Today we're gonna be looking at the spiritual successor
to my favourite on-camera microphone,
and one of the first products ever reviewed on this channel.
Let's get Undone.
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♪ Gerald Undone ♪
♪ He's crazy ♪
What is happening, everybody? I'm Gerald Undone
and today we're gonna be trying out
the V-Mic D3 Pro from Deity.
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♪
And just so you know, the audio that you're hearing
right now is being recorded from the D3 Pro
with no adjustments made other than normalizing
to match my regular volume.
I've got it, I would say, about 18 inches away from myself,
just a little bit higher than the camera,
and angled slightly down.
So, it's probably hitting me at about, this area right here.
And I've got the knob on it set to eight out of ten.
And then the camera, which is the GH5,
which is what it's plugged into directly,
it's set to -12 dB in the volume settings in the GH5.
Now, this video is not sponsored,
but Deity did send me my copy of the mic for free.
But they didn't ask me to review it, I reached out to them,
because when I heard that this mic came out,
I was pretty excited because like I said, the predecessor,
the V-Mic D2 has been my favourite
on-camera microphone from a value stand point.
And as I alluded to in the intro,
it was one of the first products
that I ever reviewed on my channel.
[air blowing]
This is a test, of the windscreen that comes
with the Aputure V-Mic D2.
Now, that mic was branded as an Aputure mic.
The Aputure V-Mic D2.
But my understanding is that the Deity team
is basically the audio team from Aputure
that branched off to start their own audio company
while Aputure stayed focus on the lighting.
Now, with that previous model,
the thing that I found most compelling was its price
to performance because it came in at around $120 US,
but was pretty well-matched against
the RØDE VideoMic Pro at $300.
And it even had some improvements over the RØDE
with a gain knob instead of just boost buttons.
And it had rechargeable AAA batteries
instead of using a 9V like the RØDE had.
And it also had better features in the box
that it came with, extra accessories
including a dead cat. So, from a value standpoint,
it was the best available at that time in my opinion.
Since then, however, RØDE released a follow up
which improved a lot of those issues
over the VideoMic Pro with the VideoMic Pro+,
which changed to a lithium ion rechargeable battery,
instead of the 9V.
Improved the cabling situation by giving you
a better detachable cable.
And added an automatic on/off power state
based on the camera connectivity.
In fact, the new RØDE actually removed a lot
of the advantages the Aputure V-Mic D2 had,
except for the gain knob and of course, the lower price tag.
But, it started to seem a little more justifiable to buy
the RØDE VideoMic Pro+ at that price
with the included dead cat,
because there was also noticeable sound improvements
as well. But now the Deity has released their follow up.
My goal for this video is to find out once again,
if there's a cheaper option that does it all.
So, let's start off with what you get.
And since I haven't done an unboxing in a while,
let's throw it under the overhead rig
and see what's in the box.
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♪
So, right away with what's included, I see one pro
and one con. The con is that there's no dead cat included
in this package, which I kind of expected there to be,
but maybe I've just been spoiled. But, if you have
any of the previous mics that I mentioned, you could probably
just use that dead cat, and fit it onto the new mic.
I was able to do that with the V-Mic D2's dead cat.
It worked on the V-Mic D3. But the pro is the addition
of this nice, little hard case, which is something
that I wish the previous mics had. So, it's a nice
little inclusion this time around. There's also
an improved build quality that I noticed right away.
With the inclusion of a Rycote shock mount and the shoe mount
also allows sliding back and forth along a rail
that's included. This will be quite useful
for adjusting the balance and clearance if you plan
to put it on a gimbal. But, it also allows you to move the mic
closer to the subject and create more space for your eye
if you plan to use the viewfinder. I also found
the new design to be less bulky than the previous model
and much of the competition. It's quite light and lean
in form. The D3 Pro has retained and refined what made
the previous model so special, which is its gain knob.
It's still a ten scale adjustment, but now
it's completely step-less and it's so well dampened
that it might be the nicest knob I've ever turned.
Sounds like a weird thing to compliment, but seriously,
if you turn this knob, you'll know what I mean.
It's ridiculously smooth. It also has a low-cut filter
for 75 and 150Hz and for connections, it has a USB-C port
for charging, which is fast and intuitive.
