I ordered this microphone from AliExpress on January 24, 2020. So after waiting for 2 months, it never came. Then I went through the whole dispute thing and got refunded.
Stubborn as I am, I ordered it again from the same seller on the 30th of March, 2020. And it just yesterday, 22nd May, 2020. A whole 2 months
So I got this from Shikakope a while back and I’ve been tested it out.
So if you’re in Ghana and you want to get your hands on 1 of these, be sure to check them out.
This video is not sponsored by them though, I just like their services.
The microphone itself with the dead cat windshield already installed. Take them apart, and you should get an actual look of the microphone and the furry dead cat windshield filter.
The sound shock absorber thing, a TRS to TRS cable and the TRS to TRRS cable. I’ll explain what these are later in this video.
And they even throw in a nice carrying pouch for the microphone. Neat
Now let’s talk about the design.
I must say, I thought the microphone was all plastic, judging by the price. But I was wrong, it’s all metal and a bit heavier than I expected. Honestly it’s built very well
Taking a look at the shockproof, it’s all plastic, which I don’t mind. And what it does is to reduce the amount of vibration sounds you get when moving around with the microphone.
My favourite colours are red and black, yeah I know, it’s weird, so seeing these are very satisfying
So at the top is where you place the microphone and the bottom has a hotshoe mount for the camera. Once you put it on, you can go ahead and tighten it in place.
That same bottom also has a quarter inch hole which opens a whole lot of ideas for mounting the microphone. Whether on top of your camera, your phone, tripod, monopod or even a light stand.
Now the 2 cables which come with it are the TRS to TRRS cable for your phones, PC and other devices and the TRS to TRS cable for the camera. There are only 3 ways I’m able to tell the difference. The 1st being the fact that, the one for the camera has a coiled cable at the center and the one for other device. The 2nd thing is that, when you look closely at the pin, you’ll noticed there are 2 black stripes for the cable for the camera and 3 for the other. Oh yeah and the 3rd, is this tag
For the specs, it has a supercardiac radio with 270 degree audio pickup, which is just great.
What this means is, if you took a look at the diagram right here, the mic can pick up sound anywhere around this red area.
I noticed that if you speak into the microphone while it’s turned the other way around, it sounds more bass heavy. Which I like. But in order to do that, you’ll have to make sure that there isn’t any other sounds coming from the other direction, else it’ll pick them up from there.
Now that all those are out of the way, let’s run some test.
Test 1 – Voice test
I’m sitting about 3ft away from the microphone, plugged directly into the camera and here’s how it sounds like.
Without deadcat filter. With deadcat filter
Here I am again, this time the microphone is plugged into my phone and it’s just directly below me. Just out of frame.
Without deadcat filter. With deadcat filter
Test 2 – Shaking test
I’m going to shake this microphone up to see or hear if it picks up any noise and if for a fact
Test 3 – Close to mouth test
I hear you get the best quality from the mic if you’re closer to it. That way, there’s no unwanted sounds also getting it.
Test 4 – Outdoor
Windy situation
What I like
Its plug and play. What this means is that, you don’t need any external batteries to provide power for the microphone. It draws it power from the device it’s connected to.
The 2nd thing is the fact that it comes with a TRS to TRRS cable. Other brands require you to purchase it separately, so they just added it up right in the box is super awesome
The 3rd thing is the audio quality. I haven’t tested out other brands yet but I’m quite satisfied with this one. So satisfied that I got myself a 2nd one.
The last thing is the price, for GHc 150 and GHc 200 this is a very good deal for the quality of audio you’re getting.
There’s only 1 thing I don’t like about this. I just wish it was just a lil bit bass heavier. And oh, if they could include a longer cable, that’ll be great.
