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The RØDE Universal Vlogger Kit contains everything you need to get professional results when filming using your mobile phone with a 3.5mm input. The VideoMicro will vastly improve your audio, delivering crystal-clear, directional sounds for any application. The SmartGrip secures your device firmly in place for stable recording and connects seamlessly to the Tripod 2 for either handheld or tabletop use, while the MicroLED ensures all your shots are perfectly lit. The Universal Vlogger Kit comes with the DCS-1 dual cold shoe mount for quick and easy mounting of both the VideoMicro and MicroLED, a Rycote Lyre shock mount and WS9 furry windshield for filming outdoors and in adverse weather conditions.
Q: Would this work for a gopro 9 with the media mod
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Customers are pleased with the exceptional audio quality provided by the included microphone, praising its performance even at a distance. The bright LED light and its accompanying diffuser are also frequently highlighted as valuable additions, particularly in challenging lighting conditions. Furthermore, the sturdy tripod and secure smartphone grip receive positive feedback for their quality and ease of use.
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The Rode VideoMicro Universal Vlogger kit is an easy-to-assemble, compact set of accessories that lets you quickly improve the audio quality and lighting captured by your mobile devices without adding a lot of weight to your setup, only about 1 lb. I opted to go with the universal kit, rather than a hardware specific kit like the USB-C or iOS device kits since it offered the widest range of device compatibility, as I film both with my phone and a digital camera. The video/audio quality recorded on my phone is already pretty good, but even so, using the Rode VideoMicro mic made a positive difference in the quality of the audio capture since it has a directional polar pickup pattern. I like that the kit included a number of accessories, including a Rycote Lyre shockmount, WS9 deadcat wind screen muff, SC7 Audio cable, smartphone grip, tripod mount, dual-accessory cold shoe mount, microLED on-camera light, and diffuser for the light with 8 colored filters: white, red, red-orange, orange, yellow, green, green-blue, and blue. In this is a universal kit, the back of the mic features a 1/8” AUX output jack that you attach to the audio cable (TRS to TRRS type) to connect the mic to a mobile device’s headphone jack. You can also connect the mic to any recording device with a 1/8” stereo mic input jack, like a digital camera, but you’ll need a different cable (TRS to TRS) which is not included. What’s nice about this configuration is that the mic doesn’t have to plug directly into your phone’s charging port and is, instead, mounted on the shockmount and secured to a cold shoe which gives you more flexibility for placement and controlling the direction of the mic. One thing I noticed, though, about the Lyre shockmount is that the mic tends to tilt slightly off the horizontal plane; sliding its position in the shockmount can help you balance it so that it remains level. The included phone grip is made from a durable aluminum, and the width of the spring-loaded arms is adjustable up to 3.5” using the thumbscrew on top. I found that this is just large enough to fit my phone in without a case on, which wouldn’t work anyway, since my case prevented the AUX cable’s connector from being plugged in all the way. While it takes a while to fully loosen the grip for larger phones, the grip is firm once tightened down, and you don’t have to worry about your phone slipping out. The grip can then be attached in landscape or portrait orientation, using one of the three ¼”-20 thread mounting points, to any standard tripod. The included tabletop tripod measures about 8 inches long and is constructed mostly of a dense plastic, but manages to be fairly lightweight at 6.5 ounces. The ball head on it is detachable by simply unscrewing it from the tripod legs. This would also allow you to add an extension column if you needed more height. The tripod itself has two different height settings when open. The lower setting sits about 4.5” high, and there are rubber feet at the ends of the legs to aid stability on a flat surface. The higher setting has a sharper leg angle, giving you a height of about 6” from the surface the tripod is sitting on. Note that it’s slightly less stable at this height, so be aware of this tip-over hazard if you’re recording outside on a windy day. If you need to record in portrait mode, you can pivot the ball head into a vertical position, but this can make it side heavy and fall over, so make sure you’ve got the tripod on the lower height setting or are using the tripod handheld for stability. For better balance in portrait mode, attach the phone grip to the gimbal using one of the side mounting points. Keep in mind, in this orientation, the LED would be off the side and may not result in the best lighting. When using the tripod handheld at arm’s length, the Rode mic zeroed in on my voice and rejected ambient sounds coming from the sides and back of the mic, which in a large empty room, cut out a ton of background noise, echo, and even compression distortion. Even from a greater distance of 6 feet outdoors, the mic performed well at picking up my voice, and the dual layered fur wind screen helped cut down on wind noise to keep it at a minimum. I did use the mic with my digital camera, as well, using a TRS-TRS AUX cable. While the sound was improved and was much more focused on the subject versus the omnidirectional on-board mic on the camera, there was still some audible background hiss, since the mic signal is boosted by the camera’s internal pre-amp, but that doesn’t always produce the cleanest audio signal. The 1-3/8” microLED cube is also a useful addition to this kit. The LED charges via USB-C and has a 1 to 4 hours run-time depending on which of the four brightness levels is used. The colored filters slip into the front of the diffuser which clips over the LED. While the tabs on the filter sheets are short, I found that they stayed put once properly installed in the diffuser, and they can help color correct or add an interesting tint to your scene, based on your shooting conditions. The LED is really bright though and can be blinding at close proximity to a subject, so use of a filter is recommended; a white neutral diffuser filter is included. Overall, I think the mic does a great job focusing on sounds that it is pointed towards while reducing the amount of noise entering the mic from other directions and especially wind noise when using the wind screen muff. However, I found that the dual accessory bracket wasn’t quite wide enough to accommodate both the muff and the LED, since part of the light cast by the LED was blocked by the muff, casting a shadow on that side of the video. I appreciate that the kit works with any device that has an audio jack like smartphones and cameras and could even be used with an iOS device if connected to a Lightning to audio jack adapter; so keep that in mind if you’re trying to decide whether or not to get the universal kit versus the iOS-only version. It’s compact, lightweight, and performed well with various mobile devices.
