Rode microphone roundup: The best upgrade to your smartphone videos is audio
Smartphones are incredibly common tools for creating videos to share on YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, and other video platforms; so it makes sense that we’re constantly comparing their cameras. However, we hardly ever judge microphone quality with the same ferocity, even though poor audio can drive away viewers faster than mediocre video. While it’s basically impossible to replace the camera on your phone, I’m checking out three mics that can be hooked right to a phone to get better audio quality for mobile filmmaking, podcasting, vlogging, or anything else that needs to sound great.
Note: Each of the microphones in this review can be used in a variety of ways, ranging from recording dialog for a movie to capturing foley (a.k.a. sound effects); but to keep this succinct, we’re focusing primarily on using mics for activities like vlogging, livestreaming, and podcasting.
VideoMic Me-C
The VideoMic Me is a rarity in that it was designed exclusively for smartphones. It’s tiny at just under 3 inches in length, making it convenient to carry in a pocket when it’s not in use. It plugs directly into a phone with a rigid connector sticking straight out from the body, so you don’t have to take any extra steps to mount it.
SPECIFICATIONS
The body is black aluminum with silver mesh covering the gaps. A hard black plastic cap is on the rear side with two small feet flanking the smartphone connector. These feet are supposed to protect the plug from being bent or broken, but they also tend to get in the way of smartphone cases, so you’ll probably have to use your phone naked with this mic. There’s also a 3.5mm headphone port located at the rear if you want to plug in headphones to monitor audio.
The VideoMic Me is similar in size and weight to wireless earbuds with a case. Since it’s so small, it’s a great option if you’re feeling uncomfortable with the idea of people around you noticing that you have a mic attached to your phone.
While this microphone is really tiny, it’s pretty capable compared to built-in smartphone mics. The supercardioid pickup pattern accepts audio coming from the front while reducing a fair amount of sound from the sides. It does a pretty good job of keeping a focus on your voice, but it can struggle in really loud environments. Wind can also give it some trouble, but you can also pick up a furry windshield (WS9) if you expect to record outside often.
The VideoMic Me-C can be purchased by itself for $69, but RODE also created a vlogger kit for $149 that includes the furry windshield, a tripod, phone grip, and a very bright LED cube with a diffuser attachment and colored filters.
RODE VideoMic Me-C
SHOP AT ADORAMASHOP AT B&H PHOTO
VideoMic Go II
The VideoMic Go II is a step up from the VideoMic Me in terms of quality and versatility. However, it’s larger and requires a place to mount it. This might be the way to go if you want to buy a single mic to use with both a smartphone and a dedicated camera.
Like the VideoMic Me, the Go II is a shotgun mic with a supercardioid pickup pattern that focuses on sound in front while cutting out surrounding noises. The design of the interference tube (the front of the mic) is substantially more directional, making the Go II better at isolating a single source of sound in both noisy environments and quieter spaces.
The Go II has two ports for audio output. There’s a standard 3.5mm audio port (TRS) on the side for use with audio recorders and dedicated cameras, and the opposite side offers a USB-C port for connecting to a smartphone or computer. The Go II can operate as a standard USB microphone for things like podcasting, video calls, and livestreams.
All of this flexibility and higher sound quality come at a cost to convenience. For starters, the Go II is about twice as long as the VideoMic Me-C. But more importantly, instead of mounting directly to a port on your smartphone, the Go II ships with a shock mount that attaches to either a camera shoe mount or a ⅜-inch screw. This isn’t a problem if you’re stationary while recording, but you’ll have to make some adjustments if you need to move around. The easiest solution is to use a phone grip with its own built-in shoe mount, but if you have a selfie stick or gimbal with any ¼-inch mounting points, it’s easy to add a shoe witha few cheap parts.
Like the VideoMic Me, the Go II is powered entirely by the device it’s connected to, so you don’t need to charge it separately. It also has no buttons or dials, which isn’t unheard of, but it’s fairly uncommon for a shotgun mic of this size. Settings can still be adjusted with the RODE Central apps on either a smartphone or computer. In practice, this generally doesn’t matter too much, but it means you have to take extra steps if you want to make adjustments to the gain or turn on features like a high pass filter.
