For a long time if you wanted a wireless lav microphone, you had a Seinhessier G2 or G3. I’ve used them myself and they’re good mics but a pain in the backside to set up.
That’s why I was thrilled when Rode released their Rode Link Film Maker Kit. A wireless lavaliere system that is easy to set up and produces a good natural sound with their own lavaliere microphone.
Rather than running on radio waves like the G3’s, the Rode Filmmaker Kit runs on a 2.4ghz WiFi system and has a range of a about 70m. That’s as far as I’ve managed to still be able to pick up a decent signal from.
I use them all the time for both corporate and narrative work because of their ease of use and the fact they are lightweight – just sadly a little ugly to look at and look cumbersome – but that is because the antenna are in the body itself. I used them on the reshoot of my short film ‘I Did’ in place of a Seinhessier G3 and with the tiniest bit of EQ got it so you wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between the two microphones.
I don’t use them with the 3.5mm jack they come with, I use them with an xlr converter as I’ve found this gets the most benefit from their ability to increase their output by 10db or 20db. Great if you have a zoom h4n with noisy preamps or want to use them with your built XLR’s like on my Canon C100. But if you want to use them with the 3.5mm jack with your DSLR, you can and they are great again for removing the need to rely on the built in preamps of your camera. We all know how horrific the preamps on Canon DSLR’s can be.
I love the convenience of them, the long battery life and they come with Rode’s own lavaliere microphone which is more than a match for the me2 on the Seinhessier G3’s, but you can use the me 2 or another brand of lavaliere with the wireless kit (I manged to hook up my 11 year old Rode VideoMic to one of the packs).
I use them on every shoot and they haven’t let me down yet or ever had any problems with interference. If you haven’t already check out the video above to hear a distance and audio quality sample.
I’ve used them across my corporate work and narrative work and I can highly recommend them for both, not just if you are looking for convenience, but for price and their all round use.
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Full specs on the Rode Filmmaker Kit
Buy the Rode Filmmaker Kit UK
Buy the Rode Filmmaker Kit US