David Lee King

social media | emerging trends | libraries

Smartphone Microphone Comparison

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I recently purchased a RØDE VideoMic Me – a small shotgun microphone that plugs directly into a mobile device. I wanted to compare it to some other microphones …

So here’s a video I made, comparing some mics!

In this video, I compare three microphones for smartphones:

What’s my verdict? I think out of the 3 microphones, the iPhone internal mic and the VideoMic Me are the best. They both have nice, sharp sound. I had to boost the VideoMic me volume levels the most, but it was also the most “crisp” sounding mic of the three.

The RØDE SmartLav+ really needed a bit of eq to add in a little high end (the sound is a bit “mushy” from that mic). But other than that, it would work well in situations where you need a microphone closer to your mouth.

What do you think? Please share!

Audio on my Canon Camera

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Do you make videos for your library? If so, you might try the camera I use in this video. It’s a Canon Powershot G7 Mark II. I’ve had it for about 9 months, and I have to say – I love it! It’s really easy to use, just like you’d expect from a point-and-shoot style camera.

Best of all – the microphone on this camera does a great job. Listen to the video – while the audio is certainly not studio quality, it does a fine job of picking up my voice. I didn’t have to boost the audio when I was editing the video, or play around with it in any way.

That said, I was about 18 inches away from the camera, too. If I was 6 feet away or more, it’d be pretty quiet. But still – it’s nice to not have to mess with audio if you don’t have to!

So – enjoy the video … give it a “listen” (weird to say for a video), and see for yourself.

 

Testing the RØDE smartLav+ Lavalier Microphone

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I recently purchased the RØDE smartLav+ lavalier microphone. It’s an awesome little lavalier microphone that plugs into your smartphone.

This video is my first test run using the microphone. I doctored the audio up just a bit – I used a little soft compression on the audio to even out my loud/soft/loud talking, and boosted the volume up by 6db.

But I didn’t have to cut out any hissy noises, which is pretty sweet. The only bad part of the audio is the rumble from my car – not bad at all (well, unless you are listening closely with headphones. Then it’s pretty rumbly).

I made the video with my iPhone. I need to learn how to point the video at my head!

Anyway – take a listen. As far as ease-of-use goes, this microphone is very easy to use!

Cheap & Easy Audio for Videos

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I recently picked up a new lavalier microphone, and it works great! The audio in this video was recorded using it – give it a listen (ok, and while you’re at it, check out my daughter’s GoFundMe campaign – that’s why I made this video).

So what’s the microphone setup? Pretty simple. It consists of two things:

I found out about the Azden microphone from this guy. I’d agree – it works great! Here’s what I did in this video:

  • Video – recorded with a DSLR camera
  • Audio – recorded separately. The Azden mic plugs directly into the Zoom H1 recorder. I turned off the Auto Level setting for more control. I also turned on the Low Cut setting (to keep rumble down), and recorded in MP3 format (the Zoom also records in WAV format)
  • To sync up the separate audio and video files, I used the PluralEyes app, which automatically syncs up the audio and video. Nice.
  • Then I edited the video in Final Cut Pro.

The beauty of this audio recording setup is that for about $123 or so, I have the “budget version” of a wireless lavalier microphone setup that can cost much more. The Cable on the Azden mic is about 3′ long – long enough to plug into the Zoom, then put the Zoom in a back pocket, on a chair, etc. (if you need a longer cable, get the Audio-Technica ATR-3350 Lavalier Microphone. It has a 20′ long cable, and is still under $30. Here’s a video of me testing it out).

And for $23, it sounds great! What’s not to like about that?

Do you have any “budget-minded” ideas for making videos better? I’d love to hear them!

Video Gear – Don’t Overdo it!

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I’m working on a music video for my library right now, so lighting, audio, and video equipment is pretty fresh in my head at the moment (more on that video later).

If you make video of any type for your library (and you should be!), here’s something to remember: don’t overdo it.

Remember your end-goal. The goal really isn’t a professionally-polished video (although that’s nice). The goal isn’t to have crystal-clear, audiophile-quality sound (although that’s nice). The goal isn’t to have pristine lighting (although, again … that’s nice).

Your real goal is to be seen and heard – to communicate. Make the video, the lighting, and the audio good enough so that it doesn’t distract viewers from your real goal.

With that goal in mind:

  • Do you need a great set of wireless mics, or do you just need to scoot the camera closer to the person?
  • Do you need a great three-point video lighting system, or do you just need a sunny window?
  • Do you need a fancy DSLR camera, or do you just need to … learn the equipment you have first?

Definitely focus on making the best video you can. But also don’t lose track of the real goal.

Cool DSLR setup by Andy Ramdin