If you walk in to almost any store, or just take a look around any social platform for a short period of time, it’s easy to notice that the barrier of entry has seriously lowered when it comes to being able to create high quality content online. High definition cameras, high definition microphones, and even accessories have never been more accessible and affordable. This page is dedicated solely to microphones for the purpose of helping content creators make a good decisions. I plan to updated it, so if you have an suggestions feel free to reach out to me.
Microphones that I have tested and used.
ATR 3350 Lav Mic?
Movo Mini Shotgun Mic
Audio Technica ATR- 8035
The Movo Mini (Shotgun Mic)
The Movo Mini is an inexpensive microphone and will improve your sound quality to some degree. Not even close to the other microphones mentioned on this page, but if you have just a few dollars and need a shotgun mic this could be something to consider. If you want to plug your Movo into a cell phone then you might need an adapter. This requires a 357 watch battery.
ATR-3350 (Lapel or Lav Mic)
This is the lav (lavaliere microphone) that was recommend to me nearly 6 years ago. I use an adapter to connect it to my iPhone 7 and I can even use it with my Lumix 7 Mirrorless Camera. I will say that they make so many other options today that probably work better and don’t even cost more. It’s not that the technology is so much different on lav mics. The big change is wireless. Like with anything there is a range of quality and sound that gets better and more expensive. This does great for $30. This requires a little 357 watch battery.
Audio Technica AT-8035 (Shotgun Mic)
This is a great shotgun mic and can be used in a number of situations. The sound quality is rich and full, and it’s best used for in the field or when you can be right in front of the microphone. It’s going to pic up a lot of surrounding sounds, but because of it’s “shotgun” pattern and it’s high quality build it will focus on the voice directly in front of the microphone. This microphone isn’t inexpensive at just under $300, it also needs a AA battery and an XLR connection. Technically you can connect it to your iPhone, but it requires a bit more work. With this microphone you would want to consider doing other things like podcasting, interviews, and other high end work.
Rode VideoMic Go (Shotgun)
The attraction to this mic is simple. A shotgun mic with no batteries, you just plug it in and go! I have been caught many times ready to shoot a video for a client and the batteries either need changed out our I don’t have any!! The quality on this mic is pretty good and it was really simple to use. I am a bit concerned about the noise created from the cord, but I need to play with the setting on my camera a bit more. Hopefully not a quality issue. I just got this mic at the time of making this post so I need to test it some more.
Audio Technica ATR-2100 (Dynamic)
This is hands down the mic you need if you want to create in office voiceovers, podcasts, or anything where you don’t know much about microphones, don’t want to spend a bunch of money, and don’t have a sound booth. You can create so much with this microphone. It has bot an XLR connection so you can connect it to a sound recorder, and a USB connection so you can plug it right into a laptop and start recording right away. I’ve literally met hundreds of people who have used this microphone.