Best Microphone for YouTube Videos? (Shotgun vs Lav Mics)

Nolan breaks down when to use a shotgun microphone vs a lavalier microphone. ****** Check out the Rode Video Micro Shotgun Microphone HERE ➡️ https://amzn.to/3f2iGwt ****** Check out the Deity V. Lavalier Microphone HERE ➡️ https://amzn.to/3iSV3aD

This video is NOT sponsored. Some product links are affiliate links which means if you buy something we’ll receive a small commission.

📒 Show Notes 📒

1️⃣ Rode Video Micro Shotgun Microphone
https://amzn.to/3f2iGwt

2️⃣ Deity V. Lavalier Microphone
https://amzn.to/3iSV3aD

3️⃣ (Video) How to Boom Your Microphone

⏰ Timecodes ⏰
0:00 Shotgun Microphone vs Lavalier Microphone
1:04 4 Reasons You Should Use a Shotgun Mic
3:08 4 Reasons You Should Use a Lavalier Mic

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About:
In this video, Nolan compares the shotgun mic to the lavalier mic. This comparison.is great for deciding what the best mic for youtube videos is. The best microphone for YouTube is both of these mics depending on how you use them.

Disclaimer: Please see the link for our disclaimer policy for all of our videos on the Think Media and Think Marketing YouTube channels. https://www.seancannell.com/youtube-disclaimer

=================== text video ====================

— Today, I’m gonna help you decide

if you should buy a Shotgun Microphone,

or a Lavalier Microphone.

Now, right now, you can see
that I’m wearing a Lav mic,

clipped onto my shirt,

but I also am using a Shotgun Microphone.

And I’m gonna be switching
in between the two audios,

back and forth, throughout
this entire video,

so you should let me know
which one you like better.

Now the awesome thing is,

both of these microphones are under $60,

and they’re both great for Youtube videos,

or just making videos general.

Now, of course, there’s some pros and cons

to both styles of microphones,

so we’re gonna figure it out today,

which one you should buy.

— [Voiceover] You gotta just press record.

— Hey guys, my name is
Nolan Molt with Think Media.

Now, right now you’re
listening to microphone A,

and now you’re like
listening to microphone B.

I want to know which one
you think sounds better,

microphone A or microphone B?

Both these mikes are under $60,

like I mentioned.

We have the Rode VideoMicro,

which is a fantastic Shotgun Microphone

that’s really compact and small,

and gives a great sound quality.

And for the Lavalier Microphone

that I am wearing right now
is the Deity V.Lav Microphone.

Another fantastic Microphone,

especially in this price range.

Now stay to the end of this video

to figure out which microphone A is,

and which microphone B is.

But first, I’m gonna give you four reasons

on why I actually like using
the Shotgun Microphone,

and why that’s my preferred microphone.

And then, after that,

I’m gonna share with you four reasons

why you should pick up
a Lavalier Microphone.

So, which one do you need?

Well, it’s going to depend,

but these four reasons for both mics

are gonna help you decide

which one is gonna be best for you.

Like I mentioned, the Shotgun
Mic is my preferred mic

for shooting YouTube
videos just like this,

and the first reason that is,

is because it’s hidden.

Right now, I have the microphone
boomed right above me,

probably about six inches from my mouth,

and it’s outside of the shot
so you can’t even see it,

but it’s close enough that

I’m still getting really good
audio out of the microphone.

This is definitely just preference,

but if you don’t want your
microphone showing in the shot,

then you definitely want
to go with the Shotgun Mic

over the Lav Mic.

Reason number two I like
the Shotgun Microphone

is because it doesn’t rub
up against your shirt.

I found that even when sitting down,

shooting videos like this,

I still have to be careful
with moving my arms,

and my body around too much,

because if I move too much,

then I’m gonna get noise from
the Lavalier on my shirt,

and I don’t want it that.

And so the nice thing is

with having the Shotgun mic above me,

I can move my hands around,

I can move my body around a bit more

without having to worry
about any sort of rustling

in the microphone.

The third reason is that
it works great for vlogs.

So if I want to take this microphone,

and put it on top of the camera,

and go around and start vlogging,

this is gonna give me great
audio straight from the camera.

Now typically, I’m making
videos just like this,

or I’m vlogging,

and the Shotgun Microphone
is gonna work great

in both of those conditions.

