Well... it's a well known feature rather than a hack, because when the Pocket 3 was launched, loads of people were asking if they could connect the original "DJI mic" to the Pocket 3, and the answer was yes, but not directly, use the USB-C connector for the receiver instead. And that wasn't much of a surprise because DJI introduced USB-C audio functionality back in the days of the Action 2 camera. So basically you can connect any reasonable USB-C audio device (mic, mono or stereo, or playback headphone, with or without a 3.5mm to USB-C adapter as required) and that can be direct into the base of the camera, or via the tripod adapter like you did, or into the USB-C socket on the battery handle if that's what you are using. You could generally say that if it works with a phone it will work with the Pocket 3. Also, I think you will find that the green meter along the top of the screen shows the level of the external mic(s) in use, not the internal ones. Try tapping the wireless mic and see if the line reacts. Note that it's been reported that the meter exaggerates the level of the incoming audio - test at home thoroughly before going out and encountering a problem. Depending on circumstances and preferences, you could actually solve your original problem using just the Mic 2 (attached to the person who is not holding the camera) and use the "audio backup" feature to capture the voice of the cameraperson who is holding it (onto the separate wave format file the camera will create), then combine the two when editing. Now there are a couple of potential problems to be aware of, related to the backup wave format files and to the battery handle. First, there's a quirk or bug affecting the internal mic sound recorded to the wave format file, when using the Mic 2 to record to the video file - the internal mic sound is collapsed to mono. This means that when using the Mic 2 and the internal mics at the same time, you can't capture the stereo ambience of the scene in glorious surround stereo from the internals, while capturing the clear sound of the voice using the Mic 2. But if you use any other wireless mic (like the ones you used) connected to USB-C, then you do get stereo from the internals and can mix in the wireless mic sound as desired. Needs fixing! Secondly, if you have any USB-C audio device connected to the battery handle, when the battery handle goes dead you will lose the audio from the USB-C source connected to it. You've then got to quickly unplug the battery handle, disconnect the mic from it, reconnect that to the Pocket 3, and carry on shooting. And that can be awkward or even impossible during event recording - eg a wedding. "Sorry folks, we lost the audio from the vows when the battery handle went dead..." Hopefully this long comment will add to the knowledge base about Pocket 3 audio!
Peter of Oz, I curtsy to and honor your ability to type paragraphs of tekkie banter, and applaud the length of your comment. I nearly always think I type too much & go overboard- but now that I've seen your comment to this video, I'm no longer going to feel awkward when I comment. (BTW I never verbally chatter as much as I type.) In fact, I love bumper stickers that say things like: 'Stop Talking So Much and Listen to the Birds!' or the shorter & more blunt version: 'SHUT UP- BIRDS ARE TALKING!' I enjoyed your educational comment!
Tim I am enjoying this experiment. Admit I'm not any kind of photographer, but I appreciate how much you work to create and share your experiences with us. Thanks!
Haven't had the need for this, but will be happy when your new dgi sends mic 2! In the meantime, glad you have the 2 mics on the other one. Geez. Looking forward to your upcoming duo photo trek.
This information truly helps us have a better understanding of how these types of mics work. Thank you for the demonstration! On a side note, I listened to your video with old school airbuds (temporarily misplaced my AirPods). I could only hear your voice through the left airbud. 🤔 Checked it on another channel and both were fine. Is that because of the type of mic you use or it’s not in stereo? Just curious if you might know the reason.
Hi Tim, it sounds exciting. Can't wait til you put it to use outdoors. My question is, would it be enough to work to record anything in place instead of a camera, a separate mic, and all the gadgets that are needed to record a video of anything? Meaning, if I'm just speaking or maybe just DIYing would it work? Let me know. Because if it does all of that, I'll get it myself. Also, if you don't mind me asking. Is it expensive?
It would work to record anything you want! It’s the “it” camera of the year. :) if you want the mic, you have to buy the creator combo. That runs about $670 I think.
It is unclear from your video if you can (MIX) input audio sources. In other words, can I use the included DJI Mic 2 with one of the Rode or Komica Mics wirelessly ?
