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 |
I bought this microphone to make small videos throughout my work as a nature photographer. I am quite satisfied with it, because together with my camera and the quality of 4K with the good sound captured by this microphone the result is fantastic. I like this model because it is small and portable and I easily put it in my photographic backpack. It was priced much lower than if it had been purchased in Portugal. I could not be more pleased.
A good quality mic which does deliver better audio. Don’t particularly like the red support which is very wobbly and am concerned it could break in the future. But that aside, well recommended.
It is easy to use, has a nice design. The quality for capturing sounds 1m in front and arround was good, but not excelent. The red plastic stabilizator bends down when you put the dadcat on the mic.
Fantastic build quality as you would expect from Rode, this mic is really compact and fits in my camera bag very easily. The audio quality is great and the dead cat wind shield is a nice addition, I have tested this mic in a variety of situations and it has not failed me yet.
very easy to use and set up. the fact it runs off the power of the camera. My other mic, the batteries were 10 so this is saving me money. The dead cat fluff for the mic is really handy as I shoot outside. overall I haven’t had any issues with it and seems to be a popular mic amoung Youtubers.
Awesome mic. Disconnects from its stand for a very small footprint when traveling. Very happy I switched to it from a video mic go.
If at initial setup the deadcat looks like its falling off just push it hard all the way to the base of the mic and it will hook there for good. No issues
Excellent Value Mic, so the new Rode Videomic Pro+ (Plus) is the best hands down on camera mic out there, obviously I’m excluding a proper shotgun XLR cabled mic. But it costs 4x as much as this.
The Rode VideoMicro value is incredible, firstly it includes a Rycote Shock mount which Rode has licensed from the fantastic UK brand Rycote (made in the UK) who’ve patented their great Lyre invention, also in the box a great windscreen with acoustically transparent foam inside the faux fur covering. These two accessories would normally cost 25-30 each!
The Mic itself is made of aluminium, I’d say the build quality is better than the “Pro+” . It’s made in Australia and sounds fantastic with DSLR and iPHONE.
Fantastic Mic buy in a heartbeat. Don’t buy knockoffs. Buy the real deal and support great design.
A bargain and totally worth buying, if yours arrives with a red Rycote shock mount it means you have the latest 2018 stock
Excellent Value Mic, so the new Rode Videomic Pro+ (Plus) is the best hands down on camera mic out there, obviously I’m excluding a proper shotgun XLR cabled mic. But it costs 4x as much as this.
The Rode VideoMicro value is incredible, firstly it includes a Rycote Shock mount which Rode has licensed from the fantastic UK brand Rycote (made in the UK) who’ve patented their great Lyre invention, also in the box a great windscreen with acoustically transparent foam inside the faux fur covering. These two accessories would normally cost 25-30 each!
The Mic itself is made of aluminium, I’d say the build quality is better than the “Pro+” . It’s made in Australia and sounds fantastic with DSLR and iPHONE.
Fantastic Mic buy in a heartbeat. Don’t buy knockoffs. Buy the real deal and support great design.
A bargain and totally worth buying, if yours arrives with a red Rycote shock mount it means you have the latest 2018 stock
Decent mic with great build quality. The dead cat/wind shield works well. My only criticism is the plastic holder which you use to connect to your hotshoe is sturdy but i doubt it will be something that will last long and have read other reviews where people state that it has snapped and were unable to buy just the holder separately.
This mic has been fantastic, I use it on my Canon EOS M3 and the audio is very clear and directional, so all my to camera stuff has a great level. The “dead-cat” cover works very well, I’ve been out in strong wind and it stops the mic clipping in the noise. I would really recommend it to anyone looking to improve their video work with decent audio, it’s so much less faff than a lavalier mic as well.
Been using it for broadcast tv and it’s quality is fantastic at this price. Only negative is the suspension feels delicate so I do expect this to be the achilles heel for durability but after several documentaries filmed, the verdict is a massive 5 stars!
Great mic to plug into my camera – Very user friendly and picks up a good sound, however there is a strong hissing sound that I have to work hard to edit out in post, but as a starter it’s great.
I absolutely love that it automatically switches on when the camera starts recording – saved my video so many times.
