My last video about the Rode VideoMicro turned out to be pretty popular so I thought it was time to add some updates. To recap, the Rode VideoMicro is an affordable on camera microphone that lets you record better sounding audio with your video. The Rode VideoMicro comes with a shock mount that is designed to attach to your camera’s hot or cold shoe mount.
One of the more interesting things about my original video is that I am using my VideoMicro with my iPhone 6 rather than a camera. Rode makes a similar microphone called the VideoMic ME that is designed specifically for use with smartphone. The microphone element is the same but the VideoMicro ME directly clips to your phone and the 3.5mm connector built directly into the mic. I decided to buy the camera version because I figured it would be more versatile, I and use it with both my smartphone and camera if I choose. Using the VideoMicro with a smartphone requires buying an additional cable. You’ll need a TRS to TRRS cable to use the mic with an iPhone, the cable in the box is a TRS to TRS cable and will not work. I bought the Rode SC7 TRS to TRRS cable. In the video I also showed you guys the iPro Lens case with the 1/4 20 mount and cold shoe adapter I used to attach it to case.
Now I wanted to address some feedback. One reader commented that he bought the SC7 and found that is was hard to tell when the SC-7 cable was plugged into the iPhone all the way. The cable connector is a bit large and you need to push it pretty hard to hear it click when you plug it into the iPhone. This can cause a problem when using the SC7 when you have a case on your iPhone. In the video you can see that when my iPhone is in the iPro Lens case, it requires some effort to make sure its connected as the case gets in the way between the phone and the connector.
The solution to this is to either find a TRS to TRRS cable with a thinner connector or a female to male TRRS adapter with a thinner connector. I show one such cable in the video. I’m currently looking at some different options.
Next I wanted to talk about audio quality. A few people commented that the mic did not sound good. I didn’t to a really good job demoing the mic in the first video. What I really need to do is demostrate the Video Micro vs the iPhone’s built in mic.
In my current video, I added a short comparison of the iPhone’s built-in mic vs the VideoMicro. I recorded the video using Apple’s built in camera app and imported the video into iMovie on my Mac. I did not alter the audio in post.
I think the VideoMicro sounds much better than the built in mic but the audio is really low. I resisted the raising the volume in iMovie. Note that Apple’s Camera as doesn’t have any settings to adjust the microphone for audio recording either.
I am going to make some follow up videos testing out this mic and options for adjusting the audio recording on the iPhone as well.