Is this NEW Rode VideoMic Go II Alternative Worth It?

this is the brand new ddv mic D4 an all-in-one shotgun microphone aimed at content creators it's incredibly cute and it only costs 99 US dollars in my opinion it's the most direct competitor to the rode videomic go 2 which is also 99 and was released earlier this year in January 2022. in this video I'll tell you more about the new ddd4 and how it compares to the road and of course with lots of audio tests now before I get started let me preface this by saying that I am not an audio professional I make YouTube videos about compact camera gear for travel vlogging and I evaluate all that gear based on my actual experiences with it instead of doing technical tests so first off both of these microphones are special mainly because they are aiming to be your all-in-one microphone that's because both of these mics can connect to smartphones tablets cameras and computers now the ddd4 has a single USBC output and it comes with a USBC to USBC cable for Android devices and Computer Connection and also a USBC to trrs cable for connecting to your camera now typically a trrs cable is used only for cell phones and tablets and not for cameras but there is an exception with this Duty mic so the engineers at Duty managed to make a microphone that has a cable with a trrs connection that works not only with mobile phones and tablets but also with cameras which is really handy because if that weren't the case you would need to use a trrs cable for phones and tablets and a separate TRS cable for connecting with cameras you may need to buy an additional USBC to lightning cable if you want to use this microphone with your iPhone or your iPad now on the other hand the rode has two outputs a USBC and a 3.5 millimeter mic Jack and it only comes with a 3.5 millimeter microphone cable so you get more cables with the deity and only one output Jack so there's less confusion about which one to use now both microphones are meant to be plug and play without tons of settings to go through however the deity does have a physical dial to adjust your gain which is how loud your input signal is the sound test with the 7 4 and the internal microphones and this is a sound test with the Sony a74 and the rode video might go to with the furry windscreen on top and this is what it sounds like with the DD and the foam windscreen as well as the furry windscreen we do still have the gain set to plus five so now the gain is up to plus 10 which is the maximum amount on this microphone so now the gain is at zero and this is what it sounds like we could actually go down to negative gain this is a gain of -5 which is the lowest so this is what it sounds like now the rode video might go too does not have a physical gain control and if you are using it with a camera there's really no settings that you can adjust on the microphone however when you connect the road to a computer or a phone you can go into the rode Central app to adjust things like a pad a high pass filter and high frequency boosts by the way the rode Central app used to only be for computers but lately there's a new version out for phones as well holding these microphones side by side you can see that the road is quite a bit smaller and in my hands it also feels more lightweight now the deity is longer which does mean that you can position it slightly closer to your subject to get better audio now part of the reason why the DVD feels heavier is because it has a triple a battery which is included in the Box by the way and it will last for up to 56 hours it also automatically turns off and on when connected on the other hand the road runs off of plug-in power supplied by the connected device so it does not need a battery and there's no need to charge it both microphones come with shock mounts to hold the microphones in place on a cold shoe Mount like you find on top of a camera and by the way since we are mostly a GoPro vlogging Channel you can use either these microphones with a GoPro you just have to have a microphone adapter whether that's the official GoPro microphone adapter or the media mod I personally like the media mod the only problem with using these microphones with a GoPro is that if you add the dead cat windscreen on top then this really shows up in your frame this is a sound test with the GoPro Hero 11 and the media mod now we're testing out the GoPro Hero 11 black and the DD D4 along with the furry windscreen you can now see the free windscreen this is the GoPro Hero 11 black now with the rode video might go to does have the furry windscreen which you can see kind of Dipping into the frame a little bit but if you want to use either microphone with a phone then I recommend a phone holder with a built-in cold shoe Mount to attach the microphone and also a mini tripod which is useful not only for filming with your phone and a camera but also positioning the microphone on your desk when you use it with your computer this is a sound test of the DD D4 connected to a computer this is a sound test of the rode videomic go 2 connected to a computer in this particular case I'm using the Joby phone holder which I really like because you can easily position your camera horizontal or vertical and it also has the cold shoe mount on top for adding your accessories like the microphone and the tripod is the olanzi mt-47 which is not a cheap tripod but it is very very sturdy made mostly of metal and best of all it extends so I can place this down at a table and get my camera up to eye level which I really appreciate one other essential item that you should have is a windscreen which blocks out wind noise I actually removed the windscreen so this is what it sounds like with the DVD without the windscreen this is what it sounds like with the foam windscreen not the furry windscreen and this is what it sounds like with the DD and the foam windscreen as well as the furry windscreen this is a sound test with the Sony a74 and the rode video might go to with no windscreen this is the rode videomic go to with the foam windscreen not the furry windscreen now this is the rode videomic go to with the furry windscreen and this is what it sounds like now both microphones come with this thin foam screen which is okay in light conditions but if you're filming outdoors with any chance of winds then you're better off using a dead cat pardon the name that's actually what it's called This is much more fluffy and thus more robust and it blocks more winds now the ddd4 has the dead cat included in the box but if you want one for the road then it's an extra 29 so those are the main comparison points between the d2d4 and the rode video might go too the last thing to talk about is the sound quality now like I said before I am not an audio professional by any means but to my untrained ears I honestly think that both microphones sound really good especially for a price point of 99 I honestly don't think you can go wrong with either microphone when it comes to sound quality so the differences between these two really come down to the size and the features the road is slightly more Compact and it doesn't require a physical battery it can also unlock more settings but only if you're using it with a computer or phone phone and if you want the fluffy windscreen you have to pay a little extra for it now on the other hand the ddd4 offers physical gain control without needing an app and it also includes a furry windscreen in the package so overall I think that the duty offers slightly more value than the road but like I said I don't think you can go wrong with either purchase let me know what you guys think in the comments below thanks for watching and I'll see you in the next video

Channel: Gemini Connect

Views: 9,196

Keywords: gear review, tech review, rode videomic go ii review, rode videomic go ii, deity d4, deity v-mic, deity v-mic d4, best microphone for youtube, best microphone, best microphone for podcasting, best microphone 2022, best microphone for voiceover, camera accessories you need, camera accessories for phone, camera accessories for vlogging, camera accessories for videography, best vlogging accessories, best vlogging accessories for iphone, best accessories for mobile vlogging

Id: wtPYhF2KAHg

Length: 7min 51sec (471 seconds)

Published: Wed Nov 09 2022