5 reasons the ZOOM M3 MicTrak will be THE last on-camera mic YOU ever buy... almost...

oh the zoom M3 mic track so I have been using this microphone and recorder pretty much every day for the past month and in my opinion it is almost the perfect on-camera microphone for Content creators almost so today we're going to talk about five reasons why the zoom M3 mic track could be the last on-camera mic you ever buy and one big reason why it won't be so first audio quality like every other microphone video I'm sure you've ever seen on the internet you're listening to it right now so this is the M3 mic track it is in my opinion surprisingly good I wasn't anticipating it to sound this good specifically because of its 200 price point but on my voice it sounds it sounds really great I mean it's super clean it's a quiet microphone slash recorder it sounds like it has a pleasing frequency response and yeah I think without any processing it just sounds great like right out of the recorder now I am in my acoustically treated uh voiceover recording space but if you want to hear what this sounds like out in the real world in less than ideal recording situations you can click on uh this video up here and uh yeah you can hear a direct comparison with a couple other microphones that I have in my mic Locker so the most important thing about microphones audio quality check the second reason why the M3 could be the last on camera mic over by is easy 32-bit float recording so on this channel a lot of you are YouTubers and content creators and I for one have been promoting the benefits of using 32-bit float in your workflow process only because it is the simplest workflow for a lot of us and I know it gives me peace of mind so I can concentrate on things like my camera and lighting and what I'm actually saying as opposed to what my recording levels are and the zoom M3 mic track is probably the easiest way to get into 32-bit float recording because it is a microphone with a built-in audio recorder and its features are super stripped down you literally have to just turn on the unit hit the record button to start recording and press it again to stop and you have a 32-bit float recording there's literally no adjusting anything else there's no level adjustments there are no sample rate adjustments you hit record it starts recording and uh you're good to go and then after you're done you just connect the recorder to your computer and you can drag your 32-bit float recording into any compatible editing software and you're pretty much good to go now just a reminder 32-bit float recording is not the end-all be all and will not um work magic with regards to being able to restore certain types of audio recordings whether they be too loud or too soft so you still have to practice good mic technique but it will for example be able to record in the same session something that is super loud like if I was yelling really really loudly and then all of a sudden I become really quiet and you hear that difference in volume you will be able to manipulate those audio clips to get a clean recording without having to make any gain adjustments at your recorder and everything can be done in post pretty easily through the zoom M3 edit and play software and for those of you who are still intimidated by recording externally and then syncing in post don't worry the M3 has you covered because the third reason why the M3 is going to be the last microphone you buy for your camera is because it's got awesome output capabilities and what I mean by that is that it outputs both via 3.5 millimeter TRS and it outputs via USBC and it can record internally all simultaneously meaning that if you're like me and you have a compatible camera like a DJI osmo action 3 that accepts a USBC mic but you also want to Output from the recorder via a 3.5 millimeter TRS cable to send to a different camera and do you want to record internally on the recorder itself you can do all of that at the same time and what that does is it gives all of your footage and files the same waveform so when you go into post into something like in my case DaVinci Resolve and you want to auto sync your audio via waveform yeah that this makes it super easy and convenient there is one caveat however and that is the M3 does not have a output level control meaning once you plug the 3.5 millimeter cable into your camera you need to adjust an appropriate record level at your cam camera because there is no adjustment to be made at the microphone recorder output and that holds true for both the 3.5 millimeter output via TRS and the digital output via USBC the fourth reason why I think the M3 is potentially the last on camera mic you'll ever buy is because of its versatility if you didn't already know the M3 has a couple different patterns that it can record in including what they call a mono which is a directional mono recording and also a wider stereo recording meaning that it has separate left and right recordings so before I had the M3 if I wanted to have that same functionality it meant that I had to have a shotgun microphone and I had to have some kind of stereo microphone to do both of those recordings separately but with the M3 if I want to do a directional mono recording I can select that on the recorder and then if I all of a sudden want to do a stereo recording I can hit that button and start recording in Stereo so let's say I was on a nature walk and I was doing a vlog where I wanted to just have my voice being picked up in a directional way and then I flip my camera around and I wanted to record ambient audio in Stereo there are two ways to do that you can actually make that adjustment on the Fly by pressing the button while you are recording and it will automatically switch that into whatever you're outputting under the camera or record it internally or you can do it in post so opening up the zoom M3 edit and play software allows you to