$9 Microphone kit for iPhone Video Recording

'Microphone kit that enables good sound quality cellphone recordings in loud environments' 

The bootlegMIC by 'Open Music Labs' is a simple $9 microphone kit which boosts the audio recording quality on mobile phones. The video below shows the microphone in use, at a rock concert. It is extremely clear that this is a $9 worth spending. The start of the video shows the typical 'distorted' concert recording, and then a comparison with the bootlegMIC in use. Click here to purchase the microphone kit.

MicroMuff DSLR Internal Microphone Wind Reduction

Just came across this cheap wind filter for the internal microphones on DSLR cameras whilst searching on eBay. It is simple to attach with the velcro attachment and the results sound fantastic. Whenever I film with my DSLR the wind does always ruin the sound, as at the moment I do not own a decent external microphone. However on the test video comparison below, the results do sound very good. They come in a variety of designs including 'Fat Boy',  'Original' and 'Skinny'. Click here to view the on eBay, with starting prices of £14.99.


                               

Micro Budget Filmmaking - £18.90 Portable Digital Audio Recorder

Portable audio recorders such as the Zoom H1 do sell for great prices, however if you're on a micro budget there are even cheaper options. The 2GB Digital Voice Recorder from eBay sells for under £20 and has some fantastic features. It has the options to monitor audio externally with headphones, record audio externally with microphones to improve audio quality and 2GB of internal storage space for up to 580 hours of audio recordings. It records in .mp3 and also supports .wma, .wmv and .asf audio formats. It can also be used as an .mp3 music player like an iPod. In my opinion this audio recorder is definitely worth a try, you really can't go wrong with the low price. Click here to view more low budget 'Audio Recording' posts on this blog. Click here to view more low budget audio recorders on eBay if the widget below has expired.

Zoom H1, Rode Videomic Pro & Rode Lapel Microphone Wind Tests

Carl from YouTube recently uploaded a video testing three different microphones in windy conditions, with and without the wind muffs for each microphone. He firstly tests the Zoom H1 portable audio recorder plugged into his DSLR camera, with the wind muff on. At certain parts in the test recordings the sound is very clear, however at other points the wind muff doesn't filter out the wind and the dialogue becomes over empowered by the wind noises. Secondly the Rode Videomic Pro is tested, once again plugged straight into the external audio input on the DSLR. From listening to the two tests, with and without the wind muff, I couldn't really hear any difference in audio quality. When the wind muff was on the microphone, the wind noises sounded just the same as it did without the wind muff, so maybe not the best microphone for exterior use like this. Lastly a Rode lapel microphone is tested, and in my opinion sounded the best out of all of the microphones in the video. It may not have the best audio recording quality, but the amount of wind that the lapel microphone filtered out was very good, with and without the wind muff in fact. The lapel microphone was most likely filtering out the wind the best due to it being held closer to the body, however this is the advantage of using a lapel microphone, and is why professional journalists usually use them.

For Sale: Audio Technica ATR6250 Stereo Condenser Microphone - £19.99

The third item that I have for sale is the Audio Technica ATR6250 stereo condenser microphone which can plug into your camera or computer for audio recording. Included with the sale is the microphone, original battery and 2 spare batteries which I will add in, foam wind reduction filter, short cable (3.5mm stereo  to 3.5mm stereo) for use with your camera or computer and a longer cable (3.5mm stereo to two 3.5mm mono plugs) for use with a boom pole (not included), a mount which allows you to place the microphone to a standard tripod or to add a handheld grip and two 3.5mm (1/8") to 6.3mm (1/4") mono adapters. I am asking for a price of £19.99 with £3.99 postage within the UK for this item. If you check on eBay, this microphone is £44 at the cheapest. However I do not have the original packaging for this microphone or manual. The actual microphone is in great condition though. If you are interested in purchasing this microphone from me, please leave a comment below and we can sort something out through PayPal. This microphone has been produced to a high quality, and feels just like a more expensive microphone. Please note how everything in the image is what you will get, there will be no packaging and no instruction manual, however the manual can be found on-line.

Below is a test on YouTube which shows the audio quality of this microphone compared to a built in camera microphone, as you can hear this microphone reduces a lot of background noise.