DJI Mics which one

[Raymond Lin]

So, I am thinking of getting a DJI Mic, looking at the options....I can

1 - Go cheap, £63 and get the Mic Mini (1st gen) with the Receiver that can be connect to the phone AND camera.*
2 - DJI Mic Mini 2, £89. The main difference i see is the colours, the magnetic clip now removable...in a way, less secure and the sound quality is 5% better from what I can hear from reviews.
3 - DJI Mic Mini 2s £169. Same as the Mini 2 but with 32bit float, which I think it is so much more useful. They say this is for professional but in a roundable way, this is useful for idiots too because it is like RAW where I have more latitude in post
4 - DJI Mic 3, £170 currently on sale. 32bit float with a touchscreen receiver. The Mic also has onboard storage.

*All the kit I am looking at is with the larger receiver with charging case. I think this is important, so I can use it with my Mirrorless set up if I need to, without getting another kit and keep everything together.

I think I either go small, £63 or go big with the Mic 3. I don't think the 2s is worth it with the 3 currently on sale and the Mini 2 seems okay if I want different colours which I think its fun for 5mins.

Anyone want to chime in whether 32bit float is worth £100?

(There is a secret option 2.1 where it seems you can get an open box Mic Mini 2 for £73.)

 

[Raymond Lin]

Just thinking out loud, considering I am just dipping my toes in, I think just the Mic Mini for £63 with 2 transmitters and 1 receiver is fine. I'd take more secured clip over the flexible colours, with another box of colour cover face plates that I will no doubt put in the back of the cupboard after I put on the black colour plates.

By the time I want to upgrade, or need to upgrade, there will be a Mic 5 out anyway.

 

[NickK]

32bit float

Technically you'll get about 27 bits max out (the levels between each bit are so small the noise of electrons going through the electronics will make bigger noise) and that's with extremely quiet power supplies (quieter than batteries). Most ADCs ICs max out at around 120dB dynamic range, and manage 124dB with differential input. That's at 192K sample rate..

I think given the complete noise fest of action and sports, of tour sites etc, having that extra dynamic headroom means is useful*.

* here's the caveat. The Mic1 is 24bit 48K, and the Mic3 is 32/24bit 48K sample rate (which is enough for 1-24KHz audio but I prefer faster sample rates). Bluetooth has a limit in streaming bit rate hence I'd expect the Mic3 stores the 32 bit raw sound on the SD card, whilst providing a compressed/lower bit rate version for the camera replay (stored with the video?). Then later the editing allows the higher bit rate to be edited in? Worth checking if that's the case.
DJI Action 6 does a low resolution JPEG for preview camera/phone (typically 3MB each) but leave the raw 70MB each shots on the SD card for you to process independently offline. So this approach to being immediate in terms of action and review, but professional post editing direct from the card seems their preferred approach.

In the end .. people aren't going to be expecting full on perfect sound out of an action camera shot. The mic1 will do fine in my view. Both the mic1 and 3 don't have a waterproof rating.. at all. It also seems to be something that will work with your other cameras - so, bonus!

 

[Raymond Lin]

Technically you'll get about 27 bits max out (the levels between each bit are so small the noise of electrons going through the electronics will make bigger noise) and that's with extremely quiet power supplies (quieter than batteries). Most ADCs ICs max out at around 120dB dynamic range, and manage 124dB with differential input. That's at 192K sample rate..

I think given the complete noise fest of action and sports, of tour sites etc, having that extra dynamic headroom means is useful*.

* here's the caveat. The Mic1 is 24bit 48K, and the Mic3 is 32/24bit 48K sample rate (which is enough for 1-24KHz audio but I prefer faster sample rates). Bluetooth has a limit in streaming bit rate hence I'd expect the Mic3 stores the 32 bit raw sound on the SD card, whilst providing a compressed/lower bit rate version for the camera replay (stored with the video?). Then later the editing allows the higher bit rate to be edited in? Worth checking if that's the case.
DJI Action 6 does a low resolution JPEG for preview camera/phone (typically 3MB each) but leave the raw 70MB each shots on the SD card for you to process independently offline. So this approach to being immediate in terms of action and review, but professional post editing direct from the card seems their preferred approach.

In the end .. people aren't going to be expecting full on perfect sound out of an action camera shot. The mic1 will do fine in my view. Both the mic1 and 3 don't have a waterproof rating.. at all. It also seems to be something that will work with your other cameras - so, bonus!

I got the Mic Mini 1 now, not tested it yet but it seems it does everything I need for my use case at a bargain price. I even managed to squeezed the TRS cable into the lid with it shut. If I ever need to film a wedding ceremony on video I have it as a backup in my kit in a tidy little box.

In a wedding ceremony the noise level will be controlled, not going to be any significant background noise like a bus going by so any of the noise cancellation won’t be a huge advantage if at all. Might even turn it off because you do want to hear the room as well.