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?

And while that's true concerning high impedance mics, let's be sure to note that the Rode Video Mic is a low impedance mic.

http://www.rodemic.com/?pagename=Pro...specifications

It's very easy to lose traction in mic specs. Just because a mic (or any other piece of audio gear) only has two conductors does not preclude it from beng a low impedance device. The issues of impedance and whether a circuit is balanced or unbalanced are totally separate.

Impedance is an electrical characteristic of a piece of circuitry. Balanced versus unbalanced is simply a means of connection.

High impedance devices can't push a signal as far a low impedance devices without deterioration of the signal.

I don't think I've encountered a balanced high impedance curicuit except maybe a phono cartirdge.

The benefits of a balanced connection are that it is has two legs rather than one and therefore twice the signal and that, if constructed properly, the two legs are twisted around each other which allows for common mode rejection to cancel out various types of interference that make their way through the shield and induct themselves onto the signal carrying wires.

Regards,

Ty Ford

I would query those that use the XL-1/s, or 2. Have you used this mike with various adapters, such as found on MA series? Or, are you just pluging in to the 1/8th on the back of the cam?

All of the above, and without the benefit of an out of phase signal per channel to eliminate the unwanted interference noise, the longer the unbalanced cable, the worse the effect of interference.
With high grade cables, one can often get away with 20' or so of unbalanced cable.
you might find this excerpt from the Digital Audio book to be of help...
http://www.vasst.com/resource.aspx?i...f-2eee8e74d474

re; impedence, true enough Ty, I keep forgetting that the Rode is a loZ mic. Habit, I guess. Thx for the catch.

re; impedence, true enough Ty, I keep forgetting that the Rode is a loZ mic. Habit, I guess. Thx for the catch.[/QUOTE]

Who knows when to expect MY next brain fart???
Hopefully you'll be as kind.

Regards,

Ty

Rode Videomic Handling Noise
 

Hey Guys,

I also just bought the Rode Videomic and absolutely love the quality of the sound and overall sensitivity of the mic.

However, I'm finding it so sensitive that mounting it on the hotshoe of my Canon Optura Xi seems to be giving me some nasty handling noise. I did a couple of tests and I made sure to not have my hands anywhere near the controls, and made sure the cables were locked down and couldn't knock against the mic, but I'm still getting this slight knocking sound with it.

Anyone else having the same problems? Any potential solves? Appreciate your help.

Jason

What's causing the knocking?

1. Stop THAT! :)

2. get a boom. The base plate of the VideoMic has a threaded hole that accepts standard boom pole bolts.

Ty Ford

PS: This is a sign you're making progress. Camera mounted mics are no longer good enough for you. That's to be expected. Raise you game.

Ty,

Thanks for the info :)

Certainly plan on using a boom pole where I can make it work, but need to do a lot of one-man, run-and-gun type stuff. So I'm assuming that this is impossible to get around.

How about putting it in an AT8415 shock mount?
I think the Videomic has a built-in shock mount
but maybe it's not very good.

If you are actually RUNNING while shooting, most bets are off on camera mounted mics. Again, what specifically is the source of the noise?

Ty Ford

The mic is built around its shockmount. It won't fit traditional shockmounts. It's sort of an all inclusive unit.

The newer (blue box) versions of the RODE Videomic ship with an extra set of suspension elastics. Try doubling them up.

Thanks for the tips guys. I'll run some more tests.

The issue is I don't know what's causing the noise. It's not the cable, it's not my hands. It's almost like it's the shockmount bands creaking when the mic jostles back and forth (which also means that a boom pole may not help). But I'll try a couple more things and see if I can't get rid of it.

Thanks again.

Jason

I'm assuming you've got the cable tied to something? Could you have an open ground in the cable, causing it to be microphonic?

I think I got it taken care of.

Actually there are several hooks on the shockmount to help corral the cable so it's not flopping around. I had it hooked up, but I think my issue was a combo of the cable and the "newness" of the shockmount bands. I stretched them out a little bit and switched up how I had the cable harnessed and that seemed to take care of it.

Can't wait to use it again. It really is a great mic. Thanks again.

Hey guys, great discussion. I too have a Rode VideoMic, and I'm wanting to use it for a boompole. I attached a 20 foot 1/8" cable to it and then to my camera. I got a horrible hissing sound and a lot of interfierence. I know 20' is too long to go for that kind of cable. But would it help if I went from the mini to an XLR cable? I have a small mini to XLR cable that I could plug into another, longer, XLR cable then into my Beachtek. Any suggestions? I would rather use a mini sometimes (since I would be going directly into my camera.)
Thanks!

Welcome to the Wall Of Science!

Rode makes a mini to XLR adapter that works with the VideoMic. I can't guarantee that the one you may have will work. Theirs will. (In earlier models, the was a problem pluggin into an XLR input with Phantom Power turned on.

They straightened that out very quickly, but ONLY had the problem IF the Phantom Supply was on.

Ty Ford

Well, I have the DXA-6 and it only has power on one channel, and that can even be switched off. My small 3 foot cable that is a mini to XLR works with my Beachtek, so I figure if I just attached a longer cable cable to it and ran it up a pole, then it shouldn't have a problem.
Thanks for the reply.

