Microphones for Interview and Outdoor Recording

Unidirectional Lavalier/Lapel Microphones
When filming wedding interviews and business promo interviews, background noise can be a problem.  Unidirectional microphones do a great job of eliminating background noise.  The only thing to watch out for is that the person speaking does not turn their head too far away from where the lav mic is pointing.

Olympus Microphone ME-52W Noise Cancellation Mic
$20
4.1 stars on Amazon
* 3.5mm microphone jack for uni-directional recording in high-noise environments.
* Requires "plug-in" power in your recorder (Works with the DR-05 and the Zoom recorders that have 3.5mm jacks.)
* Some reviewers have said it does not work with smart phones...probably because it's not the right type of connection for an iPhone or because of the plug-in power requirement.


Handheld Wireless Microphones

Fifine UHF Wireless Handheld Dynamic Microphone
$50
4.2 stars on Amazon
* Seems to be one of the only inexpensive wireless handheld mics on Amazon that actually has a good rating.
* Reviewers said it was heavy and seemed to have a solid build quality.
* Does not have an antenna cable hanging off the end of the mic (most cheap wireless handhelds have this).







Hisonic HS308L Portable Wireless and Wired 2 in 1 Microphone
$25
3.4 stars on Amazon
* Primarily for Karaoke use
* Build quality is mentioned in a few reviews where people were suprised how good it was, but the weight and overall build quality is probably lower than the
* Silver color is not as professional



For Smart Phones:

iPro-Max pro Lavalier Lapel Microphone Clip-on Directional
$34
4.5 stars on Amazon
* Uni-directional
* Includes two windscreens, two clips, extended mic wire length, velvet protection bag and Smart Conversion Adapter Cable for ultimate connection with all devices


Unidirectional Handheld Microphones

GLS Audio Vocal Microphone ES-58 & Mic Clip - Professional Series ES58
$30
4.4 stars on Amazon
* No on/off switch

Get great video sound recording for $25

The Azden EX-503 Lavalier microphone produces excellent sound and is only $25.  You can get yours on B&H or at Amazon.com.

I discovered this mic after Griffin Hammond from Indy Mogul said that he used it on wedding video shoots.  His wedding films had great production value, so I was surprised to hear that a $25 microphone produced such good quality audio.  His trick was to stick a small audio recorder in the groom's pocket and connect the Azden lavalier mic.  This would capture great quality audio of the vows, which is critical for producing a professional level wedding film.

On my video interview shoots, I plug the Azden mic into a Zoom H4n recorder to capture the audio separately from the camera so I could better control the audio quality and avoid cables running from the video subject all the way to the camera.

See two videos below shot with the Azden EX-503:

Documentary style promo/interview recorded with the Azden mic

Montana Community non-profit promotional video