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A podcast by the PodcastVideos.com team focused on gear reviews, studio equipment setups, and lessons and experiences from building an audio and video content creator business.
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Tiny Mics, Mighty Sound: The Lapel Solution
Brooke and Dan dive into the game-changing potential of wireless lapel microphones for content creators on the move. These pocket-sized powerhouses are revolutionizing how we capture sound in unpredictable environments, offering freedom that traditional studio equipment simply can't match.
We unbox and demonstrate the Movo wireless microphone systems – remarkably affordable at just $50 compared to studio mics costing ten times as much.
What makes these diminutive devices so impressive isn't just their size, but their performance capabilities. The built-in noise cancellation technology effectively isolates voices even in challenging acoustic environments (we've literally tested them in die casting factories!), while their plug-and-play functionality streamlines the entire recording process.
Perhaps most valuable for video creators is how these systems automatically sync audio directly to your video track, eliminating tedious post-production alignment.
Throughout our hands-on demonstration, we explore the various connector options available for different recording setups – from standard DSLR cameras to smartphones with USB-C or Lightning ports. We also candidly discuss the practical considerations of wireless systems, including their impressive eight-hour battery life and the occasional hazard of subjects walking away with microphones still attached after interviews!
Whether you're a social media content creator, documentary filmmaker, or podcast producer who records in the field, these wireless lapel microphones represent a perfect balance of professional audio quality, portability, and budget-friendly accessibility.
Ready to elevate your audio game without breaking the bank? This technology might be your next essential investment.
welcome back to autofocus everybody. I'm dan craft I'm brooke galligan and the latest from hotgazvideoscom is sitting in front of brooke got wireless mics no, those are just little nylon pouches no, they're wireless.
Speaker 2:They're so fun. So what's great about wireless mics is they're small, they're portable and they can go anywhere um, unlike these.
Speaker 2:I would say that pouch is smaller than this mic by half and by like a lot yeah more than half, because then you got all this extra stuff. But yeah, so these are um, these are really really great when you're like when you're out out in the field, you're um on the go, it's, it's great. When you're out in the field, you're on the go, it's like when you don't really you can't really control a lot of the situation, like you're not in a studio setting. Wireless lapel mics are definitely the way to go, and we'll go over why I love them so much Break them out.
Speaker 2:So this is fun. So we have two sets. So this is a set and these are Mobo mics. I found these online. So far, I really really like them. It's a brand I hadn't really heard of before, but they have really easy. They're really good with their mic kits. So I take their mic kits, I put them in our mobile kits, so these kits do really really good. I like their mics. It sounds really good. They've got noise cancellation. There's a lot of stuff and it's super, super easy to use. It's like plug and play.
Speaker 1:It looks like you're holding the transmitter there.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so right now, this is to plug into a camera or in a mixer or something. So like a regular camera, like a DSLR, right?
Speaker 1:So it's like Looks like a standard stereo jack.
Speaker 2:Yep stereo jack and it plugs right into the mic jack of like a DSLR. We have it in our switcher. It basically plugs into all of those, so it's super, super easy.
Speaker 1:Does it come with any adapters for other plugs? No, no, so it's super, super easy. Does it come with any adapters for?
Speaker 2:other plugs no, so I'll get into the one. They have different adapters for cell phones, which is this one, but that's for camera mixer things like that. That can take that kind of adapter and then you have the two little mics like we had before.
Speaker 1:This would go into your basic audio input. I think it was a headphone jack, but that would be an output and input.
Speaker 2:Yes, but usually they'll have the headphone jack and then the mic jack. On a DSLR, you plug that into the mic jack and then you just turn the button on.
Speaker 1:And it picks up wirelessly from these.
Speaker 2:So, yeah, you can't see the lights or else I'd do it but if you turn these on, it's funny. So now, since the transmitter's off, it blinks blue and red and that means it's not working. So you've got to turn the little transmitter on, and once you turn the transmitter on, it will read Will the transmitter turn on if it's not connected to anything.
Speaker 1:It will read will the transmitter turn on if it's not connected to anything? Oh, it will sure, we'll do that on the way around so yeah, there you go and this is just a little clip yep, it's a lapel mic, typical lapel mic.
Speaker 2:Oh, you want it pointed up though.
Speaker 1:This would be so much easier if I wasn't wearing a black shirt. I'd see it better.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so you want to point it up to where it's pointed to your mouth, because the whole point of a mic is to capture what's coming out of your mouth, not what's coming out over here, not what's coming out over here.
Speaker 2:Take the noise out of it Not what's coming out over here, yeah, and so this is why I really like wireless mics, especially like lapel mics. When in like a field, if you're in, if you're like at an event, because you can really it really helps focus the audio from your mouth, like going right into the mic. And this one has a really great noise cancellation feature that will basically like cancel out all of the extra noise and so you really really hear what you're saying, no matter how loud it is around you. And that's what I really really like about these mics, because, also, when you're using our like our, our very nice professional mics, um, these obviously sound better than these, um, overall. But, like you know, uh, if you get real comfortable and you can like lean back and you're like, oh, let me tell you a story about, and then this rounds really far, so like you have to.
Speaker 1:Our editor's actually going to try and equal that out, but it does make a big difference when she moves away like that.
