- This is the Sony ECM-B10, and the ECM-B1M.
Both of these microphones give you a ton of options
when it comes to capturing clean audio,
when you're out filming your videos.
Now, in this video,
I'm gonna break down everything you need to know
about these two microphones.
We're gonna go through all of the settings
and all of the features that you have accessible to you
when you have these on your camera.
Now, I did a separate video all around the ECM-G1
which is another microphone in Sony's lineup
that is perfect for content creators.
And I wanna say a special thanks to Sony
for sponsoring this video,
and giving me the opportunity to play around
with all of these microphones
and really get an understanding of how they work.
So both the ECM-B10 and the B1M
are very similar microphones.
When you look at them, they're almost identical,
except for the B1M is gonna be longer
and there's more capsules on the top of the microphone.
However, all the controls on the back
of the microphone are the exact same.
Now, these microphones are perfectly suited
for content creators in a variety of situations.
This would work perfect for a vlogger
because of the way that the pickup patterns work,
and they'll also work great in a variety of settings.
If you're doing something like an interview,
someone's talking on camera,
or if you're just trying to capture some good audio
from different locations,
well these are gonna be a good solution
because there's a lot of options in these microphones.
So let's first look at the design.
They're tiny and they're lightweight.
Now the B10 is shorter than the B1M,
and the advantage of having the shorter microphone is
that if you're using a super wide lens
you're not gonna capture the microphone in your shot.
With the B1M and a super wide lens,
there's a chance that you'll get a little bit
of the microphone depending on
which camera and lens combo you're working on.
Now with the B1M, you have eight capsules on the top
and the B10 has four.
And the advantage of having these additional capsules,
gives you a little bit more range with this microphone.
So you could pick up audio further away
which is gonna give you just better sound quality depending
on the situation that you're in.
Now, both of these microphones have an internal shock mount
which is gonna get rid of any handling sounds
when you're touching the camera,
or if anything happens and bumps the camera.
Now, you don't need to use any batteries
when you're working with these microphones.
When you plug them into your Sony camera,
your camera is gonna power the microphone
and you don't even have to worry about turning a mic on.
As soon as you plug it in and turn on your camera,
your microphone is ready to go.
The camera will default to using the microphone
for all of your audio settings,
and you don't even have to think
about powering on a microphone or going into your menus
and doing any changes because all of the controls
are on the back of the microphone.
And also with these microphones, there is no cable.
It uses a digital connection that's built right
into the hot shoe mount of your Sony camera.
Now, when you look on the back of your microphone,
you'll see that there's a digital connection
or an analog connection.
All of Sony's newer cameras will have a digital connection.
And so this bypasses the preempts in your camera
and is gonna give you better sound quality.
Now, if you have an older Sony camera,
you'll still be able to use this microphone
but you'll have to flip it to the analog setting.
And you can find more information
about which cameras are compatible
with the digital connection, on Sony's website.
Now, what makes these shotgun microphones stand out
and super unique is the beam forming technology
that allows you to change the polar pattern
of how you're picking up your audio.
So when you look at the back of the microphone
you'll see that in the upper right-hand corner
there's three different patterns that you can choose from,
super directional, unidirectional, and omni-directional.
So let's head outside and let me show you the difference
between each one of these patterns.
So this is being recorded with super directional.
That means you're gonna hear anything in front of camera.
It's, kind of, a wedge shape out from the front.
But if I move to the side,
I'm now at a 90 degree angle to the camera,
you're not gonna hear the sound as clear
because this pattern is more focused
on recording audio in front of camera.
And if I move all the way to the back of the microphone,
you hear how little sound you're actually picking up
because with this pattern,
you shouldn't be hearing anything behind camera.
So this works super well for vlogging
or if you're doing something like an interview
and someone is right in front of camera.
Now we're shooting in unidirectional,
and you're gonna hear my audio in the front
is gonna sound the same
because it's still picking up good audio right
in front of camera.
