Great mic for capturing ambience and sounds close, in front. However, because it’s stereo, be careful at longer distances or if you speak behind it. The surrounding, stereo ambience can swamp what you really need to hear. Pretty typical for a stereo mic though, but this one is rather nice ......
I have this mic for a few years. It is a great little stereo mic for making videos of a singing acoustic guitarist for example if you are about 4 or 5 feet away. One really nice feature of this mic Ian is that 20db gain setting allows you to capture more of the sound via the mic pre-amps built into the Rode stereo mic versus the poorer audio built-in mic pre-amps on most cameras.
Nice review, I have the mic in delivery to me now. I'm hoping it picks up not just the players on the field I'll be video recording but also the crowd around me. Sometimes having that crowd sound makes a big difference in a video.
Another great video Ian. I've subscribed. I appreciate TH-camrs who take the time to review things in detail and show how products such as microphones are in many different situations. I've had the Rode VideoMic Pro+ in my Amazon wishlist since it was released. I've not bought it yet as I have the Shure VP83; so it would be more of a sidestep than a major upgrade. Still, I love that it powers on when you turn on the camera, as I have left the VP83 turned on so many times and burned through the batteries. :)
Thanks Kevin. It’s posts like this that keep me going since I often feel as though I’m talking to myself! The stereo version is useful but needs to be used with care because it is so sensitive to surrounding sounds. Great for ambience and capturing live events though.
@@iancraig You're welcome. Yeah TH-cam can be draining at times. I've spent days working on videos and they got hardly any views. Then others I spent 10 minutes on got thousands. It can be a bit of a crapshoot at times.
Great review as always. I can see these mics on Marketplace for cheap these days, probably worth getting one for ambient recordings. But maybe, just thinking, an audio recorder with inbuilt X/Y stereo mics is a better option. That leaves your camera mic input free for a dialogue mic ( lav or shotgun) while recording ambience on the sound recorder...
I found one for very cheap, so I am tempted. In the tests of your video, what were you recording into? On a DSLR or an external recorder it will work, but on a smartphone it would record in mono anyway.
I went straight into an ax53 camcorder. It has a slightly raised top end but is a nice mic imo. I still have and use mine (for ambience) and this video was made some time ago.
I would use the stereo. It has a better top end and gives more sense of space for the music to bloom a bit more in a live situation. The mono version is comparatively more ‘shut in’ and sound is locked into the centre. When you pick up a stereo spread, you get more of the atmosphere and a lovely clean sound. Try to get it away from cars and people speaking though.
Thanks Kevin. Struggled with this because my editor devided to blow its lid so I ended up using another one instead. Had a lot of problems with contrast and w balance tbh. Still, it’s all a learning curve ......
@@iancraig Yeah bro ,I got one in 2017 used it for small parties etc. Now I m into ( starting into) field recordings, specialy specialy ambience,hence the qn. Thanks again.
Great mic for capturing ambience and sounds close, in front. However, because it’s stereo, be careful at longer distances or if you speak behind it. The surrounding, stereo ambience can swamp what you really need to hear.
Pretty typical for a stereo mic though, but this one is rather nice ......
I have this mic for a few years. It is a great little stereo mic for making videos of a singing acoustic guitarist for example if you are about 4 or 5 feet away. One really nice feature of this mic Ian is that 20db gain setting allows you to capture more of the sound via the mic pre-amps built into the Rode stereo mic versus the poorer audio built-in mic pre-amps on most cameras.
Absolutely. It's not mentioned a lot on TH-cam either.
Thank you! That is what I like: clear, practical and on the subject.
Thank you Vladi. I try to get it as easy to understand as I can. I like the sound of the Rode stereo. It’s a really good microphone.
Nice review, I have the mic in delivery to me now. I'm hoping it picks up not just the players on the field I'll be video recording but also the crowd around me. Sometimes having that crowd sound makes a big difference in a video.
Yes, it will. It’s not as directional as a mono mic, but enough to pick up relatively more from the front than the back and sides.
Another great video Ian. I've subscribed.
I appreciate TH-camrs who take the time to review things in detail and show how products such as microphones are in many different situations.
I've had the Rode VideoMic Pro+ in my Amazon wishlist since it was released. I've not bought it yet as I have the Shure VP83; so it would be more of a sidestep than a major upgrade. Still, I love that it powers on when you turn on the camera, as I have left the VP83 turned on so many times and burned through the batteries.
:)
Thanks Kevin. It’s posts like this that keep me going since I often feel as though I’m talking to myself! The stereo version is useful but needs to be used with care because it is so sensitive to surrounding sounds. Great for ambience and capturing live events though.
@@iancraig You're welcome.
Yeah TH-cam can be draining at times. I've spent days working on videos and they got hardly any views. Then others I spent 10 minutes on got thousands. It can be a bit of a crapshoot at times.
This is a great review ! Thanks for making it
Thanks for the review. I think this mic is good for what i am looking for. Filming videos with nature sounds.
Yes, it will work well for that. It has a great treble response for bird song etc. Even better is the ‘X’ version but you pay quite a bit more for it.
Great content! After watching this video I bought the exact rode mic and I'm happy I did because it's perfect! Thanks
Thank you, Lmarie. I really like the Rode Stereo mic. Works a treat. It gives a great sense of space in your sound.
Excellent review!
Thank you.
Great review as always. I can see these mics on Marketplace for cheap these days, probably worth getting one for ambient recordings. But maybe, just thinking, an audio recorder with inbuilt X/Y stereo mics is a better option. That leaves your camera mic input free for a dialogue mic ( lav or shotgun) while recording ambience on the sound recorder...
And you’d get higher quality wav recordings too. Just useful when you’re out and about.
I found one for very cheap, so I am tempted. In the tests of your video, what were you recording into? On a DSLR or an external recorder it will work, but on a smartphone it would record in mono anyway.
I went straight into an ax53 camcorder. It has a slightly raised top end but is a nice mic imo. I still have and use mine (for ambience) and this video was made some time ago.
Sounds great
Thanks Andre. Quite different capturing in stereo.
Thank you for a very informative video.
Glad it was useful.
Good on ya. Nice review.
Glad you enjoyed it
would you say for busking on the streets the pro+ or the stereo mic ? great information in this video. thanks 👍
I would use the stereo. It has a better top end and gives more sense of space for the music to bloom a bit more in a live situation. The mono version is comparatively more ‘shut in’ and sound is locked into the centre. When you pick up a stereo spread, you get more of the atmosphere and a lovely clean sound.
Try to get it away from cars and people speaking though.
@@iancraig thank you so much for your advice man. I think I will go for it. it's a good price.
Nice!
Thanks Kevin. Struggled with this because my editor devided to blow its lid so I ended up using another one instead. Had a lot of problems with contrast and w balance tbh.
Still, it’s all a learning curve ......
How good is it for outdoor/ ambience etc⁉️
I often use it for ambience. It works well. You have one though, don’t you?
@@iancraig Yeah bro ,I got one in 2017 used it for small parties etc.
Now I m into ( starting into) field recordings, specialy specialy ambience,hence the qn.
Thanks again.
How do u switch to mono from sterio?
I think I just switched mics to the Videomic Pro+. There is no mono switch on the stereo mic.
@@iancraig :I bought one in 2016 and still going strong with my canon 7d mk1,. I mostly use it for ambience now with my zoom h2n.
Thanx .