RØDE VideoMic GO II (HELIX mount)

A camera's built-in microphone hears everything around it, while a shotgun microphone is aimed. RØDE describes the VideoMic GO II as highly directional, meaning it focuses on what it is pointed at while reducing background noise, and lists its polar pattern as supercardioid. Mounted on a camera that is pointed at a train from a platform or a viewpoint, the microphone points where the lens does, which is the point Digital Camera World makes when it explains that the mic fixes to the top of the camera so wherever the camera points, so does the mic. It also draws power from the camera, so there is no battery to charge before a day out.

The microphone connects to a camera's mic socket with a 3.5 mm TRS cable and overrides the camera's own microphone, according to Digital Camera World. RØDE says it needs no batteries and has no switches, running on plug-in power of 2 to 5 volts. Over USB-C it works with phones, tablets and computers, though additional cables are needed (SC16, SC17 or SC18 for USB-C, SC15 or SC19 for Lightning), and in USB mode RØDE Central unlocks a high-pass filter, high-frequency boost and pad. In USB mode the 3.5 mm socket becomes a headphone output for monitoring. For wind, RØDE says the supplied foam windshield mitigates moderate wind noise and plosives and should be fitted if the mic is being moved, and it recommends the separate WS12 in a high-wind environment outdoors. HELIX is an isolation mount designed by RØDE for this microphone against knocks, bumps and handling rumble, with cable management slots, a camera attachment and a thread for a boompole. Digital Camera World's hands-on test used a different shock mount (the SM8-R listed in that test), so its remarks on the mount do not describe HELIX.

Expert pick · Digital Camera World: Digital Camera World found it hard to fault: great audio quality, a light and well-made body, and a 3.5 mm plus USB combination that suits vloggers and filmmakers. It marked down only the missing USB cables and the TRS-only headphone monitoring. Read the review

Photographers and video shooters who want a small step up from a camera's built-in microphone, plus one microphone that also works with a phone or computer. Digital Camera World calls it a first do-it-all mic for vloggers and budding filmmakers, and says a lavalier or wireless mic does better for speech at a distance.

RØDE's VideoMic NTG uses the same line tube technology and adds a switchable high-pass filter, a pad, variable gain control, a peak warning light and a rechargeable battery rated for 30-plus hours, according to RØDE. For speech at a distance, Digital Camera World points to a lavalier or wireless microphone.