microphone. High quality, great pickup pattern…it just works. The globe layout gives a great impression of full stereo ambience even through two channels.
Want a mic for wild track, ambience or even a cheap option for recording concerts? Here’s your partner in crime.
Improves Gopro hero 10 Black audio a lot used with Media mod
I purchased the rode videomicro to improve the audio of my gopro hero 10 black as they are not renowned for their audio quality.
I’m using it with the gopro media mod , it’s very easy and straightforward to use , it attaches to the top of the media mod by slotting into the cold shoe and twist the tightening wheel tight for a secure fit.
The audio is improved considerably, it picks up on the slightest of sounds and movements and my voice sounds a lot clearer and louder so it would be a good vlogging mic for YouTube, Instagram, TikTok and other platforms.
It also picks up on nature sounds , makes them sound a lot louder , birds singing , flowing water , crunching snow and leaves, it’s not ASMR quality but it certainly enhances nature sounds and is a huge improvement on the built in gopro mic and the media mod mic.
The rode mic does wobble a tad when moving the camera around but that doesn’t have any impact on the sound.
I’ve tried using the dead cat with the mic and the dead cat is sometimes visible on screen , especially if pointing the camera down , the deaf cat will come into view , I not sure if there are smaller versions of dead cats wind mufflers available for the rode videomicro but it would be great if there was.
The dead cat does stop wind noise really well though but I’m a tad disappointed that it comes into view a lot , I’ll have to find a way to stop it doing it during filming.
The rode videomicro is small and compact , lightweight and easy to install and set up , I runs on the power from the camera itself so it may drain the battery a little faster than usual when using it.
Once attached just go into your gopro settings and select mod settings, click on standard mic or standard mic + and you are up and running.
If you are looking to improve the audio quality of your gopro then this is a great budget option, you will see an instant improvement in sound quality, I purchased this for 44 , I think that’s good value for a decent, capable microphone that improves the gopro sound quality a lot.
I hope you found this review helpful in some way.
You can hear an ant cough
Stunning, just stunning!
Meets my need of working on my nikon dslr, and also via USB on my work laptop for zooming and recording webinars. It helps if you use cabled headphones attached to the device rather than the laptop to work properly. Windows 10 offers very little in the way of management, so volume control can take some adjustment, but that’s Microsoft’s fault, not the fault of this awesome microphone.
Used it for my YT channel. Its a game changer.
Audio on my channel on YT (Double Take Tech) has been lacking for some time. Now that I’ve had enough, I decided to go all out, overkill.
This MIC is amazing!
Thats all you need to know really.
The features are clutch. I tend to speak fairly loud at times and think recording on 2 channels to be amazing. 1 records at normal level set on the mic and camera amp (turn that down), and the other records minus 10dci i think.
Low pass filter is perfect, havent had any issues with background noise since I purchased this.
I havent even found the need to do much EQ work other than compression which is super for my work flow.
I have to dig deep to find a flaw in this product and tbh, there is’nt much. More so the accessories.
I feel a MIC this expensive should come with a ‘dead cat’ and a case 100%. That is all folks.
Certainly a quality produc
Purchased to replace an older version, and it is far superior. Out of the box recorded an outside event where speeches were made through a “booming” p,a. system with sound reflecting off stone buildings. I had set it to record one channel at a lower level, which is a great feature. I was very surprised at the sound quality and the audio pick up pattern. Two weeks later it was on the second camera at a wedding, recording fairly close to the organ. Clean and clear voices from the altar rail, plus the bass “roll off” settings work very well.
Not having to worry about fresh AA batteries is great.
Great little mic!
Great little piece of kit. Sound quality is very good and weighs almost nothing.
Very good Microphone and a decent price...
I love this mic… much better than the built in video camera mics on my Sony AX700 (which are decent mics in themselves) with a much richer, full sound with better bass and definitely more directional. Note that this is a dual mono mic so stereo spacing is lost, but this is a small price to pay for better overall sound quality and if cable is attached as shown the mic does not wobble on it’s mount and is really good at getting rid of camera handling noise. The supplied wind muff is also of high quality and almost eliminates wind noise (unless your in a gale force wind).
I purchased for use on my video kit and also as a second mic for a Zoom H2n audio recorder. Overall I am really happy with the sound from this tiny mic and would recommend to anyone looking for better audio from camcorders or digital cameras.
Wow !!! Just for a little money such big difference in recording ! Wow !!!
One of my best purchases recently. Dramatic difference in voice quality during recording. WOW
Don't get caught out by the safety channel
I initially thought this was broken as one channel was coming into my camera at a very low signal (almost inaudible). I then discovered the safety channel feature and realised I had accidentally set this. So if you think this is broken be sure to check this setting!
