Rotolight Roto-Mic

£72 www.rotolight.com

otolight is better known for making lighting systems, but the Roto-Mic is a hotshoe microphone that offers excellent value for money. Powered by a 9V battery, the mic is good for 100 hours of use before the battery will need changing. It secures to your camera by slipping into the hotshoe, with a shock mount to absorb vibrations so they don’t pick up on the audio.

With a frequency response range of 40Hz to 20kHz, the Roto-Mic also features a switchable gain control (-10dB, 0, +10dB). Connecting to your camera’s external mic port via the supplied 3.5mm cable, the mic also comes with a two-step high-pass filter (80Hz / flat).

Also supplied is a dead kitten and a foam windshield to maintain audio quality in windy condition, along with spare rubber bands for the shock mount. The Roto-Mic’s build quality is further backed up by the inclusion of a one-year warranty. Although small, the housing for the larger 9V battery adds bulk to the design.

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Hotshoe Supercardioid 40Hz to 20kHz

his value-for-money system offers an open door into working with dual transmitters without the expensive price tag. Operating within the widely used licence-free 2.4GHz frequency and offering a line of sight up to 50 metres, the 500 B2 system offers a battery life of four hours on a single charge and can also be powered through its USB-C input.

The receiver fits into your hotshoe mount; if you prefer, you can connect the receiver to a smartphone via the TRS cable, though most will prefer to record directly to the camera. The transmitters have a built-in microphone, so you can clip them on your interview subject; they also have inputs so you can plug in a standard lav mic. (The SR-M1 mic ships with the kit.)

Units are paired by pressing down buttons and then they are good to go, which will speed up operation and set-up time. The big appeal of this kit is the dual-channel receivers, enabling two people to be mic’d up for recording interviews.

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or those who want to make money from their video work, a pro hotshoe like the VP83F is just the ticket. Weighing just 215g and featuring a tight pick-up pattern of 70 degrees, the mic will ignore audio from the side and focus more on where you’re pointing the lens.

With an all-metal construction, the VP83F features a switchable gain control (-10dB, 0, +20dB) and a on/off low-cut filter switch to reduce distracting low-frequency background noise. It also includes a built-in flash recorder that can capture 24-bit 48kHz WAV files as well as connecting to your camera via its mic port. With simple one-touch recording, the audio is stored on a microSD card (up to 32GB); an 8GB card holds up to 15 hours of audio. A headphone jack enables you to monitor audio, and the rear LCD shows sound level and battery status.

The gain control can be adjusted in single-point increments, enabling the sound level to be set with precision. Although you should hear it through your headphones, a clip warning appears on the LCD if the sound level is too high.

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