Is there any advantage at all in hooking up an unbalanced mic via a passive XLR adapter at the mic end? My understanding is that the voltage difference between the two (opposite polarity) balanced lines is where your signal comes from. If the mic is not an XLR mic, I'd assume that the necessary electronics are not there to provide balanced inputs. If the advantage is in the twisted pair configuration of xlr cables, one wonders if a lenth of CAT5 network cable wouldn't work just as well for unbalanced extensions? On my jib, I have a 12 foot CAT5 carrying video and audio back to the monitor. This works well.

I have tested the RODE Videomic via the RODE accessory called the "VXLR", a mini to XLR adapter and ran 20' XLR cables no problem.

I have also tried a 10' Radio Snak 1/8" extension cable and had interference. RODE makes a 10' 1/8" to 1/8" extension cable that sounds perfect - oh wait, that is unless you have a cell phone. I have heard cell phones causing interference on a few different mics. Test your cell phone by turning it off and then on with a pair of cans (headphones) while recording. Play it back and see if there is any audible interference.

[QUOTE=Dennis Wood]Is there any advantage at all in hooking up an unbalanced mic via a passive XLR adapter at the mic end?

**Yes and the sooner (shorter) the better as long as you are plugging it into a balanced input.


My understanding is that the voltage difference between the two (opposite polarity) balanced lines is where your signal comes from.

**Pretty Much

If the mic is not an XLR mic, I'd assume that the necessary electronics are not there to provide balanced inputs.

**Well yes, but you can balance an unbalanced source with a transformer. That's what direct boxes do.

If the advantage is in the twisted pair configuration of xlr cables, one wonders if a lenth of CAT5 network cable wouldn't work just as well for unbalanced extensions? On my jib, I have a 12 foot CAT5 carrying video and audio back to the monitor. This works well.

**Twisting is part of the benefit because it is part of the phenomenon known as common mode rejection. Increased level due to having two wires carry the signal instead of just one also helps and the shield around those two wires also helps.


Regards,

Ty Ford

How much better is this then the FX1 standard built in one?

It's a little better, but the mike in the FX 1 is pretty good for an on-camera mic. The Rode is mono, shock mounted, and will provide a slightly better pickup of close sources than the on-camera mic. The bigger advantage to any off-camera mic is just that; it's off-camera, meaning it can be closer to the source.

Here is my question... I come from a lighting background (mostly) usually with concert lighting/theatrical lighting and such, but wouldnt it be a good idea to run the mic into a DI box or something to up the voltage to a higher *Gain* (if thats the right word that i am looking for ... not sure.. ) so that when the signal transmits through the cable you will still pick up interference, but then the mixer, or whatever wont have to up the volume AFTER the interference has been added?

I learned while working with I&MT (the video UWM guys) department that wireless microphones are at a RF frequency and when it comes into the receiver that is is at LINE level, and many times when you come out of the receiver you are bringing back down to MIC level only to bring it back up again in the mixer. Luckily all of our receivers have a switch on the back which allows us to select line, and it really helps eliminate hiss or anything associated with unwanted noise.

SO is this a feasable solution, or is my brain (which is intended for lighting) just looking at this all wrong?

Thanks,
Max

[QUOTE=Max Liptack]...wouldnt it be a good idea to run the mic into a DI box or something to up the voltage to a higher *Gain* ...
******************
A typical DI is a passive device and does not provide any gain, on the contrary at best it is a "unity gain" device and frequently decreases gain (or voltage - not exactly the same thing).

If you look inside a passive DI you'll find only a transformer, used to modify a high-impedance unbalanced source to a low-impedance balanced output.

There are two benefits:
1) Low-impedance signals can be sent over hundreds of feed of high-quality cable without appreciable degradation.
2) Balanced circuitry is MUCH more resistant to radio-frequency interference and 60-cycle hum from power sources.

At least that's true for a good-quality passive DI. There are also active DIs which are essentially a preamp and transformer, some of which provide gain, they are usually powered by phantom, some by batteries. But it's still a preamp, whether the preamp is in an active DI, a separate device, a mixer, or in the camcorder.

Use the best quality preamp you can manage, usually this will be in the mixer for field work.

Although there are some incredible stand-alone preamps they are used more often in the audio studio or music recording than in typical field video.

***********
[QUOTE=Max Liptack] ...I learned... that wireless microphones are at a RF frequency and when it comes into the receiver that is is at LINE level, and many times when you come out of the receiver you are bringing back down to MIC level only to bring it back up again in the mixer. Luckily all of our receivers have a switch on the back which allows us to select line, and it really helps eliminate hiss or anything associated with unwanted noise.
***********
There is no hard and fast rule here - what sounds good IS good. If your wireless receivers sound better at line level out then by all means use it. But the next receiver you use might sound better at mic level - go figure. Best to test each piece of new gear you use to establish how it sounds best. There there are many, many options in setting up the right gain structure.

Re: Bought a RODE videomic!
 

hmmm.. interesting thread! All these years later im reading it?!!! If any of you guys still around.. im using xm2... i think the onboard mic is fantastic.. BUT.. the usual camera noise problem!
Now on reading this thread im now a little confused! Will the Rode mic here be the boy or am i gonna find the sound range limited.. to a meter or 2 in front? ! Im gonna be doing weddings.. the ones i have done so far the audio has been great in terms of clarity.. and level.. it picks up everything.. shame about screaming kiddies etc..and the camera noise which is only really audible during quiet parts of the service.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/RODE-Videomic-...item5d2dc96a72

or am i best suited to something like this? money is tight!

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Audio-Technica...item519526b17c