Rode Wireless Pro (coming soon): amzn.to/3EKwQ1y DJI Mic: amzn.to/41i209D MKE2 Lav: amzn.to/48dyFBT The shotgun mic used to record this video: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-Shj6dGWSOVI.htmlsi=c0JtQWEwwII4jBKg
I still like DJI system way more, especially with its easy input to different phones aswell as its size which is almost astronomical of a difference compared to the røde system... To put it mildly, the røde system is friggin ugly compared to DJI
I'm not a pro videographer so I have no use for 32 bit float or timecodes. I have the DJI mic since Feb 2023 and love it. It works so well with my DJI action 3 and even with my ipad since I am a mobile editor. The transmitters plug directly into my ipad and it recognizes them as a drive. Vey easy transfer of audio files. I can also do everything (like delete files) through the receiver itself. No need to plug anything in to change settings or the like. The audio is better on the Rode for sure but I have never heard anyone complain about the audio in my videos when using the DJI system. Also the dji mics are $70 cheaper. Before I bought the DJI mics I had the rode wireless go 2. They were fine, but I had issues with the app. Both on my computer and I could never get it to work on my iphone. I sold the rode 2s and bought the dji system and dji addressed all the issues I had with the rode 2s. I am happy that rode fixed most of the issues and added some new features but I am gonna stick with my dji system. Makes me wonder what the DJI MIc 2's will be like...
I would say you convinced us to stick with DJI in this test. I'm thinking that DJI will release a version 2 in the future. But RODE as king is tough to say for these reasons that you demonstrated - better case design with DJI, better synchronication with DJI, smaller and lighter easier to user with DJI, You didn't say this but you alluded to it - DJI has a record button. An actual dedicated record button, and RODE does not. DJI does not require any software to tell the transmitter and receiver how to function. So the only thing that RODE has going for it in our humble opinion is - the twist lock system for the microphone and 32 bit float. Other than that it seems sticking with DJI will do the trick. By the way we have been working on a 3d print case for the DJI that allows for a twist lock on the lav side of things. Here is where DJI fails - it's WAY too easy to accidentally delete all your files by hitting "format" and we have complained to DJI about this. The DJI has a known error in that if you are recording a subject for a long time, they may be giving a speech for example and somewhere in the middle it blips. DJI will replace your device but it has happened to many times. The DJI also disconnects from the computer while transferring footage easily. I hate that they don't provide usbc to usbc cables. Instead it's the old kind. Id' be curious to know what your transfers have been like on the RODE and if they disconnect from the computer randomly like the DJI ones and the previous RODE ones did? Thanks
My man... I don't think I could've ran into a more perfect video because I've been looking at this SAME exact setup! Sony camera, Rode (or DJI) and a MKE2 lav. It's crazy how you got every single aspect of my setup I'm looking into.
Thanks for the review, I did use the rode wireless go and go ii and liked the sound but somehow the on off button stopped after a while working reliably. Switched than to dji and am really happy. In your beached test I did prefer also the Audio of the dji mics, also when you did show the rode internal recording. Keep up the good work👍🏻
In the sea of RU-vid tech journalism/review space where every new gadget is approved and hailed by every content creator, FStoppers are constantly putting out real world reviews. Keep up the great work man!
For the problems you mention at 13:45, why would you need to jam a timecode signal into camera while you have no intention to use the internal recording from the transmitter? Take the split audio from receiver into camera solve the problem in your example. For whatever reason, you need work with the transmitter internal recording, syncing is always easy by using the 'Synchronize' function in Pr. No timecode required.
The timecode is not an issue with Rode, it’s with your gear. The FX3/FX30 accept timecode in so u can still record separate L/R channels like u want to while still having accurate timecode written to the metadata. Right tool for the right job Lee.
This is the exact comment I've been looking for.. haha. Got the feeling my a7iv was the issue as well. I guess it only supports timecode through audio too?
Right I was thinking something along those lines, on my R5C I can record in slow-mo + audio so I'd only have to set my base frame rate in the rode (e.g. 25fps european standard) and then it doesn't matter if I record at higher frame rates since the audio is always at the same rate anyway, right?
