52 7 September 2019 I http://www.amateurphotographer.co.uk I subscribe 0330 333 1113
Testbench ACCESSORIES
At a glance
● 2.4GHz wireless
microphone system
● Ultra-compact size
● Transmitter includes
built-in mic
● Receiver has 3.5mm
stereo outputWITHmoreandmorecamerasnowcapableof
recordinghigh-qualityvideo,there’splentyof
scopeforphotographerstoexplorethisnew
meansof storytelling.Howeveryou’llquicklyfind
thatit comeswithitsownsetof challenges,with
perhapsthemostimportantbeingsoundquality.
Pooraudiowillquicklyputoffyouraudience,
nomatterhowgoodthefootage.
If yourcamerahasa microphonesocket,one
solutionis tobuyanexternalunit.Butthiscanbe
confusing,withmanydifferenttypesavailable.
Howeverif yourvideosgenerallyinvolveeitheryou
ora presentertalkingto thecamera,thena wireless
microphoneset-upis likelythebestchoice.
TheRødeWirelessGois a tinyradiomicrophone
systemthat’sbilledasthesmallestandlighteston
themarket.Thekitis remarkablycompact:both
thetransmitterandthereceivermeasurearound
4.5cmsquare,andweigha mere31geach.
Despitethis,theyhaveintegratedrechargeable
batteriesthatRødesaysshouldlastupto7 hours.
Thetransmitterhasbothaninternalmicrophone
anda 3.5mminputforanexternalunit.Thisis
handy,asdespiteitssmallsize,it stilllooksa bitodd
clippedtoyourclothing,sousinga smallplug-in
Lavalier-typemicrophonecanlookbetter.The
receiverconnectstothecameraviaa curlylead
witha 3.5mmTRSjack,butdespiteallthe
connectorsbeingof thestereotypeyouonlyever
getmonooutput,withthesamesignalfedtoyour
camera’sleftandrightaudiochannels.
Operationis incrediblysimple.Thetransmitter
justhasanon/offswitch,withnoothercontrols.The
receiveralsohasa buttonforpairingthetwo,along
witha dBgainbutton.Thelattercyclesthrough
threesettings,allowingyoutoadjusttheoutputto
bestmatchyourcamera(whichis easiesttojudge
if youhaveanonscreenvolumeleveldisplay).Ve r d i c t
I testedtheRødeWirelessGowiththeSonyAlpha
7 III,andfoundthatit gavemuchbetterresults
thantheinternalmicrophonesfortalkingto
camerafromanykindof distance.It actuallyhas
an impressive range, easily meeting Røde’s
specifi ed 70m, just as long as you maintain a clear
line of sight between transmitter and receiver. The
built-in microphone is essentially omnidirectional
and gives perfectly respectable sound, but
unfortunately, its plug-in windshield falls off and
gets lost far too easily (which presumably is why
you get two). But aside from that, this is a brilliant
ALL PRICES ARE APPROXIMATE STREET PRICESlittle set-up for narrating to camera or vlogging.
If youjustwanttocapturehigher-
quality audio than your camera’s built-in
microphones, then the Røde VideoMicro
is a good choice. It’s very compact and
at £49, affordable too. It mounts onto
your camera’s hotshoe and gives
dual-channel-mono output, with
a cardioid pattern that emphasises
sounds from in front of the camera.ALSO CONSIDER
RØDE
Wireless Go
Andy Westlake tests a tiny wireless
video microphone system
●£179 ● http://www.rode.com
GOLD
Shoe
mount/clip
Eachunithasa springclip
toattachtoa straporyour
clothing,whichwill
alsoslideontoyour
camera’shotshoe.Windshield
Thesmallfurrywindshield
simplyclipsoverthe
transmitterunit’s
built-inmicrophone.Kit
contents
In theboxyougetthe
transmitterandreceiverunits,
twoclip-onwindshields,two
USB-Cchargecablesand
a protectiveneoprene
pouch.LCD
screen
A smalldisplayontop
ofthereceivershows
thebatterystatusofboth
units,thesignalstrength,
thesoundleveland
thegain.