But as I move towards the right,
you'll notice that now I'm off to 90 degrees
from the camera and you're still getting clean audio.
But if I move to the back of the camera,
now the audio is not gonna sound that good.
It's barely gonna hear it
because this microphone pattern is focused
on the front half.
So think about 180 degrees in front of camera.
So if you're recording, like,
a group of people, like multiple people
and they're not centered right in front of camera,
well this would be a good pattern to use.
Now I've switched over to omnidirectional.
Now omnidirectional means that every direction,
so as I move to the right of the camera,
I'm now 90 degrees on the side of it.
You're now hearing my audio just the same
as you heard it in the front.
And if I move to the back of camera,
well you're also gonna be hearing my audio loud and clear.
And so if you're someone who's vlogging
and you're pointing the camera away from yourself,
this is a great pattern to use
to be able to still get clean audio.
But you can also be in front of camera
and you can still get clean audio.
The only thing you have to worry about with this pattern
is that you're gonna be picking up more ambience
from all around.
There is a slight breeze coming at me
from the ocean over there,
and you're gonna be hearing more of that sound
because the audio is focused in 360
versus just right in the front of camera.
Now, beyond just the pickup patterns,
you have a few different options to modify your audio
when you're out recording.
So on the lower right hand corner
you'll have auto and manual settings.
So what this does is goes from full auto
where you don't even have to think about your audio
to manual control, where you can dial in exactly
where you want the gain to be when you're out recording.
So if you're in a setting where it's running gun,
or you're doing something like vlogging,
just flipping it up to the auto setting,
you'll be able to get clean audio.
But if you do wanna have more control
and you don't wanna risk any fluctuations in your audio,
well, you'll flip it down to manual
and you'll use the dial on the left hand side
to adjust your levels to where they fit
for the scene that you're filming.
Now on the B10 and the B1M, you have some filter options.
The first is a low cut filter,
and this is gonna remove any low frequencies
that's in your sound.
Now the second filter you have access to,
is noise canceling.
So if you're in a super noisy environment,
well the noise canceling is gonna help cut through
that noise so that your vocals are gonna be much more clear
on the recording.
Now, there's one more option on the back of this microphone.
It's the ATT mode,
and this reduces the volume 10 decibels or 20 decibels.
So if you're in a super noisy environment
and your audio levels are peaking, well,
you can bring the whole recording down
by 10 decibels or 20 decibels.
So this is a good option to have
if you are in those situations where it's super loud.
Now, both of these mics come with a windscreen
so that when you're out in a windy environment
or if there's even like a slight breeze,
you can put on this windscreen
and it's gonna clean up your audio so you won't hear any
of the (imitates the sound of the wind cracking)
that you'll typically hear
if, like, the wind is hitting the microphone,
or if you're closer to the mic
and your breath is hitting the microphone.
Pull it off for you right here.
So I'm in this canyon,
wind is coming up this canyon hitting that microphone,
and you're gonna hear a little bit of that
once I take off this windscreen.
But as soon as I put it back on,
now it's gonna just be super clean.
It's amazing how much these little windscreens remove all
of that sound of wind hitting the microphone.
Now, personally, I've been using the B1M for a long time
and this is my go-to microphone
whenever I'm out shooting with my A7S III.
Recently I was just up in Alaska
and I had a few different interviews that I did
when I was out in the middle of nowhere.
And this microphone was so easy to use
because I know I could get clean audio.
And so for this setting right here,
my subject was just right in front of me, a few feet away.
I put it in the super directional mode
and I put it into manual mode
and dialed in the setting so that I could get clean audio
of him in the setting where there was some wind
and some other sounds in the background.
Both of these microphones are gonna work great
in a variety of situations,
and you'll be able to get clean audio no matter
what's going on where you're filming.
Now next, you should check out this video right here
which goes through the ECM-G1
which is an even smaller microphone
from Sony that uses this digital connection
and it gets super clean audio in such a tiny form factor.
I'll see you over there.