Bought a RODE videomic!
 

Will prolly be getting another for my other camera. It's very nice.

Glad you like it. The first thing I did when I got one was to point it at the ground and rub my foot on the hardwood floor. Holy sensitivity. I could hear the fine rocks crunching (need to sweep in here). I then went around the office and pointed it at different sounds such as a loud video RAID array then pointed it off axis to see how much it rejects at 45 and 90 degrees. Pretty impressive even indoors. I think it's a sweet spot at $149 and is a much better buy than the $199 Sennheiser MKE300 hotshoe camcorder mic or any of the less expensive Sony accessory mics, plus it has the shockmount which the others do not - very cool. Oh, and the accessories...the front page of RODE's site says Dec for the boom poles...can't wait for a $99 boom pole.

I just got a Rode videomic too... two days ago. I had it overnight expressed since the Sennheiser MKE 300 I bought six weeks ago left me in a bind by starting to cut out the second time I used it and is back on its way to Sennheiser for warranty repair/replacement. I must say, I am VERY disappointed in the MKE 300, AND very disappointed that when I was ordering a camera and related gear from a prominent supplier two months ago, the salesperson suggested the Sennheiser after I said I was trying to make up my mind between the MKE 300 and the Rode. I've spent the last two days using the Rode, and I'm thrilled with it. One drawback is that it does interfere with access to handle controls. One obvious (and supremely simple) design improvement the Rode demonstrates over the MKE 300 is in the reinforced L-shaped mini plug. Seems like a no brainer. I've never heard of Australian design exceeding German design, but it certainly appears so in this case.

I told you! :)

For any remaining disbelievers, go to the video folder in the On Line Archive on my website and watch the mp4 video about the VideoMic.

Ty Ford

I'm curious. I primarily do narrative short films, and sometimes I require a boompole and extension. How far can you get the Rode Videomic away from the camera before the hiss becomes too bad? I'm assuming that since it's unbalanced that it'll be tricky, but sometimes my shots are too far for a mike stationed on the camera to pick up. I've heard mp3s of the Rode videomic (and is it indeed nice), but I haven't heard any where it's on a boompole.

10' Max on the 1/8" miniplug extension cable made by RODE - don't try to use a Radio Shack 1/8" miniplug extension cable, that's what I tried initially and it doesn't work anywhere near as good as the RODE VC1.

With the RODE VXLR adapter you can go a great distance. But then you'll need a BeachTek if your camera doesn't have XLR. I tried a 20' XLR extension cable along with the RODE VXLR into a mixer and it came out perfectly clean.

Stick with the 2 meter cord Rode sells. You'll be fine.

As to placement, as with any shotgun, you want to be as close as possible, just out of the frame and ideally not more than 2-3 feet from the source. That's for soundstage or outside work. No shotgun deos particularly well indoors.

PS my mp4 of the VideoMic is on my site in the online archives in the video folder.

Regards,

Ty Ford

Ty, I looked for the review of the 2020 (that someone
said was on your site) but I couldn't find it.

Main Page>On Line Archives>Video Folder....oh, I forgot! I also have a brief clip of the Schoeps CMIT.

You need a player that can play an MP4 video.

Ty Ford

I was looking under Mic Reviews for the 2020.

When I got the XL2 camera, I thought, Hmmmm, see the mic, hear the mic, cool!

Ty

Before I bought my Videomic from B&H I e-mailed RODE folks and asked if a 25 foot extension was reasonable to use because this was needed for my current project as I will not get a Beachtek yet. They said it should work fine. Well, I can report that the 25 foot cord for the Videomic works perfectly and the sound is perfect and in my situation there has been no interference of any kind. I detect no difference in quality whether the mic is on my GS400 or at the end of a 25 foot miniplug cord. Therefor, why limit yourself to a 10 foot cord?

Dude,

Get one as long as you want.

Ty Ford

Raimo,
Although you may not be able to hear the difference, and indeed, the cable *may* for some reason be of high enough quality to prevent audible interference, high impedence cables can't go beyond about 3.5-4 meters without experiencing loss due to interference.
This is why Rode' themselves don't sell a cable longer than 3m in length.
Remember always that just because you're not hearing interference or other audio issues doesn't mean others can't. It could well be your monitoring system also isn't permitting you to hear it.

What causes the "interference"? AC electricity?
Radio waves? Cell phones?