Best Interview Microphones

Best Interview Microphones

I recently wrote up some tips on how to film an interview with your smartphone. One of the most important pieces of equipment for filmmaking, and even more so for interviews for obvious reasons, is a good microphone.

There are a variety of different situations you might find yourself recording an interview. A pre-arranged interview with a comfortable location and penty of time, right through to impromptu interviews catching your subject with only a few seconds to spare as they’re on their way somewhere.

But if you are shooting with smartphone you are most likely going to be travelling light, so that determines your choice of microphone too.

There’s 3 categories of mic: shotgun (already reviewed), lavalier (clip-on) – check out our list of best wireless lav set-ups – and handheld…

Handheld

Handheld TIP 1: For an interview record within a meter of the subject. Outside use a windsock or windshield.

Rode Reporter

We are used to covering Rode mics on this website as they are one of the most popular affordable mic brands on the market. The Rode Reporter microphone is designed for handheld interview and presentation applications. The frequency response has been specially tailored for voice reproduction, to maximize intelligibility and deliver crisp, clear results in almost any condition.

Rode have not disappointed with their interview mic, as this is one of the best on the market at this price range. The microphone does a good job isolating the voices of the interviewer and the subject, and the mic is well built and durable, as well.

This microphone has an XLR socket so you will need to use an adapter like this to use it directly with a smartphone. There’s also the Rode i-XLR adapter for iOS devices.

IK Multimedia iRig Mic

The IK iRig mic is more affordable than the other handheld options and also connects directly to your smartphone (there’s an iPhone version too). This not only saves $ on the price of the mic but also on the extra cost of the adapter.

On a budget, this mic will the job for you, better than simply using your inbuilt mic. However, if you really want good sound quality you might be better going for a more pricey mic (with XLR socket + adapter).

Handheld TIP 2: If you are outside and there’s wind, sit your subject back to the wind to the shield the lapel microphone that’s attached about 8 inches below the subject’s mouth.

Movo HM-M2

The Movo is a dynamic omnidirectional handheld XLR mic (adapter needed). However, this is our choice for top value handheld mic.

Movo HM-M2 on Amazon

This is a great budget microphone for doing interviews. It does not require any external power, which makes it perfect to use with an Android device. To connect it you’ll need an adapter as mentioned above. Cheaper than an adapter is this 6Ft XLR Female to 3.5mmm Mono Male Cable and Headset adapter with separate headphone/microphone plugs.

Sennheiser MD 46

The Sennheiser MD-46 is a similar handheld mic with XLR socket, like the Rode Reporter. However, the MD-46 has unidirectional cardioid pattern. This means it produces a vocal sound with less background-noise, and will help you out in windy conditions, too.

The Sennheiser is our top choice for handheld mic, giving a great sound quality matched with the usual Sennheiser durability. If you can afford the extra $ for this mic plus an adapter, this mic will rarely let you down and is built to last. This mic is especially useful if you are more likely to be interviewing people in a noisy hall, or locations where the background noise level cannot be predicted, and need something more directional.

Shure MV88: Turn your iPhone into a handheld mic

The Shure MV88 is a high quality stereo digital condenser microphone which connects directly to any iOS device via the Lightning connector. You can use this mic to turn your iPhone into a dedicated microphone. Or you can record video at the same time, too. The hinge design that allows a wide range of microphone positioning.

The ShurePlus MOTIV app allows control of gain, EQ, stereo width and preset DSP modes. One downside is the extra drain on the battery. Check out the audio test and review below.

Shure MV88+ Video kit

Clip-On Lavalier Mics

If you have your subject in a sit-down interview situation, a clip on mic is probably the best and most affordable option for getting great audio direct to your smartphone. We’ve already covered some clip on mics here. Lavalier mics range greatly in price from a $10 or less passable mic up to the top range Sennheiser professional grade wireless clips ons.

But if your subject isn’t moving around much, you probably don’t need to bother with a wireless one.

Boya BY-M1

This is my top pick for a budget clip on. I bought one and liked it so much I bought another 2.

It has a long cable and good quality sound for the price, which should produce crisp enough voice audio for most situations.

BOYA BY-M1 on Amazon

PowerDeWise

Do a great set of different clip on mics, for an very affordable price. They also include this 2 Lavalier Lapel Microphones Set for Dual Interview, so you can hook to subjects up to your single smartphone headphone/mic socket.

Sony ECMCS3

The Sony ECMCS3 is another great clip on mic, this time by a well known brand, which is also easily affordable for most budgets.

A lot of people recommend the Rode smartLav+. I’m just not sure it adds so much extra sound quality (or any).

But there’s actually quite a few good choices of clip on mic at this price on the market, so you might want to browse around.

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