change what your recording sounds like based on how you ultimately want it to sound so if you accidentally recorded in mono but you really meant to record in Stereo you can change that in posts to suit your production needs or vice versa those features are really streamlined too it's ease of use right where you just want to be out making content hit record and not worry about things like levels or directionality or any other settings and that brings us to the fifth reason why the M3 is a great on camera microphone and that is because it is lightweight I don't know about you but when I am out shooting Vlog style content um even though I do work out some holding out a camera and a large microphone at arm's length yeah it gets to be like super tiring right and so I am always looking for the smallest lightest most compact options so that I can have something that is pseudo discreet but also uh doesn't give me arm fatigue within 30 seconds of starting to shoot a video and the zoom M3 even with its two double a batteries installed and on its shock mount only weighs in at 168 grams now compare that to my previous 32-bit float recording setup which included the zoom F3 my deity s mic 2s and this rycoat shock mount which weighs in at 488 grams yeah that is a noticeable difference and even more so when I'm outdoor shooting with my DJI osmo action 3 and the zoom M3 the zoom M3 actually can be powered via USBC so it doesn't even need batteries making it a ridiculously lightweight vlogging setup so all of that stuff sounds great right it almost makes it feel like the perfect on camera microphone for everyday content creation needs but there is one huge flaw that I think could be a deal breaker for a lot of you out there and that is the zoom M3 mic track is all plastic and this is problematic on a couple different fronts well first of all that contributes to it being lightweight because it's plastic but um while I can't speak to this directly it feels pretty delicate feels a little brittle it feels like you could snap it in half if you applied a little bit too much pressure in your bag if you dropped it and this isn't new for zoom products right I think they try to incorporate weight saving functionality by putting plastic in certain areas of their recorders I know like every battery door is plastic and people complain about that all the time but while the zoom F3 feels like a robust piece of equipment the zoom M3 feels like yeah not so much it just doesn't feel like something that will last but aside from the durability and build quality the real downfall of it being plastic is that it is not adequately shielded for RF interference so if you're watching this video you have probably already watched a bunch of other videos about the M series the M2 the M4 and probably the M3 and people encountering RF interference problems in their recordings and at first I kind of attributed that to the design of the M2 and M4 which seemed most prevalent and I had hoped that this issue didn't arise much with the M3 but based on other users feedback it still is susceptible to RF interference and that's probably mostly because it's plastic housing doesn't provide adequate shielding now to be fair I haven't encountered personally any major RF interference when it comes to using the M3 but I do not live in a large large metropolitan area while I do live about 20 25 miles away from a major U.S city I live in a more rural-ish area so when I am out and about using the M3 I don't pick up any radio stations and even if I did I probably think that the signal to noise ratio is so high that my voice masks any I don't know underlying RF signals that it may or may not be picking up but in my testing I have been able to reproduce some of that RF interference but to do so it required me using my DJI osmo action 3 with my M3 and turning my mobile phone's Wireless and Bluetooth on connecting my camera to the app so that it's transmitting a live feed and then putting the microphone between those two devices so is this a deal breaker for me not necessarily but for you it could be I mean when we look at the demographic that I think the zoom M3 mic track is aimed towards they they are everyday content creators who are looking for a lightweight microphone recorder option to get into 32-bit float recording who are not necessarily relying on this piece of equipment for professional use because while I do think it produces a professional sound I don't necessarily think that it is well equipped and reliable enough to be used for things like weddings or special events or professional interviews especially if you don't have the ability to scout the location first to see what kind of RF signals are flying around and even then that could be dicey say you go to a venue and you do a full sound check and you don't pick up any interference issues and then the date of the event it's packed with 400 other people that each have a cell phone in their pocket that's where I feel like something like this falls short in terms of reliability but if you're like me and just you know an everyday content creator making YouTube videos and you might be putting music underneath your audio track anyway I think that the zoom M3 at its 200 price point is the best way to get into 32-bit float recording have a directional and a stereo microphone be able to Output to multiple sources and not have to be a bodybuilder to carry it around all day but I want to know what you think do the pros outweigh the cons let us all know in the comments below thanks for watching and we'll talk again real soon

Channel: Wayne RECs

Views: 12,990

Keywords: Vlog, Content Creation, Connection, Better Audio, Good Audio, Best Microphone, Audio Tips For YouTube, Zoom M3 MicTrak, M3 MicTrack, Zoom M3, 32-bit Float, Zoom M3 review, Best On Camera Mic 2023, M3 RF Interference

Id: VgsCkeL6BGA

Length: 12min 0sec (720 seconds)

Published: Fri Feb 03 2023