@@Northpaal A7iv does not support TC in. You would need to use the 3.5mm jack and record LTC on one side of the stereo track. There is free software that will update the metadata from LTC, but it will not mute the LTC which is a big problem for me. That's the reason I bought the FX3/FX30 - I get accurate TC AND can still record great audio to the video clip.
@@mahutaproductions8498 The key is to make sure that you are only doing frame rates that are exact multiples of your base frame rate. I'd recommend 30p since you can then easily shoot 60p or 120p. Since you are in the EU, it would be 25/50/100 and you are good to go!
BUDDY, the REASON the Rode flops around is because you're attaching to your COLLAR. US THE MAGNET and place in the front (on top) of the shirt near your PEC (boob) for sure you'll have a much better result. Great info .
The DJI also has a magnet though. So between the two (just as far as convenience of placing it on your shirt) I can see why he said the DJI was better for that.
Ulanzi, just came out with their new U-Mic Wireless Lavalier system, and it looks to be nearly identical to the Rode Pro in terms of features and only for $79! I am not sure about the audio quality since there are no reviews on it yet but love to see reviews on this later.
there are a couple of wireless Mic's and they are just as good as Rode, i have two different ones and also the Rode and I just say to myself a lot, boy you wasted $400. Ulanzi makes quality stuff, never had a complaint. i think I will get the Unlanzi and give it a test.
I've used time code several times now and unless you are using it for mission critical syncing, it's better to skip it and use something like Plurleyes. I have the RWGP and I probably will never use that feature.
I agree about the timecode statement. If it could take a Jam sync code from another device (Tentacle sync, or DTC-1 etc) it would be waaaaay more useful. It also can't seem to Jam my DTC-1 to try and do it in reverse. It needs two things related to Timecode IMHO. 1) Ability to take a Jam sync signal 2) Clean straightforward way to put out a Jam sync signal AND record the audio it's receiving from the Transmitters.
Finally an objective review, I watched 4 reviews before this one and it seemed like there are no cons to this setup at all... Thank you, very good review!
I'd gotten the rode, but was one of those who got a constant hum when I plugged it into my camera. I tried every solution suggested, but no luck. Then went with the dji, and no problems... except for the fact that my lav mics don't screw in and easily come unplugged. I solved it by getting some L-shaped connectors, so it's pretty difficult to accidentally pull it out.
Dope review. 👌🏻 Looking forward to receiving the Wireless Pro. I’m probably gonna use my Tascam lavs from the DR-10L instead of Rode’s lavs, because I like how those sound.
I was tempted to cancel my order for the hollyland MAX but in the end I decided 24-bit is more than enough as it can record upto 144db.. 32-bit float is only really needed if you need upto 1.5kdb :D
I feel like the range test wasn’t much helpful except showing maximum distance range. It might be more useful to test those mics in a building with walls or in a crowded place
That's a super hard question. So much has to do with how far the two people will be apart and the reverb in the room. I lean toward telling you to get the Rode system because it's guaranteed to work regardless of the room and it's more versatile.
i've also watched a lot of youtube reviews about the rode wireless pro. aside from you, i think i saw only one other review that complained about the lav wind guard as well.
Thank you so much dear.But please guide me : How to Connect Wireless Lavalier Microphones to a Audio Amplifier? This is for public address in an auditorium .
2:50 I am so glad I am not the only one that found the Lav IIs to be a downgrade with the mentioned downsides. Lose clip holder, potential for the mic to flip and sound different (Which is our productions it HAS) hence why I still keep the Lav Is around. Really tired of people that review these, give it a really high praise without actually using them for long periods of time in an actual production setting.
The better comparison would have been Rode Wireless Pro vs Hollyland Lark Max, which has live seamless auto frequency hopping and a great interface. You don't lose connection in highly congested wireless environments. Do yourself a favor and check it out.
Strange. Suddenly the DJI doesn't sound as good as it can, so dry, why ?... & btw, the other two are so paslish, but the lav on the Rode get's better. You sure need to go to another review to have a good idea... It's a bit short, where it's the most important. Not bad either FS.
