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Review: Blue Mikey Digital Microphone for iPhone

By Jen

I’m no film producer or audio engineer, but I did take the Blue Mikey Digital out for a jaunt when we went to CU Exposed. I figured in such a busy atmosphere, it would be useful for recording demos or interviews with something approaching acceptable audio quality. 

If you are a media-maker on the go, and use your iPhone as your primary source of recording, you’ll love the Mikey Digital.
The mic’s pocket size and easy attachment (simply plug it in to the power adapter slot on the base of your phone) make it a super convenient piece to carry along for any audio/video recording opportunities that arise. 
I took two videos using my iPhone 4 and the Mikey Digital at CU Exposed: one was of Jan Sapper, talking about his MacDock Kickstarter project, and another of the Braven BRV-1 speaker demo. In both videos, the mic was angled away from me, toward the subject. 
The sound from the Braven BRV-1