Rode has a better way to connect your tiny wireless mics to your camera
Last November, Rode launched its wireless microphone system that paired two tiny lavalier mics with a small receiver connected to your phone’s charging port. Rode then offered a free upgrade to this product, sending another receiver that also allowed the mics to connect to digital cameras. The company is now launching an updated version of this receiver with an OLED display, but this time it charges for it.
The new version of Rode’s wireless camera receiver is now available as part of a wireless mic camera kit that bundles it with two wireless lavalier mics and an additional wireless receiver used to connect the mics to mobile devices using their USB-C or Lightning ports. The kit is priced at $149, the original price of Rode’s Wireless Micro system when it launched last November (without a camera receiver) before getting a price drop earlier this month to $99 when new color options were introduced. Rode’s wireless lav mics still don’t offer as many features as DJI’s offerings like the Mic Mini or Mic 3, but they’re more competitively priced.
As with the original, the new receiver is designed to sit atop the cameras by connecting to their cold shoe mount, while audio from up to two wireless mics is transmitted to the camera via a USB-C or 3.5mm audio cable. Battery life is rated at seven hours and is maximized by the fact that the receiver only turns on when connected to a camera. Receiver battery life can be extended up to 21 hours by using the wireless micro camera kit’s charging case when you are away from a power source.
The 1.1-inch OLED screen shows details about the battery life and signal strength of the receiver and wirelessly connected devices. It works with three knobs to navigate and adjust various settings, including gain assist levels, but for ease of use, the receiver can also make these adjustments automatically to remove volume peaks and ensure that all audio coming into the camera is perfectly balanced.