Something else to watch out for – the hotshoe mount has a thread in it, allowing it to be mounted onto mic stands. Unfortunately this doesn’t sit flush with the bottom of the mount but protrudes slightly, meaning it won’t sit on my Sony a6600. The solution is to remove the thread using a large flat head screwdriver. It’s a slight annoyance but otherwise the mic is great.
I have it mounted on my desk using the rode desktop stand and I use it for zoom calls amongst other things. Very versatile and well made.
A quality microphone at a great price
This is the first microphone I’ve purchased but I was reccomended it by a filmmaking professional, and so far I’ve loved using it. It’s easy to use and created a high quality recording. It’s also great for the price. Would definitely reccomend!
Not bad for the price and very ligh
I just wanted something to put on my old D5300 for doing atmospheric cooking videos outdoors. This is a really good compromise between price and my fussy ears (I have been a sound engineer since the 70s).
In an ideal world, I would use a pair of top-level gun mics into an external digital recorder, but that is no good in this situation (and far too much money!). I want something I can fit on the camera, is lightweight, and does the job enough. For the vast majority of amateur video makers out there, this will give them what they need at a price they can afford.
Great quality and fair price for something that will hugely improve your recordings
There is a minefield of information to digest when it comes to microphones. There are so many different types to consider, and so many different versions of those types it can be hard to know even where to begin. If you’re doing recordings in a static environment, perhaps from a desk at home, you’re more than likely going to be wanting a condensing microphone and many people will point you towards a product by Blue Yeti. I certainly would as they’re superb. If you want your recordings to be mobile, or your subject is going to be far from the camera, a microphone mounted to the talker in the form of a lavalier mike will be the way to go. However, if you want a microphone that you can mount directly to your DSLR camera and have the versatility of both studio and mobile work, an On-camera microphone such as this VideoMicro by Rode is ideal.
Rode, if you’re not familiar with them, are one of the best manufacturers of microphones in the business. They’re based in Australia and manufacture a number of highly regarded On-camera and lavalier products. You just need to decide which one is right for you. There are four or five On-camera mikes that they manufacture which you might consider, from this baby of the range VideoMicro up to the VideoMic Pro+. Each step will bring added features, at added cost, but the VideoMicro is the best selling On-camera mike on Amazon for a reason. It offers excellent sound quality for a relatively modest outlay.
You get a compact microphone along with a furry “dead cat” wind supresser, and a detachable TRS cable to connect from the microphone to your DSLR. The microphone attached to the hot shoe of your DSLR camera, and tightend using a dial to get make it stable. When connected the TRS cable can be snapped into slots in the dial which braces the microphone to the camera and prevents wobbling.
The sound quality of the microphone is really good, certainly a vast improvement over the in-built microphone in my Nikon D5300 camera. The sound of me doing my pieces to camera is really quite impressive. Being at the bottom end of the Rode range you might expect comprimises, and while the audio gain isn’t as impressive as the top end of the range, you’re only paying a fraction of the price and you’re still getting a very good mike. A word on that, when you connect it to your camera you’ll need to go into your menu settings and adjust the gains of the microphone to properly calibrate it. There’s instruction in the box for how to do this, and plenty of tutorials online.
The TRS cable provided is designed to plug the microphone into your DSLR’s mic/aux-in port. Note that this is a different type of connection to the port you’d find on a smart phone. Phones usually use a TRRS port which despite the similar name isn’t the same thing. If you look at a connector you’ll see a ring on it. That’s the “R” of TRS (Tip/Ring/Sleeve). A TRRS connector has two rings (Tip/Ring/Ring/Sleeve). You can buy converters to change a TRS cable to a TRRS, or Rode will sell you a different cable, a TRS to TRRS cable, which will allow you to connect this microphone to your smart phone.
Anyway, I’ve been using mine now for about two months and I’ve been very impressed with the performance. While I could have spent more money on better ones in the Rode range I’ve been perfectly happy with the product and highly recommend it.
Vloging Mic!!
Fits perfectly on my Sony a7s III. Does the Job, not the best market sound quality, but for the price it best for value. It’s ideal for vloging!
Amazon turned a nightmare into a very good experience.
After giving this product a 1 star review Amazon have acted quickly to provide me with a replacement that meets my expectations of the usually excellent rode product range. The problem with the original mic was that an all important screw that holds the thing together was left out, when I fitted the battery it was evident that something was wrong as gaps opened up as shown in the accompanying photos. I haven’t had chance to fully test the replacement mic yet, although its build quality is up to the usual high standard I expect from Rode, if it works as I expect it to I’ll increase my star rating too 5. The help and support I received from Amazon was second to none.
Great lightweight microphone, with excellent features
Having tried several microphones, I found the Rode VideoMic NTG the best for my own personal use,
It’s playback quality is exceptional, and the fact it will automatically turn on and off is a deal breaker.
