There are several different products out on the market for us to use aiming to help us with all of our different needs. Microphones are no exception and choosing the right one that fits you can be a daunting task, especially if you are looking for a great quality mic that is small and easy to use. Enter the Instamic, which claims to be the smartest, smallest, and most affordable microphone and audio recorder on the market… but how does fare?
Filmmaker Jay Worsley decides to give it a test to see how it actually performs during a wedding while comparing it to another digital audio recorder, the Tascam DR-10L. The small mic is put through a few different scenarios testing out ambient noises, picking up a reading in a controlled environment to a conversation outdoors.
For the size and portability of the Instamic, I think it does pretty well in recording audio but the Tascam does do a better job in most scenarios. This is perfect for those moments where you can’t use a boom or have lav mics on the person or even when you don’t want to carry a lot of gear. I am curious how much better a job of recording audio the Instamic Pro will do with stereo audio. There are several different ways to attach the Instamic with the include clip types. What do you think? How did the Instamic perform? On an additional note, it did take Jay about 2 years to receive his Instamic and it doesn't look like its currently available for order, hopefully, that might change soon.
Where was the mic placed in each scenario?
This is interesting, certainly useful, but needs to be more readily available. The reviewer made the mistake of putting it in the wrong location on the PA speaker however, which is why it sounded the way it did. Otherwise it's a decent sounding unit.
Dear Alex, thanks for putting together this article. I am Michele Baggio - Instamic CEO. I was glad to see Instamic in action thanks to Jay. I would also recommend to watch Adam's Instamic first test/comparison where he talks about advantages and disadvantages of using Instamic vs other systems at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g4h7XZtf3XU&t=1s . Even if not directly related to wedding videography, I think he gives pretty useful hints about its application, focusing on several features of Instamic that Jay doesn't mention and that make Instamic unique in the industry (I would add to Adam's list the multiple units remote control (up to 10 from a mobile device), waterproofing, monitoring via Bluetooth, pre-fader real dual mono, M/S recording, streaming to any mobile phone (in development), etc.. I hope this video can help to have more details about the product. Have a great one! Kind regards, Michele
Mr. CEO, why is this product so complicated to turn on and to set to record? Have you seen the reviews of the new Profoto A1 speed light? Many reviewers pointed out how happy they were to work the product fully without having to consult a manual. Your mic seems overly complicated in its most basic operation. Here's a not very radical idea -Howabout a separate button for Record? And here's another one for you -What about a RED light to indicate the unit is recording? Wouldn't that be more simple than your current system which requires a video to explain how to turn it on and set it to record?
Dear John, my name is Michele :-) I personally don't find Instamic complicated at all but probably because I designed it from scratch. But let me say that many early backers found it pretty straight forward and they literally start capturing right out of the box without reading the manual. You just press the button one time to turn it on and a second time to record. Would you mind telling me more about this "issue"? Are you facing this as a user or you saw it somewhere? Instamic's PCB is packed and a second mechanical switch would be possible only redesigning the entire product. And that will be definitely something we may take in consideration on our next revision. As we have already implemented the red LEDs on our second revision :-) We can only get better thanks to our backers and your feedback. Thanks for that. It is the exciting part of crowdfunding and product development. I personally find video manual very useful in my profession, that's why I personally realized the "Instamic- How it works" https://vimeo.com/177823401. And I did it because I find Instamic very easy to use and it takes only 5 mins to have complete knowledge of its use and go out an shoot. But still I understand some users can struggle. It is a quiet new product that requires a new approach. But as I said, once you know how to operate it, in few minutes you are ready to roll. Happy to discuss more about it. You can email me anytime at support@instamic.io. I will look at the Profoto A1 speed light. I love their products. Thanks again. Kind regards, Michele