How to choose the best microphone for your video shoot

Choosing a microphone and its supporting accessories can be a challenge for many newer video shooters. We’re camera guys, right? What do we know about audio? Well, we’re now at a place where we need to know at least the basics.

We stopped by the Radius Windshields booth at IBC 2024 to chat with them about this topic. We wanted to find out about the types of microphones people might use with video and how to get the best from them.

Radius Windshields is a relatively new company based in the UK. They launched almost exactly a year ago and have a very impressive-looking set of tools for use with microphones. These include windshields in various forms (dead cats, blimps, etc), shock mounts and cables.

Audio for non-audio people

The question of microphone choice comes up a lot when you make the transition from stills to video – or when you just want to up your video game. We know we need microphones, but without the understanding the differences between them, it’s difficult to pick the right one.

So where do you start? And why would you pick one over another? Ultimately, which one you should get boils down to your needs and budget. No microphone or even any type of microphone is the best for all situations.

Which mic do you choose?

Sometimes you need a mic on the camera, sometimes it’s boomed overhead of the subject, and sometimes it’s a lav mic attached to the subject. These aren’t the only mic options, either. You might be using a large diaphragm condenser for a video podcast.

And even once you know what type of microphone you need for your use, there are often issues and accessories to think about. How do you deal with handling noise? Do you need a shock mount? What about a windshield? Regardless of the brand, there’s a lot that goes into picking the right type of microphone and the best accessories and techniques for any given situation.

Hopefully, this video helps to answer some of those questions and arms you with a little more experience when it comes to picking your audio equipment. It’s not a fully comprehensive guide to audio for video, but it provides lots of little details and tricks that many microphone videos don’t really mention.