Posted by ReviewedByPhil
The Rode Universal Vlogger Kit is compact and great to have on-the-go. Every piece and accessory is made of quality materials. Overall, Rode lives up to its household name. The main thing Rode is bringing to this kit is the VideoMicro microphone, which is definitely a step up from my Samsung S9’s internal mic. The windshield attachment works well outdoors but most of my use case is indoors. The great thing about having the VideoMicro is that the 3.5mm to 3.5mm cable can fit into my Sony camera too! And if I ever upgrade my phone, I believe I can just use a USB-C to 3.5mm adapter given that newer phones don’t have an audio jack (although Rode does offer a USB-C version of this Vlogger Kit if you prefer that connection.) The tripod is versatile in that it has a couple of height options as well as a removable ball head. The ball head knob is strong and doesn’t budge once it’s tightened. Everything other than the tripod and Rycote Lyre shock mount is aluminum-built which makes for a quality feel. The phone clamp is not spring loaded, it uses a screw to secure the phone which may take a few more seconds to load but in my opinion, the stability and security of the clamp outweighs the time difference of using a spring loaded clamp. The clamp also has multiple mounting points on the bottom and sides. The LED light can actually get quite bright. If the light is facing me at arms length, I definitely have to use it on the lowest setting with the included diffuser. I can see me using the light and colored gel filters for a back light on a different set, but I didn’t have any uses for the colored gels while vlogging and testing this setup. While all the pieces are meant to work together, I love that I could potentially use them separately or with other setups/rigs. This is a very versatile kit, especially for a beginner. I have no complaints and can definitely recommend this kit for anyone who is looking for a compact, sturdy handheld or table-top setup for phones or DSLR/mirrorless cameras with upgraded audio.
Posted by Sophia
This is a pretty nice kit of parts if you don’t already have them. The microphone and LED light are definitely the stars of the show, but the tripod is also very good. I opted for the universal kit to give me more flexibility over where I can use the microphone. The microphone is a huge improvement over the built-in mic on my Pixel 4. My voice came through much more clearly against the background. The included dead cat does a good job of blocking out wind noise, though it definitely adds further to the bulk of the entire kit. I had also planned to use it with my mirrorless camera as well, but it appears to require a different cable. I was able to connect the cable, but no audio came through. The MicroLED is easy to operate and gets very bright. I left it on at the highest brightness and it turned off after just over 50 minutes and that lines up with the quoted battery life of 52 minutes. It did get quite hot over that period of time, but I don’t envision many scenarios where I’d need to have it on all the time at full brightness so I don’t think it’s a big problem. There are some included color filters, as well as as white diffuser, that attach via a bracket and they work well. I think you’d at least want the white diffuser on the light most of the time especially when lighting your face to cut down on the harshness. It charges via USB-C, which is always appreciated on small accessories like this as it’s one less charging cable to keep track of. The phone bracket fit my Pixel 4XL without any issues and I think you could get most any phone in there within reason. I did notice that if you unscrew it too far the springs could fall out, so that’s something to watch out for. There’s a slot at the top of the bracket to attach the dual cold shoe mount. I did notice that it was a little harder to attach the microphone on its own as the larger handscrew does interfere with the screw that clamps your phone, but it can be done. Not too much to say about the mini tripod. I’d say it’s solid and it’s easy to hold. There’s also an adjustment dial that locks the legs to 2 separate positions. With everything assembled the overall size is very manageable and I’m pretty happy with this kit. It does feel like a beginner kit, but it’s a solid set of items.
Posted by SamG