It takes about two hours to fully charge its 320mAh battery,
which will get you about 50 hours of use.
This microphone has also implemented something similar
to what we discussed with the RØDE
which is a bit of a power detection.
So, basically, once you turn the mic on, it's on,
but if it doesn't detect a camera, it goes
into standby mode. And it can be in standby for up to 15 minutes.
And then if it detects a camera, it'll turn back on.
Same thing if you had it on and you were using the camera,
then you turn the camera off, the mic will go into standby,
and it'll stay on standby for 15 minutes until you turn
the camera back on. If you don't do anything in 15 minutes,
the microphone shuts off, and this is more efficient
and prevents, you know, wasting battery,
which is something I always did on the previous models.
You know, if I didn't turn it off right away,
or I was thinking maybe I was gonna use it again,
I wanted to leave it in standby, then sometimes I'd forget,
and I'd power drain. That's not something you can do
with these new mics, and that's fantastic.
Another big change when it comes to connectivity,
which makes the Deity V-Mic D3 stand out
is its smart connection and cable.
Basically the microphone cases a tiny micro processor
that does a bit of a digital handshake
with the connected device to sort out the signal.
This is Deity's solution to the persistent problem
that users face when it comes to inconsistency
between the 4-pole connectors found on various devices.
The problem with these type of connectors is that there
isn't an agreed upon standard of how to distribute the signal.
In the old days, with a 3-pole TRS, Tip Ring Sleeve,
there would be a standard pinout.
Basically the tip would be for the left channel,
the ring would be for the right channel,
and the sleeve would be for the ground.
But with phones and other smart devices
and even ultrabooks and some laptops, this isn't the case.
And the ports can be dual purpose as well.
Or they can be line out, or also microphone in.
And you don't really know how they're gonna pin it out
because that's up to the manufacturer.
Maybe the tip is for the microphone,
maybe the ring is for the microphone, you don't know.
And that's why your headset for your iPhone
might not work in your Android phone or in your laptop.
Well, Deity's fixed all that with their new
smart handshake feature which basically allows them
to know what device is connected, process that,
figure out the pinout, and line it up with the microphone.
And the microphone's flexible enough to adapt
to the connected device.
But this does have a con to it as well,
because sometimes when you try to increase compatibility
with more advanced devices,
you lose a bit of compatibility with some older
legacy devices. For example, I can't get this microphone
to work with my audio interface.
For some reason, when I adapt the 4-pole smart cable
down to a quarter inch TRS for my audio interface,
it's not able to transmit the power, I guess.
So, it doesn't get that power detection signal
from my audio interface.
So, the microphone just stays in standby mode.
And a bunch of other devices require adapters
in order to make them work.
Where if this was just a standard 3-pole TRS cable,
it would work in all these "old school devices", if you will.
But then you would lose the ability to connect
to these smart devices. So, it's a bit of a trade-off.
But, there is a compatibility list on their website
which I recommend that you consult if you plan
on buying this microphone so you can make sure
that it works for the camera that you plan to use.
And I would say that it's quite an extensive list.
I mean, there's a wide array of audio recorders
like most of the ones from Zoom and Tascam.
They also have Blackmagic Pocket Cinema,
most of the latest iPhones, and Samsung phones,
and Google Pixels. There's also some Red cinema cameras on here.
And you can use most of the GoPros
if you get the USB to TRS adapter.
And then the Sony a7 line is pretty much
completely covered. Including the Sony a6500.
Uh, they also have most of the Panasonic Lumix stuff.
You've got G85, G9, GH5, GH5s, GH4, GH3, that kind of stuff.
And then, a huge array of Canon. Like, all the Rebels,
the 60D, 70D, 80Ds. You've got 7D Mark II, 5D Mark II,
like they're all-- a lot of Canons are in there.
It's more of which Canon's aren't, is the exception.
Now, there was one notable surprise on the list here,
which is the Fuji X-T3 is not compatible,
which was a little bit disappointing
because that's a pretty terrific camera for video recording
and having an on-camera mic would probably be useful.
And you know, as someone who has no intention
on using this microphone as any kind
of 4-pole smart connection microphone,
I do think that for me, this smart connection handshake
thing does add some unnecessary complications.
