Sony ECM-M1 review: BEST mic for Sony creators? 

My Sony ECM-M1 microphone review for videographers and RU-vidrs! Sorry for my echo-ey room until 04:09 Check prices on the Sony ECM-M1 at B&H: bhpho.to/43lFjCu // WEX UK: tidd.ly/3pIBcCw Buy Gordon a coffee: www.paypal.me/cameralabs Gordon's In Camera book: amzn.to/2n61PfI / Amazon uk: amzn.to/2mBqRVZ Cameralabs merchandise: redbubble.com/people/cameralabs/shop Gordon’s retro gear channel: ru-vid.com Check MPB to buy and sell used gear: bit.ly/3ULU9yL Check eBay to find vintage gear: rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-53200-19255-0/1?icep_ff3=1&pub=5574908462&toolid=10001&campid=5338329149&customid=&ipn=psmain&icep_vectorid=229466&kwid=902099&mtid=824&kw=lg Lost photos? I recover mine with: www.dpbolvw.net/click-100568658-13808570?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.stellarinfo.com%2Fphoto-recovery-software.php Equipment used for producing my videos Panasonic Lumix S5 II: amzn.to/3Hf5IcI Sony A6400: prf.hn/l/pRO0wp5 Sony e 24mm f1.8: amzn.to/2TqWNzk Rode NT USB mic: amzn.to/3AdHcUp Rode Wireless Go II mic: amzn.to/3xkCvGo Rode Lavalier Go mic: amzn.to/3ygzzKY Godox UL150 light: amzn.to/2VpVbXE Godox QR-P70 softbox: amzn.to/3yQfGdF MacBook Pro 14in (16GB / 1TB): amzn.to/3PrKbPV 00:00 - Sony ECM-M1 design, controls, features. Sorry about the echo! 03:10 - Sony ECM-M1 shock mount test. Sorry about the echo! 04:09 - Sony ECM-M1 recording modes in quiet woodland 08:24 - Sony ECM-M1 recording modes in noisy train station 09:47 - Sony ECM-M1 wind muffler test on windy street and beach 10:26 - Sony ECM-M1 noise canceling and filter on windy beach 11:44 - Sony ECM-M1 four channel recording and safety channel 13:38 - Sony ECM-M1 verdict vs other models Music: www.davidcuttermusic.com / @dcuttermusic As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases

I have the ECM-B1M and record bird songs with it, for my videos. It is the only experience I have with microphones, so I can't really compare, but I get some very positive feedback. It's just incredible to access that quality with such ease - no wires, no batteries, directional and compact. Great products from Sony.

I have to say......the directional mode and the noise cancellation mode was seriously impressive 😮😮😮. Even when you were standing right in front of the ocean with it being quite windy.....your voice audio was crystal clear and I could almost hear no background noise.

What a crazy review! Loved it. Very easy to understand and appreciate. Feels like you went through extensive trouble (without losing the hat) to provide a wonderful review. Seems like a lot of fun, this microphone. I like how you gently remind us that "maybe we don't really need all the options at such cost" (if I understood correctly).

Wow this was an amazing test of all of this mic's capabilites. Thank you for all of the effort you put into this!

This was a very thorough overview. Thanks for taking the time to do this, and do it well! I'm looking at putting together a ducumentary kit with a FX-30, and the ECM series are definitely on my radar.

The mic seems ideal for ENG Run & Gun situations where you can't hand off a mic to the subject (perhaps they're even a bit uncooperative) or the subject area changes frequently. ENG Run & Gun situations: Narrow Front when you're grabbing someone as a sound byte. Wide front when you're catching a spontaneous conversation between multiple people. Omni for full ambiance. Stereo where the sources are across multiple locations in the sound field and you want to make that audibly obvious. Back & Front and maybe even the mode that keeps the channels separate if you're interviewing on the fly and may or may not want your questions. Back only if you need to describe a scene even if it's just as an audio note for a shot's intent which may not be obvious to the editor in post. I use a Sony PXW-Z90v and Sony ILME-FX3 and normally a Sony ECM-680s (their high-end Mono/Stereo) mic and I can see the M1 replacing it where flexibly trumps overall mic quality (built limited to narrow sound field). M1 would make the kit more compact as well which might be important in some Run & Gun situations.

What a masterful review. Thanks from Brazil Gordon!

Great job Gordon, you really highlighted the different modes and unique features of this new Sony mic.

SOLD! Great review, answered all my questions, especially in windy conditions. Thanks for the detailed video.

I like what they are doing with this series.

