Best Microphones for Video ($0-$500)

[@TonyAndChelsea]

Links to recommended mics for KZbin & Vlogging: 🎤 Rode Videomic Pro on Amazon help.tc/VMPro 🎤Rode SmartLav+ on Amazon help.tc/SmartLav 🎤 Zoom H1 on Amazon help.tc/H1 🎤Rode SmartLav+ SC3 on Amazon help.tc/SC3 🎤Sennheiser EW100-G2 on Amazon help.tc/g2 🎤 Sennheiser EW100-G3 on Amazon help.tc/g3 🎤 Sennheiser ME-2 on Amazon help.tc/me2 🎤 Blue Yeti on Amazon help.tc/yeti 🎤 Rode Broadcaster on Amazon help.tc/rode 🎤 Shock mount on Amazon help.tc/shock 🎤Acoustic Foam on Amazon help.tc/foam 🎤 M40x headphones on Amazon help.tc/M40x 🎤 M50x headphones on Amazon help.tc/M50x

[@TechLeechastik]

Hey Tony&Chelsea, great video. I need a bit of help here. When i record with boom mic connected to my DSLR (Nikon D7200) it gives a hisssss sound. Any solution?

[@heehee456]

Tony & Chelsea Northrup where is the cat thing

[@askay2k]

Tech Leech camera's pre amp is very noisy, try using external pre amp or record separately. There are tones of videos out there. I use a Beachtek myself. Curtis Judd is your sound expert search him on KZbin.

[@zacjohnson452]

i know some studio headphones that are a 5th of the price and they're tascam th 02s

[@brianglock3099]

Hiss or wind noise, two totally different things. What is the mic ? Sounds like an independence mismatch. What cable are you using ? On my D 810 and d7100 I get clean, hiss free audio with the Audio Technica 8024 both on cam and with a 15 foot exstension. Also with other Mics.

[@mythdusterds]

I really appreciated that there was a demonstrated how the mics sound in different scenarios. This was very helpful.

[@Podcastage]

Excellent video. I preach this in my podcast and it's why I started my channel. I wanted to help stop the plague of horrifying audio on youtube videos. I personally think that a camera top shotgun works for most vloggers because they do walk and talks while holding the camera a foot or two away. But as soon as you get more than a few feet away, your audio quality will suck.

[@ScottDumas]

long time viewer, first time commenter (I think)... just needed to say "without acoustic foam, but with goatee" was the best caption ever. Good stuff haha

[@spoddie]

Thank you for these excellent A/B demonstrations! Audio is *the* most important part of any talking head video and so often ignored. One thing you didn't mention is flooring, chairs and shoes. If you have hard floors a bit of carpet or a rug under the chair or where you are standing helps a lot.

[@donaldross3735]

Your voice and comments are terrific. Just starting my You Tube channel. Taking my time buying gear. Severe budget restrictions. I want to buy the right stuff

[@peter_smyth]

Switches audio to Zoom H1 and starts waving it around. *RIP headphone users.*

[@zeroangelmk1]

The zoom H1 sounds like a smartphone with a mic that's being covered by a large sponge.

[@RArecordingsRickValcon]

the zoom is decent. you can adjust mic volume and I once even used it as overhead mic on a drumkit without it clipping. The onboard condenser microphones sound excellent and are even used in movies sometimes.

[@LordArioh]

I'd recommend zoom h2n. little more expensive, but way more options and quality

[@adrianalexandrov7730]

@@LordArioh tascam dr-05 costs less than H1 and does pretty good job IMO.

[@fernank017]

All the audio switching made me want to stab myself in the ears. You proved a point. gg

[@fernank017]

also never do the french beard ever again.

[@AbstractionVideography]

Great way to prove it, huh? Lol

[@LoveConquersAll888]

Lol ikr

[@MattFromSMM]

For indoor dialogue I really like the hyper cardiod condenser mics. I have the Audix scx1-hc. Definitely agree that if the person is just in one spot talking, there's better options than the on cam shotguns, but for the daily vloggers that are moving around and filming themselves and others, the shotguns like the vmp are the most practical choice.

[@williamreymond2669]

If you notice the insert image at 3:04, that actually appears to be a Shoeps Mk41 Colette hypercardiod and not a "shotgun" as Tony was suggesting.

[@DPGrupa]

For me, audio is much more important than video, because I usually just listen to youtube material and only view the video part if I feel I am missing something. This makes weekly live shows quite interesting.

