Rode VideoMicro

I use this microphone to attach to my smart phone and improve the sound when I am shooting music videos. I shoot outside in nature and in venues when I am playing live. It seems best when recording small volumes, without too much outside interference. Acoustic guitar, trumpet, etc.

I don't own a camera or DSLR but I know it works on them too. I have a mobile tripod (Tarion Multifunction Ball Head Mini Tripod) with a cold shoe mount on it so the phone sits in the tripod and the microphone sits snugly on top of the tripod in the mount. The microphone points forwards, the phone screen backwards.

So onto the actual microphone. It definitely improves the quality of the sound from a normal phone microphone. The microphone needs to be fairly close to isolate the sounds you want. I have shot in wind with the pop-shield and it really reduced the wind noise. I wouldn't record a band with this mic really. But speaking, interviews, live acoustic stuff, definitely.

You cannot monitor the sound or change the input volume which is a shame, and perhaps the only con I can find for this mic. Maybe with the correct app it would be possible. Bear in mind, it is a small mic. It's reach is not massive. You could reduce the distance by attaching it to a mic stand and using an extension from the mic to your recording device. Rode makes all the various cables you need. I bought an extension and another type of converter. Nowadays it is not simple jack to jack. There are various options of jack, TRS, TRRS etc. Smart phones need a TRRS normally and the mic needs a normal TS connection. So make sure you do some research into what connections your device needs.

Overall, I am super happy with it. Great build quality. Rugged. Amazing pop sheild and mount. Is perfect for small projects.

I wanted to get an external mic for my DSLR that would "just work", without battery power or other hassles. This one does, at least when the camera is stationary. The audio quality is superb and handles voices great, even some simple instruments or small gigs can sound decent.

The mount is unfortunately quite flimsy. I've noticed it can cause a lot of noise if you move the camera around too much, which is really a shame. If the microphone end gets accidentally screwed off a bit it will add some very unpleasant metallic sounds as well. Might sound rare, but this can happen quite easily when putting on the (otherwise excellent) windshield.

But for the price, this is a steal, and I can definitely recommend it to anyone who wants a simple audio setup - especially if most of your shots are stationary. Just be sure to test moving it a bit before using it to capture any crucial audio.