Aputure V-Mic

It's no frills but works pretty well. I use it on my b-cam. Since I only use it for reference, my expectations were not high. Biggest advantage is no need to carry 9 volt batteries like I did with my old Rode!
 
You get what you pay for. Looks like a typical generic Chinese consumer-grade mic but without any published specs it's impossible to make any predictions about performance. Probably okay for a casual hobbyist but wouldn't rely on it for any serious work. Remember too that the camera is the last place you want to mount a mic unless there's simply no other alternative.
 
Steve House said:
You get what you pay for. Looks like a typical generic Chinese consumer-grade mic but without any published specs it's impossible to make any predictions about performance. Probably okay for a casual hobbyist but wouldn't rely on it for any serious work. Remember too that the camera is the last place you want to mount a mic unless there's simply no other alternative.
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I've borrowed my co-worker's a few times, I use a RODE video mic for my own work and I've used both for quick run-and-gun documentary type shooting. When you're a crew of one and you're on the move, mounting a mic on your camera is better than nothing. I do a lot of video essay work set to music, so I rarely need much location sound anyway. It's just nice to have slightly better audio than the camera's on-board mic : )
 
It's Chinese but not bad. This mic, like the Rode, is designed to be used on camera and to be better than on-board sound. That's about it. Not hard to do. A tin can sounds better than the camera mic. I found it to be as good as the Rode for sync. So I sold my Rode so I wouldn't have to deal with the awful anti shock bands that kept coming out and the need for 9 volt batteries.
 
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I'm sure it must be better sounding than most in-camera mics, no argument there. But to get optimum results even a top-shelf professional mic costing multi-thousands of $$ needs to be positioned properly. For dialog that usually turns out to be somewhere around 18-22 inches from the subject, much much closer than a camera would usually be positioned. For some situations it will work out, for most it won't fly. BTW, Rode is showing a new iteration of the Videomic, the 'Videomic GO.' Runs on plug-in power such as found in many DSLRs instead of 9 volt batteries and the rubber band shock mount has been replaced with a lyre mount from Rycote. Looks promising for a budget on-camera mic. $99 from B&H.
 
No need for sound lessons here. I do work for public radio and know how to set up mics. But if I set up a second or third camera for video, I run one of these Aperture mics for sync on my b-camera.


Steve House said:
I'm sure it must be better sounding than most in-camera mics, no argument there. But to get optimum results even a top-shelf professional mic costing multi-thousands of $$ needs to be positioned properly. For dialog that usually turns out to be somewhere around 18-22 inches from the subject, much much closer than a camera would usually be positioned. For some situations it will work out, for most it won't fly. BTW, Rode is showing a new iteration of the Videomic, the 'Videomic GO.' Runs on plug-in power such as found in many DSLRs instead of 9 volt batteries and the rubber band shock mount has been replaced with a lyre mount from Rycote. Looks promising for a budget on-camera mic. $99 from B&H.
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Steve House said:
I'm sure it must be better sounding than most in-camera mics, no argument there. But to get optimum results even a top-shelf professional mic costing multi-thousands of $$ needs to be positioned properly. For dialog that usually turns out to be somewhere around 18-22 inches from the subject, much much closer than a camera would usually be positioned. For some situations it will work out, for most it won't fly. BTW, Rode is showing a new iteration of the Videomic, the 'Videomic GO.' Runs on plug-in power such as found in many DSLRs instead of 9 volt batteries and the rubber band shock mount has been replaced with a lyre mount from Rycote. Looks promising for a budget on-camera mic. $99 from B&H.
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Yeah, mics like these don't work well at all for dramatic work. Back in high school I thought they did and the results were fairly awful : ) If I had the budget, I'd always shoot double system. They do work well for documentary shooting. I shoot behind the scenes videos for a drama group in my area, and my RODE mic is key for shooting impromptu backstage video.
 
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