It has a rechargeable battery that seems to last for ever, and in an emergency you can swap it out for a pair of AA batteries.
A must-buy for your OSMO Plus camera. When I initially bought my camera I couldn’t believe how awful the internal and external mics were. There was no way you could pick up any sound with a decent quality.
This microphone made the difference to turn the OSMO into a usable product.
You will need an accessory to be able to place the mic on top of your phone.
Works very well if the camera is close to the person speaking. You can pick up longer cables to give yourself more options. I switched to this after using a separate recorder and recording direct to DSLR makes the process so much smoother. Unlike something like a Zoom H2N you are relying on the camera’s own pre-amp much more (this mic has no battery power which I actually prefer) so the I find the quality is excellent but not as good as a powered recorder/mic. Perhaps the price is a little high but it comes with a very good “dead cat”.
Works very well if the camera is close to the person speaking. You can pick up longer cables to give yourself more options. I switched to this after using a separate recorder and recording direct to DSLR makes the process so much smoother. Unlike something like a Zoom H2N you are relying on the camera’s own pre-amp much more (this mic has no battery power which I actually prefer) so the I find the quality is excellent but not as good as a powered recorder/mic. Perhaps the price is a little high but it comes with a very good “dead cat”.
It works fine for scratch audio or if you’re filming an event and need audio of the room. Not very good for any proper film work (e.g. short films, documentaries) I’ve managed to get some good audio out of it though, it’s maybe worth playing with the audio channels a bit on your camera.
do I really need to review this ? …… Its RODE ! its an exceptional piece of gear for any film maker or Vlogging. crystal clear sound and NO wind interference oh and no need for batteries so bonus, then there is the price point ! WOW how exceptional. can not recommend highly enough so good I ended up buying 2
It makes a HUGE difference when recording a video to have this microphone as opposed to not using the camera mic.
It really picks up the voice even if You are far away and is a very clear sound.
Love it , the price is amazing , and You don’t need batteries for it , just plug and play – comes with ‘dead cat’ to reduce wind noise.
It is a great sounding cheap microphone, it’s a shame you need a different cable to use it with a phone, customer service (in the UK ) was good I got a new mount, mine snapped
I reviewed this product on my YouTube channel (which you can find on my details) and find it to be incredible for the price!! Well done Rode. As a user of Rode microphones for music production and recordings, I know how good these are as a company.
There is a slight hiss if you’re really in tune with your ears but for my application: YouTube vlogs and low budget videos, it’s perfect for my needs.
Definitely works well in eliminating noise distractions off camera. Perhaps not a substitute for a good wireless mic, but the price is very reasonable for the quality, so I’m definitely glad I bought it.
I love this small yet sturdy mic. It looks fantastic on my canon camcorder. Nevertheless it does not work well with my camcorder. Realised that canon my camcorder’s mic jack is not powered. I’ll need to look for a self powered mic.
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
It’s not what I expected. But I give it 5 stars, because maybe I don’t use it correctly. There is a hiss when I record in a quiet place or speak softly. The only way to adjust it was via my Nikon camera settings, lowering the volume of the mic. But, then, I would reduce the hiss and the overall sound as well…It’s for those who speak loud and film in busy and noisy areas.
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 major mic upgrade from the on board mic which is very basic. Takes a 9v battery but will last a while. 100hrs roughly. If you don’t have a lot of cash to throw about, this will do thre trick.
The audio difference indoors IS noticable, but, only just. Tested this using my iphone 7, and you can just about hear the difference. The biggest difference is outdoors coping with wind noise.
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 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.
I use this with my GoPro Hero 5 Black and it’s a marked improvement over the built in mic. I have it attached to a modified GoPro official suction mount and it makes a solid little performer for recording engine and exhaust sounds on my cars. Highly recommended.
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.
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
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
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
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
This on it own is fantastic but fitted also with a Dead Kitten for outdoor use is most impressive. I leave the Dead Kitten fitted with every use as it does not effect indoor use in fact more than likely helps. The recorded sound is excellent better than my friends Panasonic mic.