[@andyjmusic4831]

I really appreciate you for making this video Tony because editing this must have been a nightmare. Matching all the audio with video. Thanks buddy!

[@Grant_Seymour_]

Very well done! As someone with a little background in sound engineering, I wholeheartedly appreciate the sound quality you seek to deliver with every video. It makes a world of difference when you start to pay attention to the sound quality and seek to put out content less than garbage. This video is exemplary, and I hope that most will appreciate the extensive recording and editing work that went into this video. It wasn't easy, folks!

[@passion_proh-jects]

I CAN NOT BELIEVE I wasted so much time watching ANYTHING else on this subject - THANK YOU for the USEABLE, PRACTICAL advice without ANY misleading titles or empty promises! Thank you!

[@YakMotley]

Awesome video ! THanks!

[@nickackermanchannel]

Excellent information thank you for sharing this video just what I was looking for!

[@RobertSchoenert]

I am BLOWN AWAY at everything I'm learning from your channel. THANK YOU

[@TruBBQtv]

That goatee is so chill. Maybe too chill. After watching this vid I'm so chill about microphones. Chill af. Thanks Tony, the most chillest dude in the U S of Chill.

[@thelonedrifters]

Finally a video that explains to me where the mics are for! Thanks so much guys, I've been watching movies about lavaliers, shotguns etc. but never understood if I need anything attached or whatever. Your video is much more comprehensive but not overly done, thanks!

[@MarionBlair]

Such good advise. There's reviewers complaining about the lavaliere mics not coming with enough cable. I thought I was going crazy till I read your comments about tripping and pulling the whole mess down. Why would anyone want to hard wire a lavaliere to a camer!. Anything connected to the tripod other than the camera is a potential disaster.. I so agree. Also, the on board mics. I wasted my money on a Rode Video Micro. I used it for probably a year without even knowing it wasn't plugged in all the way and I was using the on board mics on my 80D. The audio is just not that great. Great video.

[@tubewatcher3100]

Very good advice all compiled in one short video. Some years back, I had to spend weeks combing through hundreds of posts in various audio forums to get maybe 75% of the information presented here.

[@michaeljmusumeci5960]

Tony, thanks for all of the great info! I passed the part 107 test partly because of your video.

[@TonyAndChelsea]

Congrats, Michael!

[@MarionBlair]

You are so right about the shotgun mic. That's all I heard about when I got my first camera, "You've got to get an on camera mic" I did and was still disappointed. One person actually asked me if the crickets were actually that loud in Louisiana. (Rode micro) The thing picks up everything. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this. I now use the lavaliere for nearly everything and sync it with my on board sound. What's nice is I don't need a mic in jack, I can us any old camera and get great sound (Zoom H1 is awesome) Such an improvement in my sound. Thanks.

[@TeeOCee]

I have a shotgun mic and when he said "I dont reccomend" I was like FUCK!

[@AbstractionVideography]

Same thing. Lol

[@williamburkholder769]

Shotgun mics only "suck" because people tend to use them inappropriately. If you stick one on top of your camera and think that will work at a distance greater than three feet or so, then yes, it sucks! More to the point, you need to revisit the inverse square law and read the data sheet that came with the mic. A shotgun mic is NOT a telephoto lens for audio, but many people think it is. One of the worst ads i ever saw for a microphone showed Panasonic's GH3 with a shotgun mic mounted in the hot shoe. It prompted lots of folks to buy the mic, and most of them concluded it sucked! (It sucked for two reasons... the unbalanced line output, and because most folks used it mounted to the camera.) Shotguns are best used on boom poles, held just out of frame above talent.

[@Karreth]

Mount the shotgun mic just out of frame, as close to the mouth of the talent as possible (ideally maybe half a metre). Then you can get great audio from it. I recommend you check out some of Curtis Judd's videos on audio for video, they're pretty good.

[@Jimmyageek]

he is mad so don't listen to him

[@zero00tolerance]

Hahhahaa

[@agro0]

The absolute most versatile and cheap combo is a zoom h1 and a lav mic. The onboard mics of the zoom h1 will give you very nice ambient recordings and if you need good a good interview/speech recording, you just pop in a lav mic. That covers pretty much most of the basic situations you'll have. Only downside is that you'll have to sync your audio in post.

[@magicsoundlab]

L. Willis absolutely.

[@DebErney]

I've been dealing with noise from windows. I ended up placing moving furniture blankets over the windows. Helped a lot. won't stop the loud cars. It does eliminate the childred, dogs, most autos.