I'd rather have a classic connection
if it means all the cameras would work, like the X-T3,
even if that means that no phones would work.
But, maybe I'm alone in this, so I'd really like to know
your thoughts on this. Do you think it's worth trading off
a camera here and there to add a full range of phones
and other devices that you can use?
Or are you like me, and you'd rather be OK with,
"just give me all the cameras, and I don't care about phones."
Let me know what you think in the comments below.
Now, before we jump into the updated value considerations,
we should probably talk a little bit about the audio quality
of this microphone, since this is a microphone review,
and this is the perfect time to recommend
fellow Youtuber, Curtis Judd, who if you've never heard
of before, is a great educator on light and sound
for video production.
He did his own review on this microphone,
including a side by side with the RØDE VideoMic Pro,
and he included some sound samples there.
So, rather than recreate those tests,
I'd rather you go watch Curtis' video,
one: to support another creator. And two:
because I consider him an expert in this regard.
He also provides more specific technical information
on the microphone, so if you're into the details
of the sound signal, go check out his video.
Link to it in the description in the comments below.
My observations is that it's very similar to the RØDE
in terms of fidelity and an improvement
over the previous V-Mic D2.
Another thing I appreciated about the D3
was its flat out response.
Something I noticed about the previous version
in a lot of other mics, is that they have a lot
of bass boost, which makes my voice really boomy.
And so this one was flatter, easier to work with
and refine in post, and there's a lot less self-noise
than the previous versions as well.
To demonstrate this, here's a sample
from the previous microphone.
First there'll be a bit of silence,
so you can hear the self-noise,
and then I'll talk a bit so you can hear the bass boost.
This is a sample recorded with the Aputure V-Mic D2.
Here's a little bit of silence.
This is a review of the Deity V-Mic D3 Pro
with the microphone about 18 inches away from me
angled slightly down.
Here's that same sample again,
but this time with the D3 Pro. First a little bit of silence.
This is a review of the Deity V-Mic D3 Pro placed
about 18 inches from my mouth and angled slightly down.
So, I think from a sound quality perspective,
you're getting a lot for your money.
Which brings us to the value calculation.
Now, the D3 did go up in price from the D2,
which cost about $120 US on Amazon,
as I was saying earlier. But the D3 cost around $200.
But, it's still $100 less than the RØDE,
which it closely compares to.
So, I would say it definitely beats the RØDE in terms
of value, and then compared to the previous gen,
I would say that it's probably fairly priced the way
that it is above that one. And if you have any intention
on using the smart connections with phones
as well cameras, then you're definitely getting
your money's worth as well.
$200 would be a great price for that.
But, if that's a little bit out of your price range,
still, there is a cheaper option in the standard V-Mic D3,
basically the non-pro version. Which is only $100 US.
Which makes it even cheaper than the V-Mic D2,
the previous model and is essentially
the same microphone in terms of the capsule
as the V-Mic D3 Pro,
it just lacks some of the features
and sound shaping options that the D3 Pro has.
It doesn't have the lithium ion rechargeable battery
that the Pro has, it just takes a single AAA battery.
But you could use eneloop rechargeables like I do
with the V-Mic D2,
but it only takes one, where the D2 takes two batteries
so it's more power efficient than the previous generation.
Plus, it still has that same smart on/off feature thing
in standby mode, so that's great.
An improvement over the previous gens as well.
And it still has that smart connection thing,
so you can still use it with phones
and it still does the digital handshake in order
to figure out those devices.
It does, however, lack the gain knob, and the low-cut filter.
So, it's basically just the microphone,
the Rycote shock mount, the foam windscreen,
and the smart cable.
There's no hard case, but it's just sort of a basic mic
that's $100 less if that's all you need it for.
Overall, I'm really happy with the V-Mic D3,
and I'm impressed by Deity's ability to push
the capabilities and features
of the on-camera microphone further,
while keeping the price in a very reasonable spot.
Re-affirming their position as the best value
on-camera microphones available.
But that's gonna be it for me. I hope you found this video
helpful or at least entertaining. And if you did,
make sure you leave it the old thumbs up
and consider subscribing if you haven't already.
But if you did not find this video helpful or entertaining,
feel free to hit the dislike button twice.
Alright...I'm done.
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