Dude i think your Audio is not in sync with your Video, it seems like the audio is 2 frames delayed... Anyway, thanks for the video in general and your honest opinion about the mics! 👌
Dear Sir, Greetings.Thanks for your great video. Please guide me , regarding the use of Rode Wireless PRO, as wireless hands free mic for public address for mega church meetings etc. where preacher and interpreter stands together with their mobiles etc. 1) Rode Wireless PRO being GHz,will our mobiles,wi-fi etc.interfear with it's signals, so that the voice gets affected? 2) Can Rode Wireless PRO receiver be connected directly to the sound amplifier or is it possible only through a mixer ?
I’m guessing that contributed to the poor performance. I watched another test where the GO II and DJI Mic interfered with each other when in use simultaneously and did better when retested one at a time.
But the rode has the 32-bit float backup for when it actually fails 😅 My self are more like a heavy invested tentacle kind og guy.. but i Think its Nice we have options 🤟🔥 If you are on mac its not complicated ;) just get the tentacle studio.. it makes your timeline with multiple cameras and multiple Sound sources
Hello, do you know if the new RODE Wireless PRO supports line in feature, i want to transmit music to the reciever connecting a line in jack with high gain input. The old Wirelles Go II suports only lavalier or very low gain input and DJI Mic work very good with high gain. I wonder if the new RODE supports it. Thank you
Hi I have a load of Sennheiser pro end mics and only one works well with the Rode Pro and RODE II. The cheap me2 mics seems to be fine and one of my MKE2 is good, However I have two MKE 2 that suffer from RF interference and also the MKE 1 has a bit too. Any thoughts would be appreciate?
Do you have any plans in the future to test pro-level wireless mics as opposed to consumer products? What was the Sennheiser unit you used? I've got six channels of Sennheiser 500-series rackmounts I use with DPA mics and am looking for comparisons between Lectrosonics, Wisycom, Zaxcom, Sony, and Shure Axient pro-level systems. Those systems are many thousands of dollars per channel and I'd like to hear some reviews of those instead of paying a thousand dollars to rent one of each for a day.
@@FStoppers I think you are correct. I have this kit, but haven't had the time to look it over. I thought it was odd to include 5 windscreens for the transmitter/receivers...
the question i have , if you use the lav with the rode and yell into it, will the 32bit float still work? or will it distort the actual lav and then the recording is still lost due to the clipping internally?
yes it will. "clipping" is happening in the recording device and almost never in microphone itself. It's similar to shooting raw vs jpg. 32bit audio has more dynamic range.
My problem with Rode mics is they are just not user friendly They are clunky and confusing. If you don't use them regularly then you will likely need to pull out the manual to remember how to adjust the settings. I needed to quickly change one of the transmitters to record the audio and just couldn't figure it out. I had to break out a cable and attach it to my phone app to turn on the recording feature. Meanwhile everyone on set was "patiently" waiting. DJI is much more user friendly.
You can practically bet that DJI is going to come out with 32-bit recording (or at least announce it) by NAB 2024 if not sooner. Shockingly disappointed by Sennheiser. I have an older G3 system and have been thinking about Rode Wireless Pro but worried about dropouts when losing line of site. I wonder how the G3 fairs but, it may have no advantage.
Hey, seecraig, I have used the Comica Boom XDs for several years and may replace with Rode or DJI, but I also have, and still love, my Senny G3 system. I'll never part with it because it always works.
Nice review Lee. I bought these, and love that I can use my pro lav mics (Sanken Cos11d) with them since they have locking 3.5mm (which DJI doesn't currently have). I actually sold the Rode lav mics that came with it. I also sold an old Sennheiser G3 unit since these are way better. I did have to buy a TRS splitter cable and two VXLR Pros in order to be able to run each channel separately into my XLR camera or mixer, but its worth it. I won't be using the timecode either, but do like these things so far.
The Sennheiser unit without processing sounds horrible! Obviously, you'd process the audio, but for Sennheiser to be an audio first company, I'd expect so much better.
The MKE2 mic is actually very expensive and is the only piece of "pro" audio in this entire review. I agree it doesn't sound a whole lot different than Rode's built in mic but that may just show how impressive Rode is for the price.