Very lightweight and made of a strong aluminium rather than plastic on many other microphones.
Wow! Amazing audio quality on my GoPro
Amazing audio quality! I bought this to upgrade the audio on my GoPro Hero 9 and it’s blown me away so far! It’s night and day difference
Great stereo mic, fantastic sound quality
This is a great microphone, buy it!! OK, I could end there, but that statement is fine for me, I’m just into video for recording life events in vlog style snapshots, not at all professionally BUT I’m always OTT in that I want to achieve near proffessional standards with budget kit (yeh, I do expect a lot out of the DJI Pocket 2 and a Panasonic FZ2000 I’ve teamed this mic up with, but it works for me). Sound is important in video, possibly more so than the already excellent imaging I get from my cameras and, for me, it’s been an expensive learning curve. Tried a Rode videomicro, a Zoom H1n. Both good in their way but I wanted ambient capture the mono of the Videomicro fails to achieve and I kept forgetting to press record on the Zoom (just feeding the camera with the monitor output of the recorder, until it would power down for energy saving my stupid fault). The Rode Stereo Videomic Pro gives me the sound quality I need feeding the cameras with the ambient depth stereo provides, the clarity is fantastic, IMHO better than the Zoom recorder, with some minor tweaking in Davinci Resolve it blows me away picking up distant bird song and the sounds that put you right back in the moment whilst keeping base noise levels very manageable. Rearward sound rejection is very good, not as absolute as the mono Videomicro but then it’s designed for ambient sound more the directional. If I want vlog style live narration I actually point yhe Zoom rearward and sync the separate audio, (works for me). The Rode stereo videomic pro, seems well made given that the rycote suspension system by its nature is a delicate wobbly affair, my only criticism would be that the cable is captive (so damage it and you’re stuffed!) and the cable clip that stops an unsecured cable introducing unwanted sound is a bit lame. This latter problem I have overcome by securing the cable to my bracket with small rubber bands. For my pocket this has been pushing the limit but I do believe it’s been a good investment, I hope with care it will do me good service, time will tell on that, but allegedly with registration it’s got a ten year warranty! I also bought the Rode Dead Kitten I’ve fitted on it but not had chance to test it in really windy conditions to see how well it copes, but then from past experience I’m keeping expectations realistic, there’s only so much you can attenuate, and even the wind is ambiance.
worth the extra money over cheaper Rode mics
I initially purchased a Rode mic go, which is a 3rd of the price of this mic, and I was happy with the recording quality I had from that.
I wanted a 2nd mic as a back up, so opted for this one based on other reviews and thought my Rode mic go could be my back.
It really is worth the extra money.
I’m not very technically minded but the sound is just so much clearer.
The only downside is that the 3.5mm jack lead is hardwired into this unit, so I guess if you damage the wire through heavy use then you would need to replace the entire mic.
worth the extra money over cheaper Rode mics
I initially purchased a Rode mic go, which is a 3rd of the price of this mic, and I was happy with the recording quality I had from that.
I wanted a 2nd mic as a back up, so opted for this one based on other reviews and thought my Rode mic go could be my back.
It really is worth the extra money.
I’m not very technically minded but the sound is just so much clearer.
The only downside is that the 3.5mm jack lead is hardwired into this unit, so I guess if you damage the wire through heavy use then you would need to replace the entire mic.
A Versatile Optio
As you may have check beforehand in Youtube (or probably not), this maybe the only mic you will ever need.
In term of simplicity and versatility, I don’t think you will find anything like it. Yes, Deity may have something quite similar in construction, perhaps almost on par in term of sound quality, but no…the RODE Videomic NTG have something thats not many other mini shotgun mic have…and thats the ability to connect directly via USB as a desktop microphone. Straight out of the box! No need to get audio interface, no need to find an XLR cable, no need to fuss about settings or whatever, just plug it in and it run just like that. In fact, you can connect this thing to any kind of devices you have (not your rice cooker or vacuum cleaner of course). You can connect it directly to your smartphone, you can connect it directly to your portable recorder. And the good news is, it still sounds fantastic. You need a mic with XLR output? I am pretty sure you can connect it via adapter.
There are a lot feature to mention about it but I think the most important feature is that it will automatically turned ON and ready for recording when you connect it to a device/camera.
The build is all metal, perhaps aluminum, but it doesn’t make it prone to audio interference, and robust enough to handle tough job. Came with Rycote shock mount which is looking nice and perhaps the best shock mount in the market.
I think this is the best sounding and overall versatility Vlog mic, and it doesn’t sound bad at all for interviews, podcast or voice over work, at a relatively affordable price (I bought mine at a good bargain of 154). Definitely, highly recommended.