One of the things that never occurred to me when I bought my drone was recording voice and ambient sound. Honestly, it never crossed my mind until I got home from my walk along the Papermill Lake brook trail. Editing the footage for posting, I realized how much better it would have been to hear the water.
The drone package I bought comes with the RC2 controller (as you can see in the image above), which can record its screen. However, in what I’d describe as an oversight, it doesn’t have a built-in microphone.
DJI does sell a microphone, and most reviews claim it’s excellent. But it’s also a bit pricey – as of writing, one version costs $349.00 on Amazon and $249.00 USD (I think) on DJI!
Maybe someday I’ll be skilled enough, or perhaps even making money from drone work, to buy one. But for now, I opted for a much cheaper solution. Time will tell if it does the job – I’ve only tested it once so far (after crashing the drone, lol!). However, it “worked” with some interference while moving. When I wasn’t moving, it sounded great, so I’m thinking the positioning and being inside my coat might have been the issue. More tests are needed!
The lavalier microphone unit I bought cost $26.99 from Amazon. It includes two rechargeable mics with clips and a receiver with a USB-C connection. You can plug this directly into the RC2 controller, and it doesn’t require its own power supply or battery.
Personally, the bluetooth (or whatever technology it uses) connected right away, giving me a solid green light as soon as I turned it on with the receiver plugged in and powered.
I tested it on a quick screen recording (which I didn’t keep) and the audio worked. Now, on to the first real-world test – I’ll post about that soon!
P.S. I had no idea what a lavalier mic was either! I had to look it up. It’s just a term for a miniature microphone typically worn on the body, like your lapel.
Just got my hands on a drone, and let me tell you, it's awesome (and way trickier than it looks!). I'm here to document my adventures in the sky, share epic aerial photos and videos (hopefully!), and learn alongside all you other drone newbies. We'll explore the coolest accessories, tackle those inevitable challenges (read: crash landings!), and figure out all the pitfalls together. Buckle up for some wobbly flights, stunning scenery, and maybe a few laughs along the way!
[…] microphone worked, and as you can hear, quite well when I wasn’t moving, but there was a large buzz when […]
[…] placed the microphone on the collar of my shirt this time, and seemed to work better. Still some buzzing, I’m not […]