Rode VideoMic Pro Directional On-Camera Microphone with Rycote Lyre Shockmount

Rode's VideoMic Pro is a shotgun microphone designed for use with DSLR cameras, camcorders, and portable audio recorders. The VideoMic Pro incorporates a 1/2-inch condenser capsule capable of capturing broadcast-quality audio. The super-cardioid polar pattern used by the mic minimizes environmental noise and focuses only on audio directly in front of the VideoMic Pro. The mic also has built-in level, power, and filter controls so you can fine-tune audio sensitivity depending on what you're recording and the amount of background noise. The body of the VideoMic Pro features an integrated Rycote Lyre shock mount as well as a foam windscreen, both of which help eliminate vibration and environment-related noise. The VideoMic Pro runs on a single 9V battery which is capable of powering the mic for up to 70 hours. Directional Recording The VideoMic Pro incorporates a cardioid condenser microphone that ignores sounds coming from the rear and sides of the mic and focuses specifically on sounds coming from the front. This makes the VideoMic Pro ideal for recording audio in noisy environments like parks or other public spaces where there's likely to be a lot of background noise coming from every direction. This microphone is also great for recording indoors since it will ignore the echoing effect that happens when voices bounce off hard floors and walls. Integrated Rycote Lyre Shock Mount and Wind Shield The VideoMic Pro is designed around a camera shoe mount that features a Rycote Lyre shock mount with a suspension structure composed of a durable thermoplastic. This thermoplastic is significantly more effective at minimizing unwanted vibrations and cable-borne noise than elastic suspensions and will never sag, snap, wear out or require rethreading to maintain its effectiveness. The mic's design also incorporates a foam windshield. This windshield is designed for use while recording outdoors to eliminate wind-related noise and other environmental sounds that can interfere with recording. Adjustable Sensitivity Controls Easily accessible on the rear face of the microphone are the power, filter, and level controls. In addition to the microphone's native 40Hz-20kHz response, a selectable high-pass filter at 80Hz is available, which will prevent low-end noise such as air conditioners and traffic from being recorded. Below these controls are the level settings, which attenuate or boost the recorded level as required. The -10dB level attenuation (or PAD) is ideal for recording loud sound sources, such as live music, motorsport, or interviews where the subject is very close to the camera. The +20dB level boost is designed for use with DSLR cameras, allowing the user to reduce the camera's preamp level (or mic-input level), effectively reducing the amount of noise generated by the camera's comparatively low-quality audio circuitry.