Speaker 2:It does make a difference. So it makes it echoey, it changes how it sounds, but the lapel mic is moving with it. Well, like it's coming with me, the lapel mic comes with me as I go and I tell my story about my grandpa or something.
Speaker 1:So so audio in beams to the transmitter, transmitter's plugged into your mixer, your camera, your phone, whatever your recording device is.
Speaker 2:Yeah, as long as you're recording, it's recording in there and the audio is going directly to the video track which is another thing that I really really like, because you don't have to do that audio sync separately later.
Speaker 1:I was teasing you about the size of the pouches, but this is actually smaller than just the head on the XLR cable.
Speaker 2:Yep, you don't have to worry about XLR cables.
Speaker 1:None of it, it's super simple, just have to keep track of it yeah. I can see people wandering off with these still on.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so I do have some funny stories about stuff like that. So some of the cons is definitely, you know, yeah, the audio coming out of them is really really good for what it is. But it's definitely if you're in a studio setting you want to have like a studio mic.
Speaker 1:This will vary based on the environment you were trying to record in.
Speaker 2:Those are so much easier for like environment that you can't control, because you can control more. You can do the noise cancellation, you can do stuff like that it's it's really easy, it's really good to go um.
Speaker 1:But like a cocktail party. It's one thing in the middle of a assembly line with jackhammers going, it's quality is going to be different.
Speaker 2:Yeah sure sure, but yeah, but it's all I mean. That would. These are the same way, but you don't have to carry these around. As you're walking around, like you know, a die casting, which I've done before. We're trying to do interviews in a die casting area, so a die casting factory yeah, this is so fun I did.
Speaker 2:I've been aluminum and zinc. It was fun. So those were. It was really fun, fun stories but like uh, yeah, so um, the the wireless lapel mics worked a lot better, and uh, and like a die casting fact factory than if you brought these in there, um and for just ease of use and simplicity.
Speaker 1:The fact that it's automatically syncing the audio with the video file can be a big deal, depending on what your editing process is yeah, it makes the editing process a lot easier, um, also.
Speaker 2:But the another one of the cons, though, is uh is, these are easy to forget that you're wearing them. Some people get so comfortable wearing them. Um, then they will just leave, and then there goes your mic and then they have to come back. But another time is if you've been recording and, like someone has to run to the restroom or something, you have to make sure that you're not recording or you don't have your headphones on, because you will hear it. So these do these, these, these will go far ways away from from from the transmitter we're talking hundreds of feet right, Not miles.
Speaker 2:Yeah, hundreds of feet, probably not a football field, but I haven't really tested it.
Speaker 1:Any idea how long the battery's?
Speaker 2:lasted. It lasted up to eight hours, and so I've only had to charge them once when they came out, and I haven't had to charge them again.
Speaker 1:Given that it is so easy to walk away with them, we should probably talk price point, because somebody will eventually have to be like oh, I have no more mics left, they've all walked away, got to replace it now. What are we looking at for the set? $50. Not bad at all compared to $500. Right, okay, what's in the other pouch?
Speaker 2:Another fun one with these is it also fits in a cell phone.
Speaker 1:This is another Movo, and that is a USB.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so that fits into a USB. They also have a one that will fit into an iPhone, so you can. Basically you can really get a custom you know kit. You can get a custom wireless mic set from them, if you just go to Movocom.
Speaker 1:You just pick out the one that's based on your.
Speaker 2:On your cell phone, on your needs, and so they also have other mics and different things, um, but I was focused on these, the little wireless, cause they're just so easy and then they call it the influencer mic. So because it's just for people that are out trying to, you know, do TikTok stuff and things like that, so you can. It's just, they're just really easy and it sounds better than what's on your camera.
Speaker 1:Same model, Mike, we've been talking about already just different inputs for the transmitters, depending on what you're plugging in Yep, and they have multiple different versions. There's iPhone.
Speaker 2:Yep, there's iPhone camera or no, that one's a Samsung Pixel. Then you've got the cameras and then they have an iPhone version.
Speaker 1:Okay, cool and Movo.
Speaker 2:Movo yeah.
Speaker 1:All right, Same thing about $50. No matter what you pay Cheers.
Speaker 2:Yeah, they have higher-end mics, but I haven't really explored any of those. I got the wireless ones just for ease of use.
Speaker 1:Okay, good deal. Well, that is from the very, very big mics about the very, very small mics Very, very small mics. Yeah, yeah so now the only real question as we wrap up this episode of autofocus.
Speaker 2:I'm going to remember.
Speaker 1:We're going to remember to take off the mic.
Speaker 2:I'm going to remember to take it off and put it back. And our that is to that kid, because. And our interviewer that is to that kid, because they do. I'm not sure if they pair I don't know enough yet I haven't played with them enough to see like if they're if this pair to this one, or that's pretty, that one.
Speaker 1:Well then, we're going to make sure we get it all back in the right cases.
Speaker 2:I'm going to get it all back in the right cases and then we're going to play some more with it.
Speaker 1:And we'll be back with more info on how mics are. Hopefully not from the bathroom. No, hopefully not. Good deal, guys, this has been Autofocus. That's Brooke Galligan. I'm Dan Kraft from ProdigyHasVideoscom. We'll see you next time.