So let’s first talk about what’s included in the box. Along with the mic we get a new detachable sealed windshield with a newly optimized shape to better prevent wind noise. After that there is a new lithium Ion rechargeable battery that will last an estimated 100 hours. To charge up the lithium battery is an included micro usb cable. Also included is a new removable 12 inch TRS audio cable and last but not least is the quick start guide.
As far as physical aspects go, this mic is pretty small and lightweight, it’s less than 7 inches long and weighs a little over 4 oz. It has a newly improved Rycote Lyre suspension system to avoid handling noise. Below that we have the camera shoe mount and 3/8th thread to attach it to a boom pole. Also improved is the built-in battery door and an ambient light sensor to adjust the LED brightness which saves battery power.
Ok so now let’s talk about some of the awesome new features of this mic. So I already mentioned that it includes a rechargeable battery, but it also will work with 2 AA batteries as well. And if you’re completely out of batteries, you can even plug in an external backup battery through the USB and run off of that. And speaking of powering this mic up, how many times have you attached an external mic to your camera, recorded a great video, and then realized that you forgot to turn on the mic at the beginning? This has happened to me a few times, especially when running a multi cam setup by myself. Or maybe you forget to turn the mic off after filming and drained the battery. Well Rode has solved this issue with a new Auto Power feature. As long as the camera or portable recorder you’re using has plug-in power, it’ll automatically turn on and off the mic. And just to be clear, this mic will not run off plug-in phantom power from your camera, it will still need either battery power or power from the USB port to work. If you don’t like this feature you can turn it off as well.
Ok now let’s chat about the improved new onboard controls for level and equalization. So on the right we have the Output Gain control button to toggle between gain settings. The -10 dB setting is good for preventing distortion when recording loud sources like live music. The +20 dB setting is designed for use with preamps like on DSLR cameras. Or you can leave the gain flat if you plan on using a high-quality external preamp.
On the left we have a dedicated High Pass Filter button that allows you to switch EQ settings. So if you want to reduce any low frequency noise caused by things like rumble from traffic or air conditioning, the 75 Hz setting would be ideal for that, or if you’re trying to record an interview in an area with a lot of background noise like at a convention, the 150 Hz would be the way to go or you can disable it altogether.
If you press both buttons together, you’ll enable the High Frequency Boost which is perfect if you’re using a deadcat windshield or other wind protection or if you just want to brighten up the top end of the sound. Then there’s my favorite new setting which is the Safety Channel. So when you press the power button and the output gain control button at the same time, this enables this feature. So what it’s doing is lowering the output of the of the right channel of the dual-mono signal by 10db so you can have two channels to pick from in case you have any loud spikes in audio which would cause clipping in your recording.
So those are the main features that make the new VideoMic Pro Plus really stand out from it’s predecessor and makes it a mic that you really should consider for your run and gun setup.
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