[@ShotbyALT]

Could you please do this for flash equipment?

[@moc1911]

A plus one for that! Also, I'd love a quick breakdown on how to use flash creatively and properly.

[@sirparrymoppins4732]

He talks all about flash in his book! Go buy it, you won't regret it.

[@sirparrymoppins4732]

+MOC1 he talks all about that in his book.

[@andrewtregoning]

might be the best audio for video summary i've ever seen, you're awesome guys!

[@jiaxinjiang1593]

Many appreciations for doing samples across different mics! Very very helpful!

[@pcofranc]

Absolutely loved the video, audio, visual display of makes and models and audio samples for comparison.

[@guberization]

Just got my zoom H1. Sounds nice and it's easy to use. Thanks!!!

[@Markcantfindausernam]

Informative and enjoyable video. Justin did a great job of patching in the different mikes for illustrative purposes which was a nice touch.

[@YankeeWoodcraft]

EXCELLENT points especially with the first 2 minutes Tony.

[@AmayzinOne]

What? The shotgun mic is great for vloggers because the camera is an arm length from their face lol

[@DarienneEmpire]

Amayzinone not mine. I use the canon 55mm lens so I have to put the camera pretty far from my face & it sacrifices sound for me.

[@VinnieChu]

How long is your arm?!

[@chosenideahandle]

Like Vinnie asked... How long is your arm? Lol.

[@CityUnderSiegeTV]

Still waiting on Arm length..

[@MarkusAtUMa]

legends say it's still growing

[@hamzaadeel550]

I like how you explain everything in depth.

[@dreadnought74]

I can't "thumbs up" y'alls videos enough, man! You guys make really quality resources!

[@TimLucasdesign]

This is a fantastically useful video. Not sure how I missed it when I was looking at Mics! Thanks Tony!

[@petersagi275]

I was waiting for a video like this for ages!! Thanks!

[@NickHodgson42]

Amazing video guys, been looking for one of these for so long and what do you know, Tony and Chelsea to the rescue once again!

[@BabyBackManiac]

A.T. microphone links aren't working. GREAT video, BTW. Very helpful. Thanks for making it.

[@Colombo5218]

Superb! You are a very gifted and honest communicator!

[@johnmacera8386]

Really good video! Comparison is unbelievable! I enjoyed this.

[@connorhicks5749]

This was the best video I've seen on audio after watching dozens. I only wish you would make another one for parents out here who have no say in where we setup our mics and we are often far from our subjects. How do you get decent quality sound from the back of an auditorium at a school play, or from the stands at a football game of the marching band, or of kids on the beach. I do pretty good in all these situations with a Sony shotgun mic and a hairy wind filter but with a limited frequency range. I'd just like to know what is the best I can do, having virtually no control over the mic position and venue. All you tubers are inclined to think everyone is making KZbin videos. A real word example I am worried about is that I got volunteered to record my son's high school marching band. The band will use these videos to see how everyone did on their marching routines. The video will be played on a big screen tv and sound sent through some large speakers that they have there in the band room. I went back and looked at videos taken last year and they really sounded terrible. The first video I shot this year sounded much better but the bass drums seem to clip and people talking at the bottom of the tower I was on could be heard in the quite portions of the music. Whether it is this example or just filming my kids in a pool or on stage, I'd like to improve the sound and I do not have the ability to mic everyone as you say to do here. HELP. Thanks.

[@Gear_Into_Adventure]

thanks a lot for details break downs on mics! Based on this i will make some steps at improving quality of my travel series

[@ekchuahstudios9066]

Thanks Tony, I need a good mike and your info was what I needed.

[@SudoTech]

For the on-camera outdoor example I actually like how there's the river in the background. Would it make sense to record that separately and then edit it in for 'ambiance'?

[@DaleSheltonsPage]

Great and very practical summary. Just so you know, some of the sound in this video was pretty bad. But that snippet in the room with the shelves behind had a very chill vibe.

[@oc2phish07]

Very interesting and enjoyable to watch. Lots of info. Thanks Tony.

[@BrocGustafson]

On camera shotgun mics have a lot of good applications depending on the type of video you are doing. Ambient sound is not necessarily a bad thing for many projects. If you are working in a studio obviously you want something you can get closer with, but saying they are just bad is crazy to me! Great video otherwise though.

[@TomVincent2717]

As usual, great job. Thanks Tony..........

