Offering both a front-facing supercardioid mic capsule and a rear-facing cardioid capsule, the Saramonic Vmic4 is a compact, lightweight camera-mount shotgun microphone that can effectively pick up audio from on-camera talent and the camera operator at the same time. This clever, dual-mic system is especially well suited to content creators making interview videos and documentaries where they interact with the on-camera subject from behind the camera.
The mic offers three settings, allowing you to tailor the way it captures audio to meet your specific needs. The On setting engages only the front facing mic, while Multi engages both the front and rear mics and also a 3.5mm external mic input with plug-in power—useful if you'd like to add a lav or wireless mic to the mix. The Off setting allows you to save battery life between takes. Onboard controls provide level adjustment and a high-pass filter option, and there's a 3.5mm jack for convenient headphone monitoring. The integrated shoemount with a 1/4"-20 thread on the bottom allows for easy attachment to a camera shoe or tripod, and a coiled TRS cable is supplied for orderly wiring between the mic's 3.5mm output jack and your camera or portable recorder's input jack for audio recording. A 3.5mm TRRS cable is also supplied for connection to smartphones and tablets.
By operating on a AAA battery (available separately), the Vmic4 is able to work with cameras that don't supply plug-in power or phantom power. Plus, you can just swap batteries and skip the time needed to recharge internal batteries. The rear of the mic features onboard controls for the 3-stage gain adjustment and high-pass filter—helpful functions that let you optimize the signal quality at the mic instead of during postproduction. The Vmic4 comes with a furry windscreen which reduces wind noise on outdoor shoots.
