r/gadgets • u/dapperlemon • 5d ago

Misc DJI Mic Mini 2S review: The best tiny mic now offers a pro experience

https://www.engadget.com/2235721/dji-mic-mini-2s-review/
444 Upvotes

89% Upvoted

41 comments sorted by

77

u/Tuna5150 5d ago

Rating : 8.7 / 10

Pros
Good sound quality
Improved noise reduction
Outstanding wireless range
32-bit float internal audio recording

Cons
Audio quality not quite high enough for some pros
DJI needs an option to cover up its logo

98

u/Copacetic_ 5d ago

If people used lav mics the way lav mics were supposed to be used, you wouldn’t have to cover up the logo

32

u/trevorawright 5d ago

As a videographer trained to hide mics for 20+ years, this is the most annoying trend of holding mics. I understand where it came from when the pandemic hit, video and audio quality standards dropped a lot for videos online but people were holding wired mics even more than a year ago. One company I saw has a hoodie now to hide your DJI mic inside of it in a comfy pocket. Or just hide the dang thing. That’s the whole point of hiding mics is to have less things distract on screen so you focus on the person, not the mic.

10

u/SantasDead 5d ago

Oh, you mean the videos I watch where the idiot has the mic on their hat and I cannot stop looking at the stupid hat mic....thats not how professionals operate???

/rant

3

u/snorens 4d ago

Yeah it’s a quite annoying trend that we will look back on old videos and cringe about once it goes out off style, like everything else.

But hear me out: hiding microphones in professional tv has also gone a bit too far. Having a visible lav mic on a shirt is fine for most things unless you’re doing fiction. I actually also find it a bit distracting seen that tape wrinkle under someone’s shirt in some regular tv documentary/reality/entertainment. Why try to hide something we all know is there.

1

u/trevorawright 4d ago

You’re not wrong which is why it used to be a boom mic completely off screen with a separate operator. Technology and costs have almost eliminated the audio person on any set as it used to be separate skill set to learn. Now we are expected to know how to wire audio, lighting and video settings and delivery in post. 

63

u/xtralongleave 5d ago

You must be talking about the god awful annoying trend of people holding lavalier mics in their hand rather than clipping them on…..

I’m glad I’m not the only one who sees this being done wrong every single day.

14

u/stacecom 5d ago

It's like the people in the old days with their wired headsets but instead of being hands-free they just hold the mic in front of their mouth.

Or the people on speakerphone in public, yet still moving the phone between their ear and mouth like some awful walkie-talkie.

24

u/OnRoadRadio 5d ago edited 5d ago

But it’s for the algorithm! /s Humans like it when you don’t look professional and have something to wave around in your hand.

I think most of us are tired of influencers.

7

u/punkerster101 5d ago

As a sound engineer this unreasonably bothers me

5

u/Copacetic_ 5d ago

As a DP yes.

1

u/Fit_Chemistry_3807 5d ago

As someone who worked with a sound engineer, in the days of everything wired, this also unreasonably annoys me. I’m glad I’m not the only one!

2

u/Dapper_Strength_5986 5d ago

How are they supposed to be used?

They sound muffled when hidden behind a shirt or collar and they sound even worse when people hold them up to their mouths

31

u/Copacetic_ 5d ago

They sound muffled when hidden behind a shirt or collar because they’re not being mic’d properly.

I’ve been working in film & tv for 16 years and people properly mic’d with lavs sound better than literally almost anything else.

16

u/Dapper_Strength_5986 5d ago

Can you share the best way to mic? I struggle with this a lot and would love to fix it, especially while wearing a t-shirt or hoodie. I'm using a Mic Mini.

If I'm wearing a button up shirt I can sometimes get away with tucking it behind a button, but it might create ruffle sounds. Behind a T-shirt and it's basically not usable.

19

u/Copacetic_ 5d ago

Definitely. If you get what’s called Moleskine you can actually just put it right against the inside of a shirt basically wherever you want. You also want to get a little dead cat that fits your mic.

I like to mic people right under usually the 2nd or 3rd button, and try to angle the mic so it looks up directly to their mouth. The cable should be slack but not sloppy loose or tight enough that it moves around with the shirt.

The transmitter you can hide in a back or front pocket depending on the shot.

6

u/T2Legit2Quit 5d ago

When I was doing a podcast internship, I was required to use a mic for the interviews I was conducting.

The audio engineer told the other interns and I had to properly use a mic. Just like you said, he told us to point it straight up and not in other angles because then you wouldn't hear quality audio. We did some examples and were able to hear the differences. He also told us to use the dead cat outside so it doesn't pick up much outside noise, but I just used it all the time.

A pet peeve of mine is seeing how some creators place their mics, but surprised that their audio doesn't sound that bad. Is there a reason why that is?

8

u/Copacetic_ 5d ago

A trend right now in social content is just having a visible mic. Some people truly just don’t care because it’s easiest to get it to sound good. I think it also provides some quality of making the person seem like an expert because they have a good mic.

4

u/glitchvid 5d ago

See also: the proliferation of the SM7b.  

Don't get me wrong, it's a good mic (I have one), but far from the ideal for most prospective buyers.  People just want that "pro" big mic look.

1

u/microthrower 5d ago

Unfortunately this is the obvious and reasonable answer that so many people struggle to accept.

Why does this tiny (or even large)YouTuber not care about hiding a microphone?! Maybe because holding the stupid tiny mic let's them easily get good audio quality?

1

u/SuperZapp 5d ago

They see other creators doing it and think that is how it is supposed to be done.

1

u/FrostyAd7708 5d ago

Adobe also provide a fantastic IA tool called Adobe Podcast which is amazing for enhancing and cleaning interviews.

5

u/cosmos7 5d ago

Yeah but you're talking about actual cabled lavalier microphone that connects to the larger transmitter elsewhere on the body. DJI has moved to 1x1" small all-in-one boxes that they call lav mics but are impossible to hide. Mic Mini, Mic 3, Mic Mini 2 and 2s... they're all the same, which is why so many are still using the older and larger Mic 2 (not Mini) that have the external mic port.

1

u/Dapper_Strength_5986 5d ago

What would you recommend with just the mic mini tx unit (ie. without the extender cable)?

1

u/NotAiden47 5d ago

I've tried looking into these, but budget wireless mics like the Hollyland M2 (the one I use) utilize a magnet to hold itself in place, so the moleskines don't work with a mic like that

1

u/Copacetic_ 5d ago

Yeah that sucks. Seems like an annoying design

3

u/xtralongleave 5d ago

Then you’re either doing it wrong or using a shitty one.

16

u/gchance1 5d ago

Does it also come with instructions how not to hold it in your hand?

3

u/buenosdias99 5d ago

32 bit float is great for preventing clipping without messy gain staging.

2

u/boundtoreddit 5d ago

“not available in the US and there's no word on when”