- Audio is half of video, it's really important,
and if you're looking to improve
the overall audio quality of your videos,
then it's probably time
to think about adding an external dedicated microphone
to your camera setup.
So in this video,
I'm going to compare two super popular microphones
from RODE, their least expensive offering,
or one of their least expensive ones, the Video Micro,
against one of their most expensive video microphones,
the VideoMic Pro+.
(smooth music)
And just for comparison,
I'm now using the built-in microphone on the Canon EOS R.
And built-in microphones on cameras
have gotten a lot better
and they can actually be pretty decent
if you're pretty close to the camera,
but a dedicated external microphone
really makes a difference.
So I'm gonna be switching between these two microphones
as I talk throughout this video
and I'll be sure to put whichever one I'm using, on screen.
But just for reference, the bigger one
is the VideoMic Pro+
and the smaller, round microphone is the Video Micro.
I've personally been using the VideoMic Pro+
for about the last year and a half
and I really like it.
It has a ton of options,
it delivers outstanding audio quality,
it has a battery that lasts forever,
it's a really good microphone.
The only downside I found to it
is that microphone itself, costs about $300
and then to add on this windscreen, was another $40.
Lately I've noticed a huge rise in popularity
in the RODE Video Micro,
which is an awesome, compact little microphone
that also has an awesome, compact little price.
It usually retails for about $60.
And for that price, you get the microphone itself
which is attached to a shock mount.
You get the 3.5 millimeter audio cable
and the Dead Cat windscreen is also included.
And the microphone is powered from the camera
through the 3.5 millimeter audio cable,
so that means there are no batteries to deal with.
And there are no external controls of any kind,
it is just a microphone, but it's a really good microphone.
I was able to borrow this one
from my lovely girlfriend, Heather,
so if you wanna hear this microphone
in action, in more videos,
definitely be sure to check out her channel.
And I'm sure this is starting to sound
a lot like a sponsored video,
but I promise you, that it's not.
I just personally, really like RODE microphones.
I also, if you've seen,
I really love the RØDECaster Pro audio recorder
and I've recently started using the RODE PodMic
for audio on podcasts, and voiceovers
and stuff like that
so I'm just a big fan of what RODE makes.
But where that all started, was about five years ago.
I was borrowing a RODE VideoMic Pro
from my high school digital media program that I teach
and I was filming a high school football game.
It was super loud and chaotic,
people were screaming in the stands, the band was playing,
there was a DJ hyping up the crowd,
there was just noise everywhere.
But the moment that sold me on the VideoMic Pro
was when I was in the middle of all that
and was about 15 feet away from one of the coaches
and the mic picked up his voice perfectly clearly
in the middle of all that chaos.
- Run to the football!
- And that was about five years ago,
and since then, microphones
have only gotten better and better.
So regardless of its price,
I think that the Video Micro is a really great microphone.
And side-by-side with the more expensive Pro+,
it can actually be kinda hard to tell them apart.
So I've been recording this under pretty ideal conditions,
in a quiet room with both microphones really close to me,
so let's take it a little bit further and test them out.
This is what the VideoMic Pro+ sounds like
when it's on top of my Cannon EOS R,
which is about three, three and a half feet away from me.
And this is the Video Micro on top of the Canon EOS R,
about three and a half feet away.
So there's definitely a difference in audio quality,
but I think that both microphones still do a pretty good job
at picking up audio from a distance.
And both microphones actually sound really good close up too
so especially if you're using the Dead Cat filter,
they work really well for voiceovers
or even something like a podcast.
And the windscreens really do make a huge difference
in controlling plosives and breaths.
So things like Peter pepper picked a peck
of pickled peppers, pipers, that whole thing.
And if we take the windscreens off, you can actually see
that both microphones are about the same diameter
the Pro+ is just a little bit longer,
but these windscreens make a huge difference
in your audio quality.
So I think that it's really cool
that this one, I had to buy it for an extra $40,
while the Video Micro comes with one
that's the same quality.
And to be fair, the VideoMic Pro+
does come with a standard foam windscreen.
And these are okay, but if you go outside
into like any somewhat windy conditions,
they just really don't do the job.
So if you really want the best audio quality,
you need the Dead Cat windscreen, for sure.
I'd actually love to take these microphones
out into the wind to do a test of these,
but it's like a beautiful, calm,
wonderful summer day out right now, so there is no wind.
But I think that if I just blow on the microphone,
you'll be able to tell the difference.
So here's the Video Micro.
(wind rumbling)
That's me blowing directly on the microphone
with and without the windscreen.
Same thing with the Pro+.
(wind rumbling)
That's what it sounds like with and without the windscreen.
But to even take it one step further,
here's an actual air blower
(air puffing)
all around the Pro+ with the windscreen
and then all around the Pro+ without the windscreen.
Same thing over here with the Micro,
here's the rocket blower all around the Micro
with the windscreen
and here's the rocket blower all around the Micro
without the windscreen.
All-in-all, I really don't think you can wrong
with the Video Micro.
I'm planning to get one myself,
because I like it so much.
And even though I love the Pro+,
once it's on your camera,
it's actually really big (chuckling)
and so it can turn your camera rig
into a very big rig, really quickly.
And the Video Micro makes everything a lot more compact,
which keeps everything really simple
and can also help reduce
the amount of unwanted attention you get, when filming.
Because, for whatever reason,
if people see you with a camera they're usually fine with it
but as soon as they see a camera with a microphone on top,
then you start getting a lot of questions,
even if you're doing nothing wrong.
And so if you're just out filming casually,
sometimes you wanna be as discreet as possible
and having a smaller microphone on your camera,
helps you do that.
Now, of course, the Video Micro
doesn't offer any extra features like gain boost,
or high-pass filter, or low-pass filter
or anything like that.
So if you're doing paid professional work
or you really need as much versatility as possible,
depending on where you're gonna be filming,
then I would probably stick with the VideoMic Pro+
because that gives you all of that extra control.
So when comparing the two microphones,
as usual, it kinda comes down to your specific needs
in terms of which one is best,
but honestly, I don't think you can wrong either way.
And just a quick tip, if you are using the Video Micro
and it's bouncing around a lot, the little mount
that connects to the camera's accessory shoe,
has all these little ridges in it,
and you can just clip the audio cable into one of those
and it holds the microphone in place,
which reduces some of the wiggle,
it helps you get better audio quality.
So if you didn't know or you couldn't tell,
I'm a huge fan of cameras, and gear
and all that kind of stuff,
so I did put together a playlist
of some of my favorite reviews that I've done.
So be sure to check those out
and I will see you in the next video.
(uplifting music)