The V-Mic D4 DUO is an on-camera microphone that features plug-and-play 3.5mm connectivity as well as nice have’s such as a 3.5mm input like we saw with the V-Mic D4 Mini.
What makes the V-Mic D4 DUO unique is that it features two microphone capsules, one forward-facing and one backwards-facing. This arrangement of the microphone capsules makes it an ideal use case for vlogging or live-action narrated video.
Video Review
Deity V-Mic D4 DUO
Design
Despite the microphone’s unique feature-set, it doesn’t have a bizarre-looking design, it follows a similar design that we are used to seeing across on-camera microphones – with the D4 DUO being slightly larger than the D4 Mini.
As I briefly mentioned at the start of the review, the D4 DUO features two microphone capsules – one points forwards to capture audio from what you’re recording but another points backwards so you can capture clear audio of what you are saying at the same time, all from within one microphone.
The outer body of the microphone is all metal, which makes the microphone durable for use on the go and long-lasting. Despite the weight of the metal shell, the microphone is well balanced and isn’t front or back heavy – when placed on a desk in its shock mount, the microphone will stand upright without any problems.
Looking around the microphone, there isn’t too much to it – the design is very functional and that’s what you really want with a piece of kit like this. There’s a switch to change the microphone pickup mode from using only the front capsule or both, as well as 3.5mm inputs and outputs. The addition of a 3.5mm input means that you could plug in a lav mic to use alongside the D4 DUO, this is a nice flexibility element to have.
The microphone comes with an included shock mount, the microphone pretty much lives in this all the time as it allows you to mount the microphone on your camera, tripod or tripod head as it supports multiple tripod thread sizes. There’s a splash of yellow on the shock mount, adding a bit of colour to an otherwise plain black design and is designed around the Rycote Lyre shock absorption design – so any camera movements or shakes won’t translate as much into your audio recording.
Features & Accessories
As I mentioned earlier during the review, this microphone features support for external 3.5mm inputs, this paired with the dual-capsule design of the microphone itself makes this a very versatile piece of kit that is flexible enough to let you record multiple audio sources without the need for a separate audio recorder and mixer.
The microphone also comes with windshields for each microphone capsule, so you can use this microphone outdoors in windy conditions without too much wind noise being picked up by the microphone. The microphone also includes a single 3.5mm TRS cable to connect it to your camera, unfortunately, there’s no 3.5mm cable designed for smartphones included – so you’d need to purchase an adapter or cable if you wished to use this microphone with your smartphone.
One thing to note is that when using the microphone in dual-capsule mode, or with the 3.5mm input, each sound source will be recorded to a different audio channel – one to the left and the other to the right. This does mean that you’ll need to do some audio processing in post-production to ensure that viewers of your content aren’t complaining that the sound is only coming out of one of their earbuds.
Sound Quality
For an on-camera microphone that manages to pack all of this functionality into a compact package, it sounds good for the price. The microphone managed to pick up my voice clearly and to a good volume in my tests and I like how adaptable it is.
Deity has considered the fact that the rear-facing capsule will be closer to your mouth, so it is less sensitive. This makes it better balanced with the sensitivity of the front-facing microphone capsule, meaning that audio from the front and the back should have similar audio levels.
The microphone features dual cardioid polar patterns, so it will focus on picking up the sound from in front of each capsule. This should give the microphone a directional sound, although not as focused as super-cardioid, cardioid should work well for most recording scenarios during run-and-gun filming.
Like I do say in all my microphone reviews, microphone placement is key to getting a good recording – so try to get your microphone within 30-60 centimetres of your sound source for the best recording quality. If you choose to place the camera across a room, those tripod thread mounts built into the bottom of the microphone shock-mount will certainly come in handy to ensure that your microphone can be placed in a suitable place separately from your camera.
Conclusion
The Deity V-Mic D4 DUO looks like a bit of a niche product, but if you’re a vlogger or do a lot of narrated live-action video I think it is a great fit for those use cases. The microphone is well built, sounds good and is plug and play which makes it easy and straightforward to use.
If you don’t need the special features found within the D4 DUO, it may be worth saving your money and going for a more “standard” on-camera microphone such as one from Deity, Rode or Joby – but if the D4 DUO intrigues you or ticks the boxes for what you’re looking for – I’d highly recommend it.
The Deity V-Mic D4 DUO is available to purchase on Amazon.
The Summary
Deity V-Mic D4 DUOThe Good
- Compact and lightweight design.
- Good sound quality for the price.
The Bad
- No TRRS cable included for use with smartphones and tablets.
- Mode switch can be hard to access when windshields are in place.