This mic sounds great, with lots of useful and convenient features. Great review, too!

I just got this mic delivered this morning. Can't wait to test it.

I’ve had two of these for about a year and the sound is amazing! I use them for wildlife videography.

thanks for the detailed review, sounds like a cool option for small run and gun setups when I don't want to bring my real 25cm shotgun mic, goes on my "nice to have" shopping list :)

Tysm for the effort and time to make this video

Very impressive directional pickup qualities and on-mic noise cancellation.

Wow! Another excellent test/review. This mic is on my list but my A6700 isn't arriving until tomorrow, so there's no rush. Yeah I ordered it with the Sony E PZ 10-20mm F4 G, which means I might have had a stroke and not realized it. Oh well, I'll start a new mode of photography called "Things that are very very close". This mic will come though. Thanks again for one of your quality reviews.

I use many different mics but a fave is the micbooster Mini Pluggy EM258 with Foam Windshield. That new Sony mic sounds OK

The directionality is great. But the noise cancelling sounded too digital and it was artifacting. Sony should come out with a MI mic that allows one to dial in the frequencies to cut or boost. Or just give us an even better mic and we can do the noise cancelling in post. However it is a very convenient mic to have when turn around needs to be fast.... Esp for vloggers.

Excellent review Gordon. Sony's ECM-M1 mike would make an excellent tool for any video journalist, its quick to set-up, and very adaptable to most any environment. Just what I'm looking for, many thanks!

Hi Gordon, just got hold of one of these. I film lots of live events, with on the fly vox pops, so the ability to switch from stereo to shotgun without changing mics is great. I'm comparing it to the Azden SMX30v which has seperate capsules for stereo and shotgun modes. The stereo on the Sony sounds really bad - constant noise compression sound and no sense of natural space. The Azden stereo is much better. In directional modes they're fairly similar, the Sony has less bass which actually makes for a clearer sound for interviews at least. (NB Your stereo test has come out in mono to my ears - it doesn't move round as you rotate the camera). I'll likely keep the Sony as it's so much lighter for use on a gimbal, but I wish the stereo mode was better.

Using an A7RV, which has a headset port for audio monitoring. CAN I USE THIS PORT with an external headset while recording with the ECM-M1? Could I also plug in an external wireless receiver (Rode, ie) to the A7RV mic port to achieve an additional audio input to the camera? GREAT REVIEW GORDON!

I really liked the super directional capability combined with the other modes for more general use. Unfortunately I'm on the Canon platform, so I'm going to have to do a little bit of research to see if they have something even close

Ótimo vídeo!!!! Tenho o microfone Sony B1M, porém estou achando a captura de áudio muito baixa. Você faz alguma configuração na câmera além do microfone? Desde já, agradeço!!

I'd definitely prefer to fix background noises in post. There are lots of excellent, relatively inexpensive plugins that do a much better job. But this does have features that could be useful for some situations, especially those where you don't want to or can't set up external mics.

Hey Gordon, great review. The best I have watched on this mic. I'm so confused. Reading through the comments... ECM B1M sounds better? ....It's older but has the most capsules. The ECM-M1 has a lot of bells and whistles but sounds tinny, especially with noise cancellation. I think the ECM B1M would be a better choice for me, but reading through the comments a lot of folks are complaining about the mount saying it can be noisy, I will be using this mic while moving around my garden filming. Have you experienced a lot of noise from the mount?

Ok, here I come. I never own an external mic in my life, but always looked for a top notch mini mic with high quality sound and I do believe this one will do the work. I like to travel light on my holidays, the Rode, forget it, too bulky. But this one rocks all the way for it's size and a minimum of top quality. I don't need THX certified sound on my videos. So for my newly purchased Sony a6700 this will be perfect, so I think.

As always, another perfect review, though I do have one question. I have limited experience with shotgun mics, and I'm a little foggy on the difference between stereo and omnidirectional. For example, in STEREO mode, if a dog barks on the left side, I should hear it on the left channel. Is this NOT going to happen with OMNIDIRECTIONAL mode? Is it just 'mono sound' collection, but no direction? Am I interpreting that correct? Thanks in advance.

I’ve got this and been doing some testing. The very tight forward directional mode is only good when you are basically holding the camera, you are too quiet when some distance away. I may do a comparison video to the inbuilt mic in the ZVE1, which I’m not overly impressed with- Sony sell it as a fantastic in built camera mic on the ZVE1, but it’s nowhere near as good as on the Nikon Z30 which is king of the in built mic- really!