[@EricLefebvrePhotography]

shotgun mics can be used like a normal mic close to your talent and yge csn work great to isolate sound but yeah ... not on top of the camera. also. since I am soli most of the time i just use a boom arm on a stsnd, aim at the talent and get the mic as close as I can without it being in frame. dont discount dhotgun mics, they are versatile.

[@AbstractionVideography]

Great info!

[@KrunoslavStifter]

I was thinking the same thing. It not always the tool, sometimes it the person using the tool that is not versatile enough.

[@chosenideahandle]

Don't mislead vloggers. Tony suggested to vloggers not to use a shotgun mics, on-camera. It happens to be the best way to go.

[@davidtingey7880]

Great job as always Tony. I wonder if you wrapped rubber around the clamp on your desk mic to help dampen the desk noise when you put something down on it? Best to you.

[@rexmundi6498]

Loved the honest evaluations of the products. I have the avx mke2 kit on its way and can’t wait to try it out. I’m also gonna get the ev re20 for the “studio” One suggestion about the presentation, unless under armor is sponsoring you I would ditch the hat. The shadow takes away from your professional appearance. I know it’s just a laid back video but it did stand out to me. At any rate thanks for the video and tips

[@fernandocepeda1196]

Excellent presentation. Been looking into getting into video. This helped out. Thanks.

[@AbstractionVideography]

Tony, I wish I would have came across this channel a while back. Keep it up!

[@shayhan6227]

This is a very well done video I was very impressed by the edited audio too.

[@jonathanalvarez3663]

Came here looking for a dead cat option for lav mics. I've seen you wear one in several videos and figured you had an equipment list somewhere. Thanks, Tony!

[@internalmedicine9982]

Thanks for the awesome video

[@EwenBell]

Lots of great advice here. Thanks!

[@TheKongShowJapan]

Very informative, useful information with an entertaining and educational presentation with beautiful sound.

[@mightymuffinful]

Thanks so much Tony, for your helpful and informative tutorials

[@MachiFREEMAN]

Thank you I watched alot of videos about microphones and after your video I know what I need now

[@GreyWizardInsights]

Wow, it feels so validating to hear your discouragemnt of shotgun mics! We tried to make them work but figured we just didn't have the 1337 skills to get it working. We use positional mics next to the talent just out of camera view and are pretty happy with it. Thanks for your videos!

[@JohnODonovan1]

I love that white screen , it really is not at all intrusive. At first it looks like an imposed graphic over the main page.

[@LukeKroeker]

Fantastic examples. Great video. Thanks!

[@cgcowboy]

This was an excellent episode! I would love to see Justin give some tips about sound editing. For instance, how to restore sound quality after removing background noise. Just a thought. Thanks, guys!

[@yellow1gurl]

your videos are very useful and helpful! keep up the good work!

[@DynamixWarePro]

This is a great video and very useful. However, there is one thing I think you should have mentioned. The sound frequencies of a mic. These can effect how the mic sounds on a particular voice. One mic may work fine for one persons voice, but may not on another because of how the frequencies are lowered or boosted, determining how the mic sounds on someones voice. I tested many mics to do voice overs with, including Samson C01, Rode NT1-A, Rode VideoMic Pro, Neumann TLM 102 to name a few and none of them sounded good since mics with boosted high frequencies don't sound good with my voice, but it wasn't until I got a Rode NT-1 (2014) with its almost flat sound, did I find a mic that actually suited my voice and its a great mic at a good price, so its just as important you find a mic that suits the persons voice who will be using it, not just the right type (shotgun/dynamic/lav etc..) for the job. About shotgun mics, they can be useful for picking up ambient background sounds when doing shots that don't have someone talking in them. I am starting to make nature videos and its very important I have good quality background/natural sounds in the videos. I have a Sennheiser ME66/K6 and it works great for this since its quite sensitive and only 10db self noise both of which is good for recording background sounds and as its directional and sensitive, I can point it at the subject, like a bird, and get the sound of it and cut out much of the sounds from the back and sides of the mic. Also its just as important what audio device you plug the mic into as your not going to get the same results plugging the mic into the camera as you are a dedicated audio recorder. I used to use a Tascam DR100-MKII with my Sennehiser and found recording background sounds sometimes lead to a slight hiss on the recordings from self noise, then I moved to a Tascam DR 701-D and it made a big difference and its far better and I get better quality from the mic (I think more dynamic range too) and much lower self noise.

[@geraldhenrickson7472]

Sounds like a subject for another video, probably about 30 minutes outta do it.

