Which microphone do you use?

[Rahul Iyer]

Hi,

To create our training courses, the use of the correct microphone is critical. When I began my journey on Udemy, I invested in the Blue Snowball USB Microphone. It is outstanding and works superb even today after six years of its regular use. I use it to record audio lectures.

With that said, as I progressed and started using a DSLR camera, I required another microphone that could connect to the camera. So, I purchased the Rode Video Mic Pro+. Its a compact directional shotgun microphone with an outstanding sound quality.

Some details of both these microphones are as below:

Blue Snowball iCE USB Mic for Recording and Streaming on PC and Mac, Cardioid Condenser Capsule (Price ~$40 on Amazon)

 

Rode VideoMic Pro+ Compact Directional On-Camera Shotgun Condenser Microphone (Price ~$265 on Amazon)

Which microphone do you use to record your video lectures? Share your thoughts.

[Salil Dhawan]

I use a Maono AU-PM 420, works well, barely picks any noise, easy to set up and use. 

[Rahul Iyer]

Wow! That's an awesome microphone 🙂

[VirajShetty265]

I use Blue Yeti USB Mic. It does pick up noise when I record using Snagit but I eliminate the noise using iMovie. 

[Rahul Iyer]

Nice @VirajShetty265 ... Looks like Blue Yeti is the first one to repeat its name in this list..

[ba0708]

For what it's worth, I used a Blue Yeti before switching to Shure SM7B. I found that it picked up way too much background noise because I wasn't recording in a treated or 100% silent room. If you can live with that, the Yeti is definitely a great mic for the price. Just something to consider.

[ba0708]

Shure SM7B -> XLR -> CloudLifter -> XLR -> Audient iD4 -> USB.

[Rahul Iyer]

Wow @ba0708 ... That's an excellent set up. How much does this cost (in total)?

[ba0708]

It's great, yeah. Not sure what it costs because it depends on your country. I use the small CloudLifter with one XLR in/out as that's enough for me. Might be work checking if there's a newer version than iD4 since I bought that setup a number of years ago.

[Dheeru]

I have been using AT 2020 for my course and it has been pretty good. No complaints from students so far :). Almost all my lectures are screencast.

Sometime ago I bought rode link lavalier. It is more expensive. That's mainly when I have to put myself in front of the camera, which is not very common at all. It is a good one, but I feel I am not getting the best out of it. Perhaps need to invest more time into its audio editing. 

Rahul: Just would like to meander here. If possible, could you share what DSLR you are using along with the lenses. I just saw one of your promos -- Certified Lean Six Sigma Green Belt course. I thought the quality was pretty good and would like to get to that level. I have used a Canon 200D with its default lenses, but I am not that happy with the quality - it looks like an amateur youtube video. I need to take it to the next level. If possible, pls let me know the DSLR and lense you are using. Thanks.

[Rahul Iyer]

That's awesome @Dheeru, AT2020, Blue Yeti and Shure microphones seem to be the most used of all. Excellent findings! Thank you for sharing.

And thank you for your kind feedback about the video quality. Love it when someone shares they liked your video. Below details should help:

1. Studio Setup: You will find my complete studio set up details in this link (just scroll down to my post): https://community.udemy.com/t5/Community-News/We-d-love-to-see-your-recording-space/bc-p/83490/highl...
2. I think the video quality is good because of two reasons - hardware and software
3. Hardware: I use Canon 750D and lots of LED lighting. I would also suggest you take a moment to review my post-production set up in the link above. I think the desktop/laptop hardware also plays a decent role when you use high-end softwares (especially Premiere Pro)
4. Software: When I used Camtasia for video editing, the video quality was poor. However, as I switched to Premiere Pro, the quality became crisp and excellent. The video that you are referring to is edited in Premiere Pro.
5. Course Work: I also took a Premiere Pro Editing course on Udemy to get past its steep learning curve. The course name is "Adobe Premiere Pro CC - Essentials Training Course" by Daniel Walter Scott. The course is outstanding and I was able to steadily improve my video quality.

I know you had only asked about the type of camera. I have been using this camera for over an year. However, as I improved my post-production setup (software and hardware), the quality jumped by leaps and bounds. I hope this helps. Please do let me know if you have any additional questions 🙂

[StanVangild204]

Thanks @Rahul Iyer .  As always, you are SUPER GENEROUS with your time and explanations, and we all really appreciate it.  You are a real inspiration.

One thing I'm curious about:  You talk about switching from Camtasia to Premiere Pro for video editing.  I use Camtasia, and my reasoning is that since most of my video work is screencasting, I can record, edit, and output the final product all within the same software.  I understand you feel that you get better quality with Premiere Pro, but is that also the case for screencasting?  What specifically is better with Premiere Pro?

Thanks in advance - you've got me curious....

[Rahul Iyer]

Thank you for your kind words @StanVangild204.

Great point and I completely missed it. Oops!

Premiere Pro doesn't allow us to do screen recording. So, for this purpose, I continue to use Camtasia. I then export the final screen recording output in the mp4 file format. Finally, I add this screen recording mp4 and the talking head videos (from the camera) to Premiere Pro and mesh them together to get a final product. 

In my previous reply, I was referring to the quality of the talking head videos and stock footage(s) between Premiere Pro and Camtasia. Premiere Pro also allows us to alter and improve the audio quality considerably.

🙂

[StanVangild204]

THANKS!  That makes sense.  The only video of myself that I shoot right now is an intro, but if I start to do more talking head, will consider Premiere Pro.  I used it a very long time ago - I think I could pick it back up pretty quickly.  Thanks again!

[Dheeru]

Great info. Thanks a lot @Rahul Iyer. It seems like a really complete set-up (from other post). Some of the things have gone over my head :). I am going to read it slowly and shall incorporate some of those things. It has taken you an year to get to that stage and that explains a lot. Great job. Will also do the course you have suggested.

For now one question I have is for Canon 750D, are you using the default lense that comes with it or have you also bought a separate one?

[Rahul Iyer]

That is correct. I use the default lens 🙂

[Dheeru]

Great. Thanks!!

[SandeepKumar]

I started with Blue Yeti.

Currently, I use two microphones (one as a backup in case I mess up in recording)

1. Rode Wireless Filmmaker Kit

This is my primary microphone and records the sound in a DSLR (Canon 80D)

https://www.amazon.ca/Rode-RodeLink-Wireless-Filmmaker-System/dp/B00TV90DX0

2. Rode Podcaster (This is just a backup soundtrack)

It records the sound on the PowerPoint of the screen recording.

https://www.amazon.ca/Rode-Podcaster-USB-Dynamic-Microphone/dp/B000JM46FY

[Rahul Iyer]

Thank you @SandeepKumar.. I agree, Rode has some of the best microphones. Very reliable. Love the Rode Wireless Filmmaker Kit 🙂

Thank you for sharing your inputs.

Rode RodeLink FM Digital Wireless Filmmaker SystemRode Podcaster USB Dynamic Microphone 

[Utkasrh Agarwal]

Your voice