Investing in a boom mic for iPhone® enables you not to rely on the inbuilt mic and record clear and high quality sounds even in noisy environments. It improves the sound quality, which makes you different from amateur content creators. If you are new to it, you may wonder:
- What is it?
- How to make successful connection to ensure great recordings?
- How to place it properly so as to capture best sounds?
We will cover these points in the article. Just read it and learn more information to make your video attractive.
What is external iPhone® boom mic?
As the name suggests, it is a directional microphone for iPhone®. Here it stands for shotgun mic. It features lobar polar pattern, which means it is directional to capture target sounds that it is pointed towards and blocks any sound from other directions.
Since it is a mini shotgun mic for iPhone®, it is usually in the shape of short barrel, which captures on-axis sounds without blocking the camera lens. In most cases, it features a connector or cable that fits the Lighting port, which contributes to simple connection.
Table: Overview of boom mic for iPhone® at SYNCO
To satisfy the need for recording directional sounds with iPhone®, SYNCO has manufactures a line of mics. The following table talks about the key specs.
|
Microphone |
U1L |
U3 |
|
Frequency Range |
40Hz-20KHz |
50Hz-12KHz |
|
Sensitivity |
-35dB at 1KHz |
-26.5dbV@1KHz |
|
Max. SPL |
120dB |
105dB |
|
Power |
Plug-in power |
500mAH Lithium Battery |
Go and buy at Moman PhotoGears Store
How to connect boom mic to iPhone®?
Generally, the ways of connection are varied by the type of connector or cable of your microphone. And pay attention, if you have iPhone® 7 or above, there is only a charging port supporting physical connection because Apple canceled the headphone jack to ensure compact phone design.
If your microphone has a Lightning connector
It is incredibly simple to use such shotgun mic for iPhone®. Just plug it into the charging port, and your phone will regard it as the default audio recording device to capture target sounds. You can get everything ready and start the recording.
If it has 3.5mm cable
In this case, you need an adapter. And you should choose the adapter according to the type of cable since 3.5mm cable includes TRS and TRRS. What are they? TRS refers to “tip, ring, sleeve” and is used to connect to cameras, DSLR and suchlike. Ad for TRRS, it stands for “tip, ring, ring, sleeve”, which is utilized in smartphones and suchlike mobile devices. You can tell TRRS from TRS by the three black rings on it.
If you want to use your boom mic for iPhone® that features a TRRS cable, you should shop for a TRRS to Lightning adapter to help. Plug the mic into one end, and connect the other end to the charging port, so you can use it to film your video.
If you have boom mic for iPhone® wireless for connection
The connection is also easy by following the tips below.
- Turn on the mic.
- Open the Bluetooth setting on our smartphone and make sure it can be discovered.
- Place the mic at a short distance from your phone so it will show up on the connecting list.
- Click the mic on the device list and make connection.
- Make iPhone® shotgun mic test by shooting an audio clip in Voice Memos.
Where should you aim the boom mic?
As we aforementioned, boom mic for iPhone® captures the sounds directly in front of itself. Therefore, it does matter to point it to a reasonable direction to ensure better audio performance.
It is recommended to point it to the chin or upper chest of the talent so the sounds in on axis to be captured totally. The directional pickup pattern also affects the ideal distance from the mic to the sound sources. To make the best of it, you should make sure that it is 2 feet away from the subject. Such distance allows the mics to capture target sound clearly without picking up ambient noise.
In addition, if you are taking up home recording, another guideline to remember is to avoid pointing your audio boom mic for iPhone® at hard surfaces such as hardwood floors or exposed brick walls. These surfaces reflect sound waves, making the sound hollow and lowering the effectiveness of the interference tube design. In this case, you will find more noises in the audio, which causes trouble to post production.
Conclusion
Audio is capable of delivering as much information as video. This is the reason why it is important to use the suitable audio recording equipment no matter which shooting device you use. A boom mic for iPhone® is an excellent investment if you are strict with the video content, be it podcasting, vlogging or interviews.