05:30 And it could be much better... if you look at the receiver in the lower right side of the frame you can see that the audio meter is exceptionally low (~20%). While the EW-DP system removes the need to adjust gain at the transmitter entirely, you still need to appropriately gain stage your system to get the best signal-to-noise ratio. Likely what's happening here is the gain setting is around +21 (just a guess here as that's what it is out of the box) when it really needed to adjusted depending on the source (I use +36 for the MKE 2). Because this was likely set to low, what you're hearing is just plain ole bad signal-to-noise ratios with the recorded signal being boosted to level them off in post. For what it's worth, this isn't described well in the documentation and requires an adjustment in the main menu on the receiver - there's an opportunity to clarify how to set the Gain vs the Output Level and how that effects the next piece of gear in the signal path.
Great info. I recently ditched my Rode GO II for the DJI mostly because their software is dog sh*t. I refuse to use their products unless and until someone convinces me it actually works.
ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-Shj6dGWSOVI.html Remember a lot of the magic you're hearing is the EQ I'm putting on the shotgun mic. For the sake of this review, I did not add and EQ to the mics I was testing.
I had two big issues with the Wireless Go II. The first, which they obvious haven't fixed, was the screen the receiver screen being on TOP, a complete pain to use while on top of my camera. Second and worse was having to export audio files from the transmitters ONE BY ONE through the Rode app!! The DJI Mic system solved BOTH those issues with a front receiver screen, and the ability to just plug in the transmitters and open them up like any other USB thumb drive or SD card. If they haven't changed that, I'm not interested.
Screen has never been an issue because I rarely shoot with a camera above my eye height so I can always look down and see it. The downloading without the app could be a big deal and I swear I read that Rode had fixed that but I just tested it and it is not showing up in my OS when I plug it in... Not sure.
Thanks for the great review..I've still got the older orginal Rode Wireless system...sounds like I'd better using that old lapel mic and my DPA 4061. I use Plural Eyes for syncing audio...it does a brilliant job with syncing...right click_ sync...as long as the camera records some reasonable reference audio...it is quite painless now. (and have fit is actually quite useful having onboard camera audio for a bit of ambient noise from time to time) Thanks for great review.
For professional and busy area shoot, I always use the UHF wireless system and if i need 32 bit float i sometimes rent the 32 bit float compact recorders and connect it to my receiver. Rode always gave me problems. just a hand move in front of the transmitter unit and the audio glitches. Never used DJI but I heard almost all 2.4Ghz system have similar issues :)
@@FStoppers from my multiple experiences, i never trust 2.4ghz for busy area or critical works even fom popular brands like rode or Sennheiser because of the range and wavelength limitations. I have been using a cheap brand uhf system named boya for the last 5 years and it always worked fine. UHF generally has better range and stability when it comes to busy situations, both physical and signal crowds because it can hop between channels and wavelength quickly and efficiently. And also simple to use.
Great video 👍🏽 I have the dji wireless 🛜 I’m satisfied with them. But I need a solution to have on one more set of wireless mics. I have 3 cameras and would like to have 2 wireless sets for 4 people. Do you have any ideas of how I would go about this? 2dji ? 1 dji and 1 rode pro ? Would that work?
On one hand it’s nice having the same brand so that all accessories work with everything. But it could also be confusing when everything looks the same. You’ll need colored tape.
You're probably the most scrupulous reviewer out there. And I love you for that. Some of the banal stuff that would actually be dealbreakers, and no other reviewer has even mentioned. Like the poor accessory fittings, or the lav mic direction. Am hoping that the DJI Mic 2 will have all the features figured out, as well as add 32 bit float.
It's absolutely fascinating to see how different the world of content creators is from the world of narrative film. For small filmmakers the RODE is a godsend. It's everything we want. Our cameras do timecode just fine, a great many of us are in Resolve so that's no issue. Being able to bury the transmitter and a Lav on talent, or as a plant mic somewhere on a set or in a car and KNOW that we're going to get clean 32bit float is AMAZING. Imagine having to put out 8, 12, 15 lavs on actors on a set, and having to sync that by hand back in post! Having consistent timecode for all that literally saves HOURS of work without having to spend upwards of $10k for true pro level systems. But for someone doing YT videos I can see why this would be a pain. And it's CRAZY that Adobe and Final Cut still can't extract timecode from audio. I guess someone could do it in the free version of Resolve and export the files. It's literally 2 clicks in Resolve to get the timecode.