RODE Microphones STEREO VIDEOMIC PRO User manual

VideoMic Pro
Instruction Manual
www.rodemic.com

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Thank you for investing in the VideoMic Pro.
When released the original VideoMic in
2004 it was the only microphone of its kind on the
market. Just like many great innovations it was born
from a personal need. At the time MiniDV cameras
were the latest technology, offering consumers and
independent filmmakers unprecedented freedom
and creativity for their video, but neglecting audio
quality. I went shopping for a solution but found that
the only offerings were either cheap inferior quality
or high cost shotgun microphones not designed to
integrate easily with the cameras.
Thus the VideoMic was born. Six years on and its
broadcast audio quality, integrated shock mounting
and accessible price tag has made it the world’s
largest selling microphone for consumer cameras.
However in this time there have been numerous
innovations in video cameras, from hard drive,
solid state and network cameras, through to high
definition Digital SLR and onwards to large sensor
video cameras. The technology has gotten larger
but of course the form factor much smaller, thus
the decision to create the high performance, yet
conveniently compact VideoMic Pro.
Creating a high performance microphone as
lightweight and manageable as the VideoMic Pro
was quite a technical challenge. Other companies
have attempted and failed, simply because a
directional microphone depends on the length of
the microphone barrel to reject the surrounding
ambient noise that you don’t want to pick up.
Leveraging the technology developed alongside our
award winning NTG-1, NTG-2 and NTG-3 shotgun
microphones we’ve finally realised a professional
microphone with a much smaller form factor.
Please take the time to visit www.rodemic.com and
register your microphone for a full ten year warranty.
Peter Freedman
Microphones
Sydney, Australia
Introduction

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Acoustic Principle: Line Gradient
Polar Pattern: Super-Cardioid
Frequency Range: 40Hz ~ 20 000Hz
Frequency Range:
(High Pass Filter)
Selectable HPF
@ 80Hz/12 dB/octave
Variable Level: 3 position switch
(-10 dB, 0 dB, +20 dB)
Output
Impedence:
200
Signal to Noise
Ratio:
74 dB
Equivalent Noise: 20 dBA SPL
(A- weighted as per IEC651)
Maximum SPL: 134 dB
Maximum Output: +6.9 dBu
(@ 1% THD into 1K load)
Sensitivity: -38 dB re 1V/Pa
(12.6mV @ 94 dB SPL)
± 2 dB @ 1kHz
Dynamic Range: 114 dB (as per IEC651)
Power
Requirements:
9V alkaline battery
(Current: 7.8mA)
Output
Connection:
3.5mm stereo mini-jack plug
(dual mono)
Battery Life: >70 hours
Weight
(No Battery):
86g (3oz)
Dimensions 43mm x 150mm x 95mm
(1.69” x 6” x 3.74”)
Specifications

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Specifications
Frequency Response
Polar Response
dB re 1 V./Pa
10
0
-10
-20
-30
-40
20 Hz 100 1000 10 000 20 000
0˚
90˚ 270˚
180˚
-2.0
-20.0
-10.0
0.0
-2.0
-4.0
-6.0
-8.0
-10.0
-12.0
-14.0
-16.0
-18.0
-20.0
-22.0
-24.0 -25.0
dB rel. 1V/Pa
+5.0
Frequency:
500 Hz:
1000 Hz:
2000 Hz:
8000 Hz:
14000 Hz:

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*Online product registration required.
Features
• Compact, lightweight body
• Broadcast recording quality
• Condenser microphone
• 9V battery powered - over 70 hours use (alkaline)
• Integrated shock mounting
• Integrated foam windshield
• 3.5mm stereo mini-jack output (dual mono)
• Two step high-pass filter (0, 80Hz)
• Three position level control (-10 dB, 0 dB, +20 dB)
• Rugged construction
• Flexible and lightweight cable to minimise handling
noise and ensure isolation
• Integrated camera-shoe mount, with 3/8” thread
for easy boompole mounting
• Australian designed and manufactured
• Ten year warranty*
*Onl
ine
prod
uct
regi
stra
tion
req
uire
d

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Powering the VideoMic Pro
• The VideoMic Pro operates on a standard
9V battery (ANSI:1604A or IEC:6LR61).
We recommend you use either Alkaline or Lithium
batteries for the longest continuous operating
time.
• The VideoMic Pro will run continuously for over
70 hours with a good quality Alkaline battery. It
is however important to understand that battery
performance can vary dramatically with ambient
temperature and shelf life.
Actual operation times will vary, and we suggest
you always carry a spare battery.
If the application is critical and where there is no
opportunity to ‘re-shoot’, we suggest that you use
a fresh battery.
• Always remember to switch the VideoMic Pro off
when it is not being used.

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• To remove the cover, hold the sides of the cover
with your thumb and third finger, and push up on
the indentation with your index finger, then pivot
the bottom of the cover away.
• Insert the battery with the “-” negative terminal
on top as shown above. The correct battery
orientation is also shown on the inside of the
battery cover.
• Replace the cover by first hooking the top clips in,
then press the bottom clips into place. The cover
will push the battery against its spring terminal
during installation.
If the battery orientation is incorrect the
cover will not close fully.
Installing the battery

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• The VideoMic Pro incorporates a standard camera-
shoe mount on the underside of the suspension
shock mount.
Designed to reduce motor and handling noise
being carried through from the camera to the mic,
the camera-shoe mount also has a 3/8” thread
at the bottom to allow mounting on tripods and
boompoles.
• You will find older model and low cost cameras
produce more motor noise, which the VideoMic
Pro can pick up. If so, switch on the High Pass Filter
(HPF) to reduce this (refer to page 10 for more
details).
The very latest cameras incorporate low noise/
vibration making them relatively silent.
• Before sliding the camera-shoe into place, turn
the knurled tightening ring anti clockwise to make
sliding the camera-shoe into place much easier.
Now turn the knurled ring in a clockwise direction,
gently tightening it so the VideoMic Pro base is
seated firmly in place.
Standard camera-shoe mount
Mounting the VideoMic Pro

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The VideoMic Pro has a small cable clip on the
underside of the shockmount to secure the cable
in place and prevent any unwanted movement
noise.
• The VideoMic Pro delivers a mic level signal to the
video camera via a stereo mini jack audio lead.
The mini jack should be connected to the camera
via the camera’s “Audio-In” socket - refer to your
video camera user manual for the location of the
socket on your camera model.
• Now that you have the VideoMic Pro securely
fastened to your camera and the audio output lead
connected, you can switch the mic on.
Secure your cable on the clip on the underside of the
VideoMic Pro shockmount

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On/Off & High Pass Filter Switch
• The power/HPF switch is located on the back of
the mic body.
The High Pass Filter (HPF ) is a low frequency
cutoff setting, which you can use to remove rumble
or other low frequency noise while recording. It will
affect the tone slightly but in some situations it
may be required.
LED Power Indicator
• The power indicator LED flashes RED briefly when
the mic is first turned on. This changes to GREEN
indicating the battery has adequate charge.
• When the battery runs low the LED will remain
RED and you should replace the battery.
The mic will work for approximately one hour once
the RED indicator is lit, however with reduced
performance.
Level Control
• The VideoMic Pro features three settings to control
the output signal to your recording device. These
are set via the bottom selector switch on the back
of the microphone.
Power/High Pass Filter Switch
Mic ON (FLAT) Mic ON (HPF)Mic OFF
VideoMic Pro Controls