And reason number four is I
actually just prefer the sound

of a Shotgun Microphone

over the sound of a Lavalier Microphone,

and so, that is one of
the reasons, main reasons,

that I use a Shotgun
Microphone over a Lav Mic.

So I’m actually editing
the video right now,

and I realized that I left out
something really important.

Now the reason I like the Shotgun Mic more

is because I think it isolates
my voice a bit better.

And this is actually true,

because a Lavalier mic
picks up omni-directional,

so it’s gonna pick up sound
all around the microphone.

Whereas, the Shotgun
Microphone picks up sounds

that’s just in front of it,

rejecting the other sounds behind,

and to the side of the microphone.

Now this might be a hint

as to which microphone is which mic,

but that’s coming up later,

so let’s get right back to the video.

Again, this is just my preference,

so if you want to go with the Shotgun Mic,

or the Lavalier Mic,

I promise you, you’re gonna
get great sounding quality

out of both of these mics.

Now, let me give you four reasons

on when I love using a
Lavalier Microphone actually,

over a Shotgun Microphone,

and why you probably will as well.

The first one is there’s
no additional costs.

You just clip it onto your shirt,

and you’re good to go,

whereas if you have a Shotgun Microphone,

the preferred way to use the Shotgun Mic

is to actually boom it over the subject

so that it’s as close as possible.

Now I actually made a
video on four cheap ways

on how to boom your microphone over you

to get good sounding quality,

and I’ll leave a link in the description

if you want to check that out.

But I have to admit
that it is really nice,

especially if you’re on a budget

that you can just clip
this onto your shirt,

and you’re good to go.

Reason number two

is that you can actually
plug this microphone

straight into your phone.

Now this is gonna be
perfect for the person

who does not want to
be tied to the camera.

Maybe you’re doing a workout video,

or maybe you’re doing a house tour,

well, you can just plug
this into your phone,

throw it in your pocket,

and then you can sync the
audio to the video later

when you’re editing,

and now you basically have
like a wireless microphone

where you can go wherever you want,

and you’re gonna get
consistently good audio.

If you just have one camera person,

you really can not do this
with a Shotgun Microphone,

because the Shotgun Mic

is just gonna be on top of your camera,

and when you move farther
away from the camera,

you’re gonna get worse and worse audio

with a Shotgun Mic.

And that is actually the third reason,

is that you can move
around wherever you want.

I recently recorded a
video using a $100 camera

that I got off Amazon,

and it was really nice that
I was able to move around

wherever I wanted.

This was more of a
documentary style video,

and so I wasn’t just standing
in front of the camera,

talking to the camera the whole time,

so I definitely made sure to
use the Lav Mic for that video,

so I could move around,

and get consistent quality audio,

no matter where I was.

The fourth reason is that
it has a really long wire.

Now this is great because
you don’t have to be

super close to the camera,

you can stand away,

and if you don’t have a phone,

or an external audio recorder,

you have a long enough wire,

where you can just plug it
straight into the camera,

and you can record the videos

with the audio already
synced to your camera,

even if you’re standing really far away.

Yes, it can get tangled,

and be pretty annoying,

but it’s definitely worth
having that extra cable so that

if you want to plug straight
into the camera, you can.

So let’s do a quick recap,

and then I’m gonna let you
know which microphone A was,

and which microphone B was.

If you haven’t commented your guess yet,

then do it now before the final reveal.

So if you’re gonna be shooting videos

where you need a bit more flexibility,

maybe you’re farther away from the camera,

or you’re just moving around a lot,

then the Lav Mic is gonna
be a great option for you.

Now, if you’re gonna be
shooting videos just like this,

or maybe you’re gonna be doing vlogs,

then I recommend going
with the Shotgun Microphone

just based on the sound,

and also the clean look.

All right, here is the final reveal.

Microphone A was the Deity V.Lav,

and microphone B was the Rode VideoMicro.

Let me know in the comments
which one you preferred more.

If you’re looking to get a
USB microphone for podcasts,

or Zoom meetings,

you can actually shoot YouTube videos

with that kind of a mic as well,

if you don’t mind it being in the shot,

and you get a really
good sound for the price.

So click on the screen

to check out the best USB microphone

that you can get under
$70 for your videos.

(upbeat hip hop music)