Comments on: RØDE's New smartLav iOS Lavalier, VideoMic Upgrade, Plus Apogee's iPortable Recording Studio

By: Guilherme

Guilherme — Thu, 02 May 2013 20:13:20 +0000

Hi I bought the Smartlav, my question is can I use the REC app the paid on for the android as well?

By: Roger H

Roger H — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 19:39:35 +0000

Guy, a “Y” cable usually, if not always doesn’t work because the iOS devices to output audio while they are inputing audio. The cheapest solution I have found is the TASCAM iXZ. It has a single XLR/Phone jack and a 3.5 earphone jack built in. It outputs to a 3.5 plug to your DSLR or iOS hardware.

By: Chip Dizard

Chip Dizard — Mon, 18 Feb 2013 12:37:55 +0000

I like the mic and I did a video review on it. https://vimeo.com/59319994

Check it out and do yourself a favor and get one.

By: Dave Kendricken

Dave Kendricken — Wed, 06 Feb 2013 07:19:59 +0000

Hey Anthony, absolutely. Joe's covered it a bit here: http://nofilmschool.com/2012/12/sound-devices-12-bit-4444-prores-pix-v3-0-firmware/, but Sound Devices will continue to be something we keep our eyes on!

By: Anthony Marino

Anthony Marino — Wed, 06 Feb 2013 06:32:46 +0000

Of you can (or would be willing) can you include the pix 240. I have it and for audio alone, it’s worth every penny. I’m learning how to get professional quality out of it and its a pretty amazing addition to my camera. Thanks and have been enjoying your articles. Take care

By: Dave Kendricken

Dave Kendricken — Wed, 06 Feb 2013 06:19:40 +0000

Hey Pape, not troll-like at all. Appreciate the feedback. We’ll certainly be working on more (pro-level included) sound-love, you can be sure of that!

By: Dave Kendricken

Dave Kendricken — Wed, 06 Feb 2013 06:18:09 +0000

Thanks for the comment Sam, I love it. I also love the ‘iWhatever’ term… you should start selling your adapters for less ridiculous prices! :D

By: Dave Kendricken

Dave Kendricken — Wed, 06 Feb 2013 06:16:47 +0000

The problem is, specs like that aren't the only issue to consider -- the quality of the pre-amp can make or break the deal depending on your standards, and the quality of a pre-amp is harder to qualify (or at least much less touted in press materials). The juicedLink audio recorder shootout gets into this game a bit. But again I'd like to be able to do my own testing at some point soon!

By: Guy Cochran

Guy Cochran — Tue, 05 Feb 2013 15:13:25 +0000

I wonder if a TRRS “Y” cable from Sescom like the http://www.sescom.com/product.asp?item=IPHONE-MIC35-1 will work with the smartLav to provide headphone monitoring

By: TDotRome

TDotRome — Tue, 05 Feb 2013 00:40:53 +0000

Heck, I’d use this thing on vacation! I’ve got an iPhone heavy friend set. Everyone has a mic on their iPhone, flick em on when your shooting something cool. Sync it when you get home. Way better than the camera mic, and it kills the big booming voice of the shooter. Perfect if you like your home videos to be more than home videos.

It does seem to be useful for the independent videographer…….even if s/he has to invest in a few pricey iPods.

By: Brynn

Brynn — Mon, 04 Feb 2013 14:11:15 +0000

“A Zoom recorder Is Not Pro Quality.” Care to qualify that statement? 24-bit/96kHz, balanced inputs, phantom power. What is not pro quality about that?

By: sam

sam — Mon, 04 Feb 2013 10:24:57 +0000

Hey guys.

I work for a press agency and we do not only video but also regular audio recordings, for use on soundcloud or podcasts.

If i look at the audio-only recordings we do, there are two situations: typical interview setup with handheld microphone and ‘speech’ setup with lav-mic.

A few years ago we used portable recorders like the zoom but we’ve changed them all to iPhones.
The big problem with the røde lav-mic is that you don’t have monitoring options. They use a TRRS (4 conductor) connection but actually only use 2 of the 4 conductors. (like an ordinary mono-plug)

To counter this problem i’ve soldered my own (you can also buy these for ridiculous prices) TRRS male to dual TRS female cable adapter. This way you plug in a TRRS jack to the iPhone and you plug in the microphone of your choosing to one female minijack (i’ve also made one with an XLR connection) and have a female socket for headphone monitoring. And you can use any microphone you want!

You do need a program that supports realtime playback from the microphone. Due to OS limitations his isn’t possible on Android so I had to buy iPhones.

So right now we have a very portable solution to record our interviews. And as an added bonus the recordings are synced directly to our cloud, so we can immediately start editing..

Just a tip for people wanting to go the iWhatever route with the røde mic mentioned above…

By: Tulio

Tulio — Mon, 04 Feb 2013 09:17:17 +0000

The Old VideoMic suspension was absolutely crap, can we buy just the new suspension?
Does the Rode Recording App comes free with the SmartLav? or separate at https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/r-de-rec/id528642521

By: Ny mic från RØDE, säg hej till myggan smartLavStorytools | Storytools

Ny mic från RØDE, säg hej till myggan smartLavStorytools | Storytools — Mon, 04 Feb 2013 08:29:56 +0000

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By: Leo

Leo — Mon, 04 Feb 2013 01:54:34 +0000

i just installed the free version of this app and then used the lav mic from my Senn G3 kit and it works great but the cable could detect very easy as it does not fit flush on the iphone

By: Kreutzer

Kreutzer — Sun, 03 Feb 2013 15:49:21 +0000

I’m with Robert. Having one jack for both mic and earbuds eliminates any chance of monitoring even during a soundcheck. You could check between takes for narrative work, but you’re screwed for live events. The wedding in the video sounds nice because it’s a controlled environment. If you’ve got a nervous bride rustling the fabric of her dress you wouldn’t know until it was too late.

By: j

Sun, 03 Feb 2013 15:05:43 +0000

I think this is a great idea.. I’m wondering if you could plug in a splitter to record to mics at same time. but then it would be hard to adjust levels if one person talks louder then the other. maybe next they will create a small device that plugs into the charge port and turns the ios into a 2 channel recorder..

By: DIYFilmSchool.net

DIYFilmSchool.net — Sun, 03 Feb 2013 14:20:45 +0000

The SmartLav seems like a good investment because of its compatibility with the RODE app and other iOS apps, though the Monster Squid lavs may be a more affordable option.

By: blund

blund — Sun, 03 Feb 2013 14:14:47 +0000

Agreed. I definitely would like to see more high end audio gear on here!

By: gerald

gerald — Sun, 03 Feb 2013 13:28:57 +0000

ios handles audio much better than any other operation system… androids audio processing is too slow.