Fantastic item, great for a film maker on a budget.
After receiving this mic I put it into action. It is very sturdy and the shock stabilization system works very well. The sound quality is fantastic with a bit of tweaking. The only thing to consider, is picking up a mini plug extension cable for using this mic on a boom pole.

Great microphone for the non-professional
Hi all!

I recently discovered Rode products, and this Australian company seems to make quality gear. I ran my VideoMic through my Canon HG10 and it worked quite well. If you are non-professional looking for a high-quality external microphone for your video camera, then look no further. You won't find anything better at this price point (trust me, I spent weeks looking.)

To listen to a comparison of the Rode VideoMic vs. the Canon HG10 internal microphone, watch this video:

[...]

My two issues with this microphone are:

(As some other reviewers have observed), the jack is an unbalanced line, which means that if you try to mount this bad boy on a boom pole or microphone stand away from you camera, you get buzz and hum.

Two, this mic is pretty big. I travel a fair amount giving keynote speeches and leadership training. I bought all my video gear to record my work. The VideoMic takes up a lot of space in my camera bag. Clearly, this is not an issue if you don't travel, but if you do ...

I recently upgrade to a R0DE NT3 Microphone microphone, which has an XLR connection, which means I can mount the microphone away from the camera and have no buzz. The NT3 is a professional-grade microphone and costs more than the VideoMic, but the NT3 suits my needs better.

Bottom Line: If you're looking for a high quality microphone that will stay on your video camera, you can't go wrong with the Rode VideoMic.

Enjoy!

Tim Warneka, author
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Can't beat the quality for price relationship
I needed a shot gun microphone to fit the hot shoe of the Canon HG10. I am shooting a documentary and needed to interview folks in loud surroundings. This was the most valuable and important upgrade to my camera. The sound difference is unprecedented for the price. For $149 the mic comes with a build on rocker (so you don't get all the bump noise) and can be adjusted to avoid the truncation of the peaks of your sound waves. The mic comes ready to use, but I would suggest changing the volume to -10dbz to combat this problem. You get a clean sound, but the cord attaches to the camera with a short earpiece jack. You cannot extend this mic out on a boom or you would get buzz and hum. For the average user and camera mounting, this camera is perfect.

It does not overwhelm the profile of the camera and is very light. I would suggest that you buy 1 along with a 9 volt battery (not included). It seems like a steal.

Excellent mic
I normally use XLR shotgun (e.g. Audio-Technica AT-835) and mini-shotgun mics with professional video equipment. However, for consumer type camcorders without XLR inputs, your choices are to add a Beachtek XLR interface box (pricey) - or get a nice mini-shotgun mic with mini-phone plug connection for direct connect to most any camcorder with an external mic input. The mic is powered by a 9v battery with a claimed 100 hours of use per 9v battery (I have not tested that claim). The sound quality is very good, the directivity is very good - a great addition for anyone wishing to greatly improve the audio quality of small camcorders.

Great Microphone for Field Reporting
This mic provides outstanding audio in the field, indoors or out. The only drawback seems to be picking up consistent sound in windy conditions outdoors. Besides that, this microphone has served me very well in a variety of settings. It's great on batteries to boot -- I haven't had to change the original yet, and I've used the mic on two extensive video projects so far.