Joby may be infamous for their GorillaPod flexible tripod,
but they also produce a range of other camera and content creation products.
The Joby Wavo is a compact on-camera microphone to be a step-up from the
inbuilt microphone on your smartphone or camera and is priced at around £60 to £70.
Before we get started with the video, if you’re new to the channel and find this video helpful
make sure to give it a like and subscribe to the channel to make
sure you don’t miss future reviews. The Wavo shares a typical design to
an on-camera microphone, with a shotgun-style design that sits on top of your camera with
the Wavo featuring Joby’s red and black colour scheme. The microphone has a lightweight design
and plastic construction weighing in at around 40 grams, this means that the microphone won’t put
any stress on the hot shoe mount of your camera – the light weight is also particularly good if you
plan to use the microphone whilst vlogging as it will not add much additional weight to your setup.
The Wavo is integrated and suspended from a Rycote Duo-Lyre shock mount which will help
prevent shocks or sudden movements creating any unintended noise during your audio recording.
However, having the microphone joined to the shock mount does mean that it is not removable from
the mount itself, unlike the Rode VideoMicro. The microphone itself features a long tubular
design with some meshing on the top and an opening at the end, I’ve not seen this
approach to a microphone before as I’ve normally seen them also have a grille at the end of the
microphone in addition. Luckily you can keep this covered to add some additional protection
and improve your sound quality when recording outdoors thanks to the included foam windshield.
The windshield is well designed for the microphone and slots comfortably and securely over the top,
this will help dampen any potentially unwanted noise that could be created by wind, hence the
name. I’ve chosen to leave the windshield on the microphone all the time as it will add that extra
bit of protection and it means that I don’t have to worry about storing it away somewhere – it’s
always on the microphone and ready to go. As far as connectivity goes the microphone
features a 3.5mm output on the back, beneath Joby’s icon (which I initially thought was a gain
dial), and that’s it. The microphone is powered by your camera or smartphone through the 3.5mm cable,
so there’s no need to worry about batteries or needing to
charge the microphone – it’s plug and play. Aside from the cold shoe on the bottom of
the microphone that slots into your camera’s hot shoe mount, the microphone also features a ¼-inch
tripod mount, giving you, some added flexibility for where you can place the microphone.
The Wavo features a super-cardioid polar pattern, which means that it focuses more on
the sounds that are happening in front of it, but it also picks up a little behind it as well. This
microphone pickup pattern is great for vlogging or run-and-gun shooting as it means that you
can be narrating behind the camera or in front of it. The microphone has a frequency response
range of 35Hz to 20KHz, providing a wide scope of frequencies that it will be able to capture.
For the form factor and size, the microphone provides a good sound that is certainly a step
up from a built-in microphone on a DSLR or camera, providing good clarity to vocal recordings
but I imagine it would also work nicely for recording instruments if needed.
The placement of a microphone is key to getting a good recording,
the microphone will sound better when you can get it closer to your sound source and
I found the microphone to sound good at about an arm’s length for vlogging
or for filming an event or interview – or in my case a review (although I’m making
use of the tripod mount on the bottom of the microphone as my camera is across the room).
Joby includes both TRS and TRRS cables in the box, so you’ll be able to use the microphone
with both your camera and smartphone without the need to purchase a cable,
although you may need to buy a headphone jack adapter for your phone if you wish to use the
microphone with your phone if it doesn’t have one. Joby also sells a few accessories for the Wavo
microphone, the Wavo Windjammer is a fluffier windshield that should be more effective than
the included foam windshield if you plan to record in windy environments.
Additionally, Joby offers a Wavo USB Adapter for the microphone which will give you plug and play
usability with the microphone as well as allow you to monitor the microphone with your headphones.
If you’re looking to upgrade from the built-in microphone on your camera,
the Joby Wavo is a great option. The microphone is compact and lightweight, and I like how Joby
has included all the cables you’d need to get up and running, regardless of whether you plan to use
the microphone with your camera or smartphone. That’s been it for this video, if you liked it,
please consider subscribing. I will leave a link to the microphone in the description if you’re
interested in picking it up for yourself. Thanks for watching and I will see you in the next one.