VideoMic Pro

So, the product mount felt a bit fragile when I first examined it, but keeping in mind that I'm not going to bash the mic setup (and my camera!) against walls, I soon realized it was fine.I had read people complaining about putting the battery in, so I carefully read the instructions and was able to remove/return the battery door on an EMPTY CHAMBER pretty easily. When I tried it with a 7-volt battery inserted, it became amazingly difficult.After some thought and examination, I pulled off the RODE foam cover for the mic, exposing the battery mount area fully. Once I did that, putting the battery in and closing the door was easy. Kind of unfortunate that this is the easiest way to deal with it, but hardly the worst thing in the world.Had to dial back the gain on my Nikon D850 to about 8 in order to eliminate the hiss (left the attenuation setting turned on), and then boosted the RODE by using that +20 switch. Sound was excellent, clearly audible from 10-15 feet away in a room with a ceiling fan running along with central air blowing - even better, the fan and air sounds really didn't register on the video. Sound sources from the side and behind were muted well in my tests.Good mic, excellent for the price. No, you're not going to pick up a conversation from 50 feet away - get a wireless system if that's your goal. But if you're videoing within 20-30 feet, this thing works fine.

This is a solid product. I love having the ability to adjust the gain on the mic. I use it on my Osmo pocket and it really enhances the audio, eliminates a lot of background noise and adds dimension to the recording of voices and natural sound. Light, easy to pack, it is a real asset in my work. The 9-volt battery can be a pain. be sure to pack a spare in your pocket and watch the light for battery failure. The only downside I have found.

It's a great microphone for my Canon 1DX Mark II; I was videoing an event last night and the shotgun feature of it allowed me to get great audio, without having to worry about camera noise making it into the shot. I like that it uses a 9 volt battery that lasts for 70 hours; I've used other microphones that use a AAA battery that only last for a few hours. I love that I can put on a high pass filter, or boost audio levels by 20 DB, or reduce them by 10 DB. The shock mount is solid, and isolates the sound from the camera. The audio quality is so, so much better than a built in microphone. It's also great that it outputs as dual mono to both the left and right channels - a shotgun microphone with stereo isn't such a great fit when you're sitting far away.

Do not buy! It's not worth the price, I previously had a rode mic for $60 and noticed no change in sound compared to this $229 mic. I found my old mic to be better sound quality than this one. The battery was not included, and did not last long. I have a few different mics and this is by far the most unworthy. The sound does not reach far. Definitely will not buy again.

I bought and returned this microphone (Rode VideoMic Pro R) and I intended to use it with my Canon 80D. I also own the Rode VideoMicro and kept that one instead.Pros:- Self powered condenser microphone with boost switch allowed me to turn down the volume on my camera so that there was less noise introduced from my camera's pre-amps.- Tighter pickup pattern compared to the Rode VideoMicro which means less ambient noise bleed- Great shock mount to remove unwanted noise from handling the cameraCons:- For me, the microphone was a touch too big. The new version with the Rycote Lyre mount is slightly longer and wider than the old version.- While there is an included windscreen, it is very ineffective and doesn't do the job that the VideoMicro's dead cat does. If you plan on using this outside, you will need to purchase the dead cat for this separately and that will also add size to it.- While the signal was hotter and cleaner, I found that even with the low-cut filter on, the sound was a tad too muddy for my taste. If you are going to record music or something that requires good bass response, then this mic is for you. If like me, you plan on only recording vocals, I found that the VideoMicro had more shimmer and brightness to it that lent well to adding clarity to vocals.- While having battery power means a hotter signal, it also means that you need to carry an extra one in case it dies.Conclusion:This is a great mic and definitely captures a richer, and more detailed range of sounds than the VideoMicro, but I found the audio to be a touch muddy for vocals. For the added cost, and size, I felt that using the VideoMicro was plenty good enough for the work that I had planned. This mic is great, I just hope that this review will help you to decide if this mic is the right mic for you.

Really picks up the sound. I'm not sure how helpful this is going to be for recording my band. It blew up the waveform and produced unusable music. I'm going to try it using the-10db setting and the hi pass filter.

This is a great microphone. Firstly, the audio is simply great. It sounds clean, and the +20 dB and -10 dB are great additions. It plugs right into the camera, so there is no need for an external interface. The new Rycote suspension is great, and keeps all shaking noise out of the mic. Overall, this thing is built excellently. The only downside for me is that it uses 9V batteries. I think if it used AA batteries or AAA batteries, it would be better, but it's fine. Also, the battery door is not the most well designed thing in the world.Overall, this is a great mic if you want to simply plug it in and go, without compromising audio quality.