RODE Videomic for Canon HV30
A great microphone for an excellent camera
So recently I invested in a Canon HV30, which is basically a prosumer camera disguised as a consumer cam. I will soon write a detailed review about the camera, illustrating the pros, cons and endless modding abilities. However, this post is to boast about the new microphone that just came in the mail.
rode-videomic-mono
These mics usually retail for about $150, however I scored a pretty good bargain off ebay and purchased it for approximately $90 with shipping. A lot of people have asked me why I decided to get the MONO version of this microphone instead of the stereo version. Well the answer is not becaue the stereo one was $50 more expensive, but because I DON’T NEED IT. Stereo mics tend to pick up a lot of background noise and sound from multiple directions.
I’m mainly going to be filming documentaries and skateboarding and for this I need the mic to pick up the best possible sound from one direction. I don’t need a lot of background noise in my videos. The mic mounts effortlessly onto the HV series cameras, using the hot shoe mount. Unfortunately, canon decided to attach a tether to the hot shoe on the HV30, which gets in the way of the mounting of the videomic. Fortunately, there is a pretty simple procedure which allows you to remove it. The microphone runs off of a 9V (nine volt) battery and lasts for over 100 hours.
In conclusion, the RODE videomic is a superb mic for any type of film producer or camera man. As mentioned above I will write a detailed review of the HV30 within the next week or so.
Cheers
March 16th, 2009 at 11:43 am
A friend of mine got this mic for a doc he shot in India. I thought the sound quality was great! He also used a a Rode stereo mic for the job. Both mics performed admirably! Thanks for the review!!
Ss. Adams
February 4th, 2010 at 9:49 pm
Yeah, and whats that “quick procedure that allows you to remove it” ?!?