External, unidirectional microphone for Lumia 950?

[Jesper Stocholm]

External, unidirectional microphone for Lumia 950

I would like to improve audio when shooting video outside (wind, noice cancelling etc), so I am thinking about getting an external microphone.

So I was looking at the Cyelee Lavalier Microphone Clip-on lapel Unidirectional Condenser Mic

(I am aware that it is currently out of stock on Amazon)

I like that it is unidirectional, but since I am not going to be recording my own voice, the clip-on-to-shirt feature is rather useless to me, and I would have to hold my phone in one hand while holding the mic in the other - pointing at who I am recording.

What are your experiences? Can I get an external microphone that I maybe can clip onto the phone itself - the mic being unidirectional, pointing in the direction of what I am shooting?

 

[fkpaul]

Re: External, unidirectional microphone for Lumia 950

Try the RODE VideoMic Me. It's a boom style mic that clips directly into the headphone socket. Being RODE it is made in Australia and is a quality build. I use one with my iPhone (due to better options for videography and audio recording apps) and how the iPhone processes sound capture, but it works with the Lumia 550. It comes with a furry cover if you intend to record outdoors to reduce/ eliminate wind noise. Carefully consider the software using the mic, I found one or two WP apps that let you record up to 96khz, but haven't found one that lets you also manually adjust gain. Lastly, if your intention is to record video and sound at the same time, be aware of your headphone socket relative to your phone's camera. You may need to use a short extension lead to reposition the mic outside the camera's field of view. Just my 2c, good luck.

 

[Jesper Stocholm]

Re: External, unidirectional microphone for Lumia 950

Hey fkpaul,

Thank you - this was exactly what I was looking for. And it's quite affordable to - great :smile:

... but I couldn't help but laugh a bit when I saw their promotional video on their site at rode dot com . From a distance it will look as if I have a furry hamster pinned to my phone .

 

[fkpaul]

Re: External, unidirectional microphone for Lumia 950

No worries, you are welcome. Yeah, the furry is funny looking when attached, but I can confirm it works well. I've also tried other mics but have found RODE are the best so far, and this particular mic is surprisingly affordable. Good luck.

 

[Jesper Stocholm]

Re: External, unidirectional microphone for Lumia 950

Hey, I was looking at my phone the other day after watching the video from RODE, and I suddenly realized that the camera on the 950 is located rather close to the jack stick. So I would imagine that using without the furry hamster will work fine - it appears not to be outside of the range of the camera when shooting video, but I am almost positive that when using the furry thing, it will block a portion of the screen.

I notice that the camera on the 530 is located a bit lower on the back than on the 950, and I assume that is why it works with that phone.

Have you tried it on the 530 with the wind-reduction furry thing on?

 

[fkpaul]

Re: External, unidirectional microphone for Lumia 950

Sorry didnt read your message until now. I'm using the L550, and yes if I try to record video and audio with the mic attached direct to the headphone jack (with and without the dead kitten) it will appear in the field of vision. In fact the dead kitten pretty much obscures the entire camera. Because the 550 isn't my main device to shoot video (my iphone 6 plus is) I normally would only use it with my 550 if I was intending to record audio only - and for that it does a good job.

If you really want to shoot video while using this mic without it getting in your field of vision then I would suggest using some kind of short extension cable and holding it 'off camera'. It's not as elegant a solution because it makes it a proper 2-handed operation - but it isn't too awkward and certainly doable.

 

[Alsatian1]

Re: External, unidirectional microphone for Lumia 950

Hi, I have just got a clip on Speedlink mic with. 3.5mm jack and the phone will not use it, it continues to use it's on board mic. Any ideas? Lumia 950XL