Best 148 I’ve spent for along time & with that 10 year guarantee the company must be sure you’re not going to replace i
Exceptional value for money. The sound quality and build quality is just what you would expect from a professional mic from rode. The inclusion of a dead cat muffler makes this the best bang for your buck for a mid ranged level microphone. As mentioned before by other reviewers, if you are looking for a portable mic for osmo, DSLR or similar style cameras for vlogging or YouTube videos, you cannot go wrong. Built in cable management makes this an excellent choice
I first used this when I went to the WEC championships and the sound it picked up from the various cars was fantastic. The Aston Martin and Chevrolet being very low end and Ferrari being quite a bit further up the scale.
I now use it for all video recordings I do with birds being picked out really clearly.
The deadcat does it’s job of cutting out the wind
Good quality microphone. gives a good general sound. Probably not the right microphone if you want a very focussed sound. But if you want a general recording from a microphone mounted on the camera hotshoe this is fine. Gives a good quality recoding and is quite quiet in terms of noise.
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.
No words can describe how this mic greatly improves the sound quality of your videos!!!
I use with my Canon D7 and wow!!!!
I use it with my iPhone 6s Plus (with the SC6 cable) and again wow!!!
The dead cat is a an amazing addition out of the box!!! Really blocks or reduces any with noise when outside!!!
Dead cat not needed much indoors unless you have loads noises!!!
The microphone picks up quite a by if background noise, but this can be fixed by adjusting the levels in your camera’s settings. However, it still sounds a lot better than my Canon 100D”s built in microphone, and is a must have for every YouTube setup!
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.
ordered a cable for it , as was not sure if one was provided
good job i did because the supplied one would not work with my canon camera.
had to use the spare one i bought ,there are 2 different types
something to consider when buying.
Hope it helps you decide
This microphone is a great, cheap microphone that excels in quality for an incredible price! I used this on my android device using the Rode SC7 patch/adapter cable. The audio is crisp and mostly there is none of the annoying hissing sound you get with the on-board phone microphone. I would recommend this mic to anybody who doesn’t have much to spend and is looking for great audio quality!
It looks just what I was after for mounting on a DSLR, not used it yet, but the Rode reputation is good, so I’m confident it will be great for my purposes. Size is just right, so I like it, probably worth 5*, but that could come after use!
Like rode products and have bought many. Bit disappointed with this mic. Would have expected better performance than I am getting even tweaking the other settings. Though much better than the built in camera mic does not match up to using something like the rode filmkit. Also it would have been good to be able to replace the connector lead with higher quality ones.
Really solid audio quality for the price! Just a quick note, if you are planning to get a shotgun mic for “run and gun” style shooting then i would recommend that you get the pro version as it has the +20db boost setting to eliminate that “hiss” sound. But when plugged into an audio recorder such as the Zoom H1 or Zoom H5 then the audio quality is pretty much identical to the pro version. For the price the audio quality is outstanding!!!
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.
I do love this microphone. For the price, it’s fantastic. Not GREAT by any means, however with some editing, it’s on par with the VideoMic Pro. Using a compressor and a de-noiser in Final Cut is all you need to improve the audio quality.
I bought this for using on my Sony a6300, a very compact, well built microphone with a deat cat wind shield included in the price. It doesnt need batteries or switched on to use so this is a brilliant option when you are shooting video on your feet at a fast paced shoot. The sound is very good with a nice tone for my B camera, Im very happy with this product all round, for good sound, price and build quality.
Using this with my iPhone 6 and grope hero black, gives great quality sound and the dead cat that comes with it does an amazing job cutting out wind noise. I’m not the most carefully with it, usually its thorn in the backpack but its sturdy and well made. Video link is an example of it being used under fairly rough conditions.
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The video mic from rode is a good piece of gear to have with a camera. It fits easily with a camera that has a cold shoe mount on it, although I had to buy a separate cold shoe mount to go on the cage of my camera. But it was well worth it because the whole setup with the cage and the follow focus and the matte box looks very impressive.
The microphone needs to be set a night input in the camera or the the subject you are shooting needs to be fairly close (about 1m) from the camera, to produce a clear good quality sound. Otherwise I found that I needed to clean up my sound and apply a de-hisser and vocal enhancer to it in editing. I didn’t have the input set very high in the camera and I was quite far away from the subject during much of the filming.