[@VishalBondwal]

Without acoustic foam (but with goatee) ROFL :D Thanks for the info, exactly what I was looking for. Was a pleasant surprise to see you have audio stuff as well. Used to watch your Nikon vids a coupla years ago when was going through a serious phase of photography.

[@cjbanyacski5842]

I do recordings for paranormal investigations and I was hoping to improve the audio quality. What type of mic/ audio recorder do you recommend ?

[@BryWorYT]

An excellent review - very informative and comprehensive.

[@AbdielJ]

This is the funniest mic review I've ever watched on KZbin :D

[@dogman2387]

Not mentioned in the video is a real shotgun setup to deal with wind and ambient noise. On ebay, you can pickup a Rode NTG2 + Rode Blimp for around $350+. On a windy day, the blimp is the only solution that really works. The longer shotgun mic is also much more directional, so it picks up more of you and less background noise. For example, if you're standing next to a busy road with cars whooshing by, or standing next to a waterfall, a long shotgun makes a huge difference. As Tony says in the video, always keep the mic close to the talent, within 1-2 feet if possible.

[@zero00tolerance]

Thanks so much for this video, very helpful and informative. I had no idea about these mic until I saw this video.

[@Balderick]

Great info, Tony. Thanks!

[@ThereGoesSpider]

Can your book be purchased in digital form?(Stunning DP) I am in Vietnam for a while. I can not express enough how much you guys have helped this newbie wannabe photographer/videographer/creator!!! You inform in such a calm and no non-sense manor!!! Really appreciate you guys!!!!!!

[@davegrice9546]

great thorough clip on all these options.. thanks! learned a lot.

[@vinny142]

8:00 "You will trip over it and bring your camera crashing down" No, you'd get a $2 extension and use that as a break-away between the mic and the camera. Connect it to the camera, tie it firmly to the bottom of the tripod (or preferrably a chair) and plug the mic into that. When you trip, you just pull the mic plug out of the extension cord. This is *standard* practice in all teathered applications. A wireless is definitly more convenient, but more expensive, it takes batteries, the radio signal can interfere with things etc etc. You do have to tkae that into consideration too.

[@lk3272]

Great video! Keep up the great work!

[@wp-pr5ht]

This video is incredibly helpful. Thank you.

[@Tocino_Culture]

Very helpful, this gives me a good idea how to prepare myself for doing daily videos in the future! Thank you!

[@davidmccallum4794]

Very helpful. Thanks! Nicely done too.

[@alibuhlaiqa8384]

Interesting, I was looking into mics for voice over reviews last week. Thank for the video

[@denniskeena5936]

Thanks Tony very informative.You have cleared up some questions I had on what mic to use in different situations.

[@CoalitionChris]

Have you checked out the Takstar SGC-598? Its $25 on amazon...

[@Astrolavista]

I use this, you can't really go wrong for the money.

[@Jacob_Roberts]

This is useful. Thank you, Tony.

[@Kurse_of_Kall]

"Without Acoustic Foam but with goatee" has to be some of the greatest subtitles I've ever seen XD ps thanks for the awesome reviews and information!

[@joycanseeyou9113]

this is awesome. answered all my questions. thanks

[@p5rsona]

Such a helpful video for some who is getting into youtube videos and has no idea. Also where is the link to buy that awesome goatee??

[@EngineerZX]

thanks guys for your great work, really enjoy watching your channel suggestion: can you make a video on behind the scene and the workflow of making these videos (from recording, photo shooting, transferring the files, editing ....etc.)

[@nicholaslau9321]

Brilliant video. So informative.

[@munirone]

Fantastic video! Great advice 👍

[@mrclark6200]

Just the video I needed! Thanks

[@onereviews9810]

Well done, very useful information. Thanks a lot

[@lamarreaves9732]

Great video! Helped me out big time! Thanks!

[@TeysindsGamingSpot]

Fantastic video, thanks Tony! :)

[@artmaltman]

Very helpful (and timely for me). Thanks!!!

Excellent information guys! Really professional and detailed info. Thanks!

[@OskarFilms]

Great video, Tony. But what do you recommend to capture natural sounds or "nats" on your video?

[@NisalahArmstrong]

Great video as usual, keep it up guys. Only 1 concern though, I dont agree when you say shotgun mics are waste of time. Simply because you use them for specific conditions. Remember you can also hock them up on stand and so on.

[@RotmmDesign]

Really great video, very informative. Many thanks for doing this.