New Product: Rode VideoMic HD

[ben_r_]

Saw this posted on another forum. Looked to me like a marketing monster. They are just trying to incorporate it all into one. To the "doesnt know any better" comsumer, especially in the growing DSLR only shooting crowd, this is going to seem like the end all be all best thing since sliced bread. But, it might be enough for those on a budget. We'll just have to wait and see: LINK

[benesotor]

Would be useful if it has a manual gain setting, a lot of DSLR's lack that feature, plus a headphone jack. Obviously a shotgun plugged into a dedicated portable recorder will be better, but this to me seems like an elegant solution to bypassing crappy DSLR audio management.
If I didn't have a VMP I'd probably get one.

[kamek]

Nice find. Looking forward to hearing more about it.

[ben_r_]

Im guessing itll probably be in the area of $299.99 and will have manual gain settings. It should also have a headphone out for monitoring, but from these images I cant see where that might be except under that rubber cover that looks like a MIC symbol which is confusing.

[kamek]

I'm completely unfamiliar with the current video mic out now, but this one seems to have a built in audio recorder in addition to a feed into the camera.

[John Sims]

I guess much will depend on the mic performance.

It is certainly a nice compact arrangement - ideal for interviews on boats perhaps

Looking at this unit I am given to think that (at around $300) an H4N or DR100 would be a better option having the flexibility of two balanced line inputs. Granted you will then have the extra expense and complication of additional mic's, holders etc. to exploit their full potential.

Subject to performance it could be a killer product for one man run'n'gun journo interviews and the like though.

[Snafoo]

On the plus side, It doesn't have those ridiculous rubber bands that the VMP has. I have to re-attach them every time I pull my VMP out of the camera bag. One of those concepts that I always suspect was designed by a summer intern.

[kamek]

Originally Posted by Snafoo

On the plus side, It doesn't have those ridiculous rubber bands that the VMP has. I have to re-attach them every time I pull my VMP out of the camera bag. One of those concepts that I always suspect was designed by a summer intern.

LOL!

[Snafoo]

I'm actually pretty interested in this new mic. It would reduce my audio kit from 2 to 1 (now carrying a VMP and Zoom H1N), and it would provide a much simpler backup to my in-camera recording (I often forgo using the Zoom because it's one more piece of stuff to set up and manage during a shoot). Since I virtually always shoot solo, this would be a big savings in effort for me.

[Abir]

Well dear ben, i have heard about this new product " Rode VideoMic HD " a lots of times from my friends.The VideoMic from Rode is a cost effective shotgun microphone that can easily be mounted on a video camera because it features an integrated shockmount that attaches to the camera's shoe. The VideoMic is lightweight, and when mounting on a camera it does not appear in the frame. Its super-cardioid polar pattern attenuates sounds from the sides. The result is a signal that sounds closer to the camera, even when shooting in noisy environments or at moderate distances.

[John Sims]

Welcome to the forum Abir. I doubt you will have had reports of this product yet as (as far as I'm aware) it isn't available yet.

[ChasWG]

An interesting design for sure and one that some will buy for sure. In that link that Ben supplied, it does say that there is headphone monitoring. That's a must for sure. It also uses Micro SD cards, funny thing is that I just saw a 16gb Micro SD card for sale for around $30 or so. A 16gig card in that thing should record for at least 16 hours. That is if its recording 24/48 WAV or lesser WAVs or even mp3 files. The link didn't say anything about the type of files it records. That's too bad, it would be good to know that.

It does solve some basic problems though. But again, you need to push the record button on the mic as well as on your camera. Otherwise you'll just have to remember what it sounded like.

[ben_r_]

Originally Posted by Abir

Well dear ben, i have heard about this new product " Rode VideoMic HD " a lots of times from my friends.The VideoMic from Rode is a cost effective shotgun microphone that can easily be mounted on a video camera because it features an integrated shockmount that attaches to the camera's shoe. The VideoMic is lightweight, and when mounting on a camera it does not appear in the frame. Its super-cardioid polar pattern attenuates sounds from the sides. The result is a signal that sounds closer to the camera, even when shooting in noisy environments or at moderate distances.

Thank you for regurgitating the product description. Do you by chance work for Rode?!

That being said, until its out, tested and put through the paces, all I see now is good marketing and a hungry consumer base of people looking for an all in one, better than on board audio end all be all product. Which Im sure Rode sees as well.

We'll see when it comes out.

[foster2380]

Originally Posted by ChasWG

It does solve some basic problems though. But again, you need to push the record button on the mic as well as on your camera. Otherwise you'll just have to remember what it sounded like.

Oh, I can see myself doing this more than once!!

[ChasWG]

Originally Posted by foster2380

Oh, I can see myself doing this more than once!!

It's happened to the best of us.