Great review, thanks. The noise cancelling is not as impressive as I had hoped.

Super directional is amazing!

Excellent review!!!

Is it suitable for good sound capture on Rock\Metal festivals? Or any other compact mics without overload. Thanks!

Noise cancelation ruins the sound. But definitely I will buy this mic, love all other aspects. It's always better to kill noise at postproduction.

So, to clarify, can this work with older cameras like the A9, A7III, etc? Or is it a bit limited?

I saw from all channels that it has 24bit right? Sony could have bumped it up to 32bit flow .. or waiting for the ECM - M2 TO HAVE 32 BIT FLOW SO they Sony can continue to grab much more bucks... Nice. Love this mic though but wish it was 32bit flow.

Great video! Thank you! Can I ask what lens you used in the forest?

If you use the safety tracks do they play by default if you play the file straight from camera and don't do any editing on them? Or are they hidden? I wish the sony cameras would let you use the two channels from the 3.5mm then I could use the shotgun mic and LAV mics at the same time.

The noise canceling feature is unusable even for amateur home videos. It’s sounds like you are talking is an empty metal barrel with inconsistent pitch. They should have done what the Hollyland Lark Max done with their ( environmental noise canceling ) That was impressive with little to no effect on you sound pitch what so ever. Other than that it’s a convenient mic to use. And most importantly very good review as usual. Thank you 🙏

I don't understand why the clip using the stereo pattern is still completely mono. Identical in both L & R channels, even when you spin the camera. This is the second review of this mic I've watched this evening where this has happened. What's gone wrong?

Can you do a comparison against ECM-B1M? Which one is better? B1M has 8 microphones and 3 pick up patterns. M1 has only 4 microphones but 8 pick up patterns. Which one is better in sound?

I am an owner ECM-B10. I get why people say it is stupid to spend money on microphone that only works on one camera system, but the elimination of wires and batteries easily makes up for it. I wish the shock mount on the B10 was as good as this one (and thank you for leading with that!). However, more importantly, even though the added features on this microphone are great, it’s core function as a microphone is a bit disappointing. I don’t really understand the decision to make the microphone shorter in the lens axis while remaining tall. It doesn’t add much to portability and I wonder if that is contributing to the poorer performance.

Did the stereo mode work correctly? It did not sound stereo at all. That would be quite disappointing, as it is a major differentiator

Very impressive performance, this without a doubt is the best on hot shoe microphone available.

Wish canon would come out with something like this to help with their brutally loud focus ticking on their RF lenses.

I have the ECM B1M do you think the new ECM M1 is better? I am interested with the new one for its stereo and back and forth audio.

Interestingly you mentioned mounting noise here. I own the b10m amid and the mounting noise is the biggest problem I have with it when moving around. Why wasn’t it mentioned in your earlier reviews of Sony mics. It would have been very helpful I had known it before buying it….

How do you get the safety channels (3&4) for your edit- wherre are they stored?

Thanks for another thorough review!

Which mic do you prefer, the b1m or the m1? Being able to record in stereo is the primary attraction over the b1m for me.

Rode wins on price/performance. Thank you for this comprehensive review.

So... some new fancy directional modes and dual channel... perhaps justifying a high price. But it only has 4 capsules compared to the 8 of the similarly priced ECM-B1M, and so it's therefore odd Sony have perhaps not changed the pricing a little to better shoehorn this new mic into the overall range. The (also) 4 capsuled ECM-B10 is less than half the price now as a result but, as Gordon says near the end, most would say the B1M has better sound than it. So is that still the case in comparison to the new M1 as well, I wonder? (I.e on the key directions that overlap, like super-directional and omni?) It would therefore be nice to compare those three products side by side in tests instead rather than the same old new Sony product vs. ancient analogue alternative in the field. (Yes, I know the B1 and B10 won't be able to do all of them.) And I do recall when Gordon reviewed the ECM-B10 in the same Brighton locations before, yes, so I would argue it is now time to move on... and have a full, definitive Sony digital mics-only in-field test. (Well, maybe dropping the G1 then.) Is it now simply just down to budget vs functions I wonder? I mean, also, is the M1 so much smaller than the B10?

Hi Gordon, I bought this microphone on the strength of your review. In the video timestamp 1:57 you say that if there is a digital connection you get an additional menu to set the audio/ bit rate/ number of channels. I have a Sony A7c with the latest firmware however when the ECM-M1 is fitted there is no menu to set the audio. What's going on? Where is the menu? Would be interested in finding out, I wonder if other people with Sony cameras are having the same issue, maybe you could do a video to find out!

