The new Sony ECM-B10 shotgun microphone for vloggers and filmmakers has three different modes to capture sound in a variety of situations. Super-directional to pick up the audio directly in front of you for vlog-style videos and interviews, uni-directional to capture audio from a wider range in front of the camera and omni-directional to capture the ambient sound all around you as you’re filming. In his video review, Gordon Laing of Camera Labs explores these different modes in a variety of situations and discusses the key benefits to using the microphone with your Sony camera.

“I do think that if you are wedded to the Sony system and you’re after a nice, simple microphone solution, then the ECM-B10 could be it.” – Gordon Laing, Camera Labs

First he goes through the different modes at a noisy station with the Sony Alpha 7 IV and explains how you have the choice between an analogue and digital connection on the newer cameras. He talks about the key benefits of having that hot shoe accessory-based solution for audio. “The first is there are no wires to worry about,” he says. “If you were using an analog microphone, you typically have a three and a half millimeter jack and cable going between the microphone and the camera. And this is something you could break, it’s something you could lose. By connecting through the accessory shoe you eliminate the need for any cables and that of course makes it neater and it doesn't block the screen if you have a model where it flips off to the side.”

He continues, “One of the other benefits of using an accessory shoe-based microphone is that it’s powered by the camera’s battery itself. So there’s no need for you to remember to bring batteries or to charge the microphone beforehand. Of course it’s going to draw some more power from the camera itself, that battery is not going to be lasting as long as it would without the microphone, but it does mean that you don’t need to worry about powering a separate device.” 

Next he tests the microphone with the wind muffler at a breezy beach, using super-directional mode to pick up his voice talking to the camera more than the crashing waves behind him. Here he talks about what it’s like to set up and use the microphone. “Even though it does have quite a number of controls on the back of it, it is in fact a very, very simple microphone to use. The first thing to note is that regardless of the Sony camera that you have it mounted on – old, new, analog or digital multi-interface shoe – the microphone is the thing that takes control of your audio levels.”

Laing’s third location is a quiet woodland where he first tests the omni-directional mode to pick up all of the ambient sounds of the forest. “Now what this omni-directional mode lets you do is record audio from all directions. Not just in front, but also behind the camera.” He turns the camera around to test its effectiveness, and the sound comes in crystal clear. He does the same with the uni-directional and super-directional modes to show the difference.

Laing wraps up his interview by concluding how easy the microphone is to use and that Sony users needing a simple microphone will be happy with the Sony ECM-B10. “...this microphone is only designed to be used on a multi-interface shoe. To just fit on there, be pretty small and discreet, be very simple to set up and very easy to operate. I mean this is something you just stick on and forget about. There’s no setup involved, it’s just really, really simple.”

Pre-order the new Sony ECM-B10 shotgune microphone HERE.