The video mic from rode is a good piece of gear to have with a camera. It fits easily with a camera that has a cold shoe mount on it, although I had to buy a separate cold shoe mount to go on the cage of my camera. But it was well worth it because the whole setup with the cage and the follow focus and the matte box looks very impressive.
The microphone needs to be set a night input in the camera or the the subject you are shooting needs to be fairly close (about 1m) from the camera, to produce a clear good quality sound. Otherwise I found that I needed to clean up my sound and apply a de-hisser and vocal enhancer to it in editing. I didn’t have the input set very high in the camera and I was quite far away from the subject during much of the filming.
This microphone can be used to capture better quality audio than the microphones that are built into phones and SLR cameras. It is well made and I can imagine it lasting through a fair but of use out in the field. The shock mount also helps to reduce handling noise,
I also own a larger Rode NTG-2 Microphone and several Wireless Lapel Microphone systems. This microphone does not sound as good as those more expensive alternatives but is still a good backup audio source out on video shoots. Great that it comes with a wind shield as well.
Really pleased with this Mic. Works very well with my Canon 70D. Much more detailed sound than the built in mics. Not as directional as some shotgun mics I have tried, but I think it gives a good overall balanced sound. Windshield works well in light winds but haven’t tried it in a strong wind.
Rode are THE names in video mics and this one does not disappoint. No internal battery, instead it take power from you camera so if you have an Olympus like me you may need to find the menu option which switches this power on.
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.
Small Light weight, well built, crisp clear sound, low noise and the included wind shield works just fine.
Used close to the talent, it’s almost as good as my Rode video mic pro
Works really well either direct to camera, to a digital recorder or connected to an DJI Osmo
as it has a really healthy output signal.
Whats not to like at the price?
Watched so many video reviews for this nifty little mic. My intentions for this is to be used as good quality backup/reference audio for all the videography that I do. For 44 the quality is fantastic and the fact you get the extra furry dead kitten windshield is a great added bonus. There really isn’t anything bad to say about this one bit.
Even the RSM-191 annoyed me with it’s size and matrixing box so Rode are in very good company here with me.
very good microphone for people using dslr’s for recording video but want half decent sound. fits well and snug on the hotshoe, on my Nikon d3300 which has an external mic port so be careful some dslr’s dont have them. The internal sound controls are a bit hard to get to so i don’t use them but they are not very important unless you are going somewhere very loud. i have managed to rig mine up with a Dictaphone and an audio splitter on my dslr so i can monitor the audio, which i would recommend. with it being a shotgun microphone you can really tell the sound is captured from where it is pointing which is great. the shock mount is very good stopping any vibrations that would create noise. the sound can be a bit hissy unless you turn down the mic preamp level on a dslr so bear this in mind as i thought it was the mic at first.
I recommend this over the rode go mic unless your really pushed for price and space, as it is much better and not too more expensive. i cant really compare it to the video mic pro but i would say is at least half as good for around half the price. you also get a good warranty from rode which i would recommend using also
overall very pleased and would definitely recommend for people wanting an external mic for their camera.
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!
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!
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!
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.
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….
I’m a basic user, but I expected more from this product.
I made some tests in live performance conditions (music concert, theater), where it’s mandatory to use the 80Hz filter switch.
Quite good results, but maybe I need to learn how to better use the mic, to get better audio performances, they are not as good as I thought, or… that is the mic!
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
RODE have made a name for themselves in quality and the standard VideoMic continues to uphold that standard. Great quality shotgun microphone – but with, it must be said, something of a wider spread than I expected – but it captures what you’re wanting it to capture above everything else very clearly. There’s a switch for noisier environments – and more twiddly bits under the battery compartment – and the Rycote mount keeps the sound free of any camera clicks and whirrs. If you’re after a quick and easy professional quality microphone you really can’t go wrong.
Thus my only concerns are that the pad switches are not designed for frequent use and the increase in bass. Other than that its well made and the lyre mount does isolate the sound of button pressing.
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 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 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!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.