For me it is not worth the hassle. When I need to record voice I use microports like DJI Mic. I use shotgun mic only when recording b-roll or footage where audio is only ambient sound, but something like Rode shotgun makes much better choice, because of the sound quality but you can also use it with wireless transmiter as a boom mic or connect it to your PC for best possible audio experience for people you talk with on some online platform or record a voiceover

It's impressive but I can't say it sounded "expensive", I lean towards a lav mic and something like the Rode Wireless Go out and about and a Rode VideoMic Go II in the studio, with the added benefit of recording straight to the laptop using a USB-C - that combination sounds better to my ears anyway than this rather expensive mic.

Second video I've seen in this mic and it sounds echo-y 🤔 Maybe it needs to be used outdoors? I'd spend the money on a DJI or Holly Max mic instead...

I'm a little confused. The audio at the beginning of the video sounds VERY omni and not directional at all. I'm hearing the room reflections as loud as your actual voice.

16-bit or 24-bit audio support with this mic?

I would love to know how it works for home videos where the subject may not be right in front (arm's length) to the camera and maybe 10 feet away or so.

I am not convinced that it sounds better than the previous flagship MI microphone ECM-B1M. Or is it because Laing's space is just very reverby?

Great videos

Great review! It really looks like a great mic!

Outstanding review.

The Rode still sounds very good.

Which mic has better sound quality - B1 or M1?

Does not sound great, but it is convenient. The RODE micro sounded waaaaaay better. For about half the cost, I’d choose the Zoom M3 Mictrak with on board 32 bit float recording and true mid-side RAW file format.

Thanks for the review. Really appreciate you doing a shake test. Never use my ECM-B1M anymore because it rattles too much. Glad to see they fixed that issue.

Good thing you put the time stamp 4:09. The sound was terrible up to that point. 😂

Oh god. The noise canceling mode is a complete failure. Tinny and warped. Everything else works. Kudos for a very thorough review. I subbed.

Thanks for the comprehensive and meaningful tests! Looks like I've just saved 400,- Euros. 😉I'll keep using my DPA 4060 setup even if it's less convenient.

Amazing technology. Shame about the audio quality. Expect it could be sweetened in post, but that greatly diminishes the ease-of-use value proposition. A quality shotgun can't perform this microphone's tricks, but will sound far better straight out of the camera. Save time now, or save time later. Expect this technology will eventually take over the market, but as with many first generation products, not quite ready.

On my iPad - the audio sounds better OUTSIDE….

The video, overview and quality of the presentation is superb! That said, the microphone itself sounds *_horrible_* - it id a shame, because the design, features and concept are excellent, but they forgot to make sure the sound would be good, which is what microphones are all about! I've watched numerous reviews and overviews and the microphone _definitely_ sounds mediocre Thank you for the great overview - shame the microphone sounds bad 😞

Nice sir

I hate to say it but I have yet to find something in any bracket that has done better than the Rode SVMX. Sony may one day do an MI shoe stereo XY that does not look or sound like an alien marital aid. I'll be waiting.

£350 is painfully expensive for this type of mic

The directional audio sounds quite good. The digital effects, wind muffler and noise cancelling, sound bad. Not even passable.

The cheap Rode mic offered better sound . The Sony sounded thin

Sorry, I’m not convinced. Audio for you commentary at the top of the review was very thin. Rode is better.

The sound quality is "dead", limited frequency range. Just not satisfing in my ears.

Sony is so hilariously greedy! Their latest dressed-up money-grab. Physics is physics - skyward-oriented microphone capsules with heavy on-the-fly signal processing to cover for their limitations, is an amateur move. Almost nobody lacks the time/access to record properly with suitable mics, so this gadget and its eye-candy dial is truly built for lazy videographers/"filmmakers"...

The rolling shutter at 3:24 ..wow. just terrible. 😟 And, I don't really have too much positive to say about the quality of the mic as well. Cool versatility, but the sound quality really isn't anything to write home about.

It sounds terrible! I love your video but stopped watching this one after a few seconds, no good.

Sorry Sony, but the sound quality in the room is just unusable crap, it seems to perform better outdoors

Won't work with other camera brands ? Too bad. Useless. Proprietary product. The Mic has great sound ! Great, great, great sound. @ 9:18 The noise cancelling technology is very effective and really high quality.

First - overpriced. Second - if one is spending that much, there are great systems of mics, that will record 2 people at great distance and will work on every camera.

Smooth but I don't shoot Sony (and have no wish to do so)