If you are using a small microphone for interviews or even solo recording, you have quite a bit of options today. But Hollyland just released their LARK Max (buy here), and I think it’s a piece of gear worth talking about because it brings quite a bit to the table.
Saramonic BlinkMe wireless mics sport an innovative touchscreen OLED
Saramonic recently announced the new Saramonic BlinkMe (buy here) wireless microphone system. Like many small wireless microphone systems before it, it operates on public 2.4 GHz frequencies, and is designed to attach to clothing to pick up your voice and send it to a camera or other recording device.
Saramonic BlinkMe has a trick or two up its sleeve, though, with a couple of nice features that the competition are lacking. It’s by no means perfect, but it’s the first wireless microphone I’ve seen in a long time that showed any kind of original thinking. I’ve had one for a couple of weeks now, so let’s take a look at it in more detail and hear how it sounds.
Hands on with Sennheiser’s 5th Gen EW-DP wireless microphone system
Sennheiser recently announced the 5th generation of its Evolition Wireless microphone ecosystem, the Sennheiser EW-DP (buy here). Given Sennheiser’s previous generation wireless microphones and their level of performance and reliability, we had to check out the new Sennheiser EW-DP for ourselves while at NAB 2023 in Las Vegas. So, we chatted with Sennheiser’s Head of Audio for Video Portfolio, Tobias von Allwörden.
The biggest difference between the new 5th Generation and the previous generation models is that the EW-DP is entirely digital. Its predecessors were all analogue. This represents a significant change for Sennheiser’s flagship portable wireless system and helps to speed up the on-set workflow. However, unlike most digital microphone systems today, this one runs on UHF frequencies, not 2.4GHz.
Rode Wireless ME – a review of a low-budget Rode
When Rode released the original Wireless GO in 2019, they set a new standard for small wireless portable microphones. In 2021, Rode released the Wireless GO II, adding a whole bunch of great features. Things that people had been asking for. So why the Rode Wireless ME (link)? And why now?
The release of the original Wireless GO spawned a whole legion of similar devices. Other manufacturers saw the use case and clear opportunity. Many of the new units lacked certain features of the Rode system, but they came in at a much lower price point. Rode has now answered those competitors with their own lower-budget option, the Rode Wireless ME.
Wireless microphone war – DJI Mic versus Røde Wireless Go 2
The wireless microphone space is growing. Content creators, particularly mobile content creators, are looking for great sound solutions. In this article, I want to talk about what happened when I put the DJI Mic and the Røde Wireless Go 2 head-to-head. I did this in partnership with Kersten Luts of the Camera Shake podcast for some real-world results.
Whilst this fight is between DJI and Røde, it’s worth noting that there are plenty of other options available. Joby offers the Wavo AIR, Godox offers the MoveLink (reviewed here), and Sennheiser offers the XSW-D, as just a few examples. They all fall around a similar price point, and all offer great sound in a small package. Let’s get straight into the battle!
Hollyland’s new Lark C1 wireless mic for smartphones lets you keep charging your phone while it’s in use
We got to see a sneak peek of it at IBC 2022 in Amsterdam last month but now Hollyland has officially announced their new tiny wireless microphone system for iPhones. It’s the Hollyland Lark C1 and it’s essentially an update to the Lark M1 that doesn’t require a headphone jack or adapter cable. It’s available with a Lightning connector for iPhones or a USB-C connector for Android devices.
The Lightning version is fully Apple MFi-certified and both versions are fully plug-and-play, automatically detecting when the receiver is plugged into your smartphone. They’re dual-channel receivers, allowing for two microphones on two transmitters. There is also a Lightning or USB-C socket on each receiver allowing you to continue charging your mobile device while you’re recording.
This introduction to microphones explains the importance of good sound in your videos and how to get it
There are more people creating video content now than ever before. This means there are also a lot of people creating bad videos than ever before, too. Many of them aren’t really bad videos, as such. They just often have really crappy sound. Newcomers to video often think that they can rely on the internal microphones of their mirrorless cameras or smartphones, but you really can’t.
This video from Sennheiser has been out for a little while now but we haven’t shared it here before. It offers up a lot of valuable information on microphone choice. Alex Knickerbocker introduces us to the main different types of microphones and when and how we might want to use them to get the best results possible.
Hollyland shrinks down its wireless microphones with the new Lark M1 and gives them a 200 metre range
Hollyland has announced its new Lark M1 wireless microphone system designed for vloggers, YouTubers and live streamers. It offers a massive 200-metre line of sight wireless range over 2.4Ghz adaptive frequency hopping to ensure you’re always getting the strongest signal. It has a frequency response from 20Hz up to 20KHz with 100dB SPL and 86dB of dynamic range.
Like the Hollyland Lark 150, the Lark M1 microphone kit comes inside a handy charging case to keep everything together, but unlike the Lark 150, the Lark M1 transmitters only feature the built-in microphone without the ability to plug in an external lav. This lets Hollyland make them quite significantly smaller for those users who don’t need that functionality.
Comica’s Boom X-U QUA is a 4-channel mini wireless microphone set for only $359
We’ve seen a lot of new mini microphone systems released over the last few years. You can see some of them here in our vlogging microphone buyers guide. One thing that’s stuck out about a lot of the systems so far, though, is that they only come in single or dual microphone setups. This is fine for most people, but what if you want to record a group of people simultaneously?
Well, that’s where the new Comica BoomX-U Qua UHF microphone system comes in, with four transmitters going to a single receiver, you’re able to record up to four people at once having a conversation with real-time monitoring, 24 channels to choose from and up to 120 metres of range in open areas.
The best microphones for vloggers to buy in 2022
If, like me, you use your cameras for video as well as photography, then at some point (probably sooner rather than later) you’re going to need to think about sound. While audio setups can get extremely elaborate, especially once you start doing more serious video, you’ll want to at least get some kind of microphone that you can plug right into your camera, regardless of whether you’re vlogging or trying to sync up separately recorded audio in post.
Here, we’re going to look at some of the best microphones you can get for vlogging that plug directly into your camera in 2022 and go through some of the advantages of each and where it might be worth spending a little extra money. We’ve split this up into two categories. First, there are the on-camera mics which as the name suggests, sit on top of your camera. The other are the wireless microphones which allow a little more freedom of movement in front of the camera.
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