Rode SmartLav

[Peter Rush]

Anyone tried this? - I know it's designed to work with smartphones but will it work with Zoom H1/H2 etc?

Rode Smartlav Omnidirectional Lavalier Microphone For Apple iPhone, iPad & iP... | eBay

Pete

[Dave Partington]

It's not a standard connector....

[Taky Cheung]

It only works on smartphones. IPhones, iPod, and some android phones.

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[Mike Beckett]

Got one of these for interviews. I always have my iPhone on me, and the SmartLav is tiny, so I can always have really good quality interview audio without carrying tonnes of kit. It's saved my bacon a few times, even had it taped to the mic on a lectern once and got great sound.

Genius invention.

It is a TRRS connector, designed specifically for smart phones though. And maybe you don't want to leave your iPhone at the other side of the church! Be sure to set the phone to Flight Mode too, you don't want it ringing in the middle of a recording!

[Tim Lewis]

All right, time to chip in here. I have been looking at these for some time now, not very expensive, but my budget is very tight. There are cheapie versions on eBay for about $15. They are designed to connect with smartphones too.

1. The cheap versions are built as a small lav style omni (I presume) mic with a TRRS connection directly below. They are sold with a roughly 1.2m cable. This means there is an extra and unnecessary connection in the device which is a risk for coming unplugged.

2. The Røde SmartLav is indeed smarter and does not have this extra risky connection. Rode has a special recording app that goes with this device and can also be used with any other mic on the iDevice. I would also presume that there is a better quality mic on it compared to the cheapie eBay option.

3. With the purchase of a TRRs to 3.5mm stereo adapter you can get any mic to attach to an iDevice. I got one here:

iPhone 1/8 inch microphone and headphone adapter - 3.5mm 4 conductor TRRS Male to 3.5mm TRS Jacks

Today I used this, at a wedding I was videoing, to capture the action at the front of the ceremony as I was halfway back with the camera. I connected it to my Røde VideoMic which I had sitting on a baby Gorillapod. I left it just in front of the stage and got great audio from it.

Here is the kicker...

I had some velcro under the bottom of the Røde shock mount and connected the recorder there where it was almost invisible. So it just looked like a mic on a baby tripod. How does an iPhone disappear? It was never there!

If you have a 6th generation (5th as well) iPod, the Voice Memo app pops up as soon as you plug in a TRRS mic. It makes a very effect and much less risky proposition for an independent audio recorder than an iPhone. It will also be less obtrusive when used with a Lav mic AND it has a built in clip! Comes with the bonus feature of NO RINGING!

The 1 hour + recording comes out as m4a and was just over 100MB.

The units can be found secondhand around $100, and mine was a device I already own and have now repurposed.

Cost:
Røde VideoMic $0 already owned
TRRS Adapter $0 already owned
6th gen iPod $0 already owned

[Mike Beckett]

Good improv. Tim. Good luck clipping that lot to someone's shirt though :)

Rode do recommend turning the phone to flight mode before you start recording. The benefit for me is the iPhone is something I always have on me, and the SmartLav comes in a tiny pouch that I always have with me when I'm filming, it can live in a pocket until needed for an impromptu interview.

[Tim Lewis]

Well Mike, the set up I have described is NOT for the Lav connection. :) It allowed me to place a microphone, unattended and unconnected to anywhere else, close to the action at the front of the church on Saturday. My iPod is a dedicated piece of my video kit now.

For this wedding I shot, I have:

1. On Camera sound
2. Rode & iPod sound from the front of the church
3. USB .wav format recording straight off the sound desk.

I will need all three. On Camera will get a bit of use in pre-ceremony background sound. Main sound for the edit will be the USB recording. I WILL need the Rode & iPod sound for one or two of the readings as the desk was not pushing those out to the recorder. Better safe than sorry!

BTW, this wedding was at the church I attend and the sound is run from a Behringer X32 desk. What a fantastic piece of kit. The sound was really well mixed and I will be able to use the band's performance on one of the hymns for the short edit.