The Go II retails for $99 and comes with the Rycote shock mount, foam windshield, and 3.5mm TRS-to-TRS magnetically-shielded 12-inch (300mm) cable. You may also want a short USB-C cable if it will be connected to a smartphone.
RODE VideoMic Go II
Lavalier II + AI-Micro
Directional shotgun mics like the VideoMic Me and Go II are the go-to for vlogging rigs, but they’re not always the best solution if your style doesn’t involve holding a camera out at arm’s length. If you need to move around a lot, the best solution is a lavalier microphone (or “lav mic” for short) — these are the tiny mics you’ll often see clipped to somebody’s shirt during interviews.
RODE recently released the Lavalier II with a somewhat unusual design. Unlike most lav mics that place the capsule facing up toward the wearer’s mouth, the Lav II is oriented to face forward. This design change combined with a low-profile clip and flat cable makes the mic easier to hide within the folds of clothing, or at least keeps it sitting mostly flush so it stays out of the way.
SPECIFICATIONS (Lavalier II)
Like many lav mics, this has an omnidirectional pickup pattern that captures sound evenly from a wide arc, but usually only sounds in close proximity. Environments with a lot of noise or echo can cause some problems, but the Lav II seems to handle those pretty well too.
The Lavalier II retails for $99 and comes in a small zippered soft case. In addition to the mic, it includes a mic clip, foam pop filter, furry windscreen, 4 colored plastic ID rings for marking cables, and a locking screw for use with some wireless systems.
The Lavalier II can only connect through its TRS jack, but that’s where the AI-Micro comes into play. This is a small and simple device that connects up to two microphones to your smartphone or computer. And like the VideoMic Go II, the AI Micro works as a USB mic, making any microphone with a 3.5mm jack into a potential podcasting mic on a computer.
SPECIFICATIONS (AI-Micro)
The AI-Micro has two TRS input ports for microphones, a headphone jack for live monitoring, and a USB-C port for a cable to connect to a computer or smartphone. There are no buttons or dials, and no internal battery to charge; everything simply works off of the power from the USB connection. Build quality also feels great and it’s sturdy enough to take some abuse.
For recording, I clipped the Lavalier II onto my collar and ran the cable down to the AI-Micro, which was connected to an extra phone, and both went into my back pocket. The setup is so small and lightweight that I could almost forget they were there.
RODE Lavalier II
SHOP AT ADORAMASHOP AT B&H PHOTORODE AI-Micro
Which should you buy?
All three of these microphones are suited to somewhat different use cases. The VideoMic Me-C is so small and easy to use that it’s a perfect fit for an ultra-portable vlogging rig made up of just a smartphone, the mic, and a selfie stick (ormaybea really strong gimbal). It’s also subtle enough that nearby people won’t immediately identify you as a vlogger — hey, this matters if you’re not comfortable recording in a crowd. At $79 (or $149 for the vlogger kit), it’s also the least costly for beginners.
The VideoMic Go II generally has the best sound quality, but it’s larger and less convenient to mount alongside a smartphone, which might make it better suited for livestreaming, podcasting, and stationary vlogging — but make no mistake, there are plenty ofhigh-profile vloggerswalking around with similar (and usually larger) micson top of full-size camerasfor their audio, so it’s all about what matters to you. The $99 price tag is a bit higher than that of the Me-C by itself, but the higher quality and potential to use it with virtually any device can make this a worthwhile investment.
And finally, the Lavalier II (combined with the AI-Micro or another suitable adapter) is a great option if you don’t want to be tied to your smartphone or camera, and it’s very easy to hide if that matters to you. However, you’ll probably need a secondary smartphone to record sound, and that will likely also require syncing your audio in post, and that can really eat up a lot of time. It may also be more costly at $99 for the Lav II and $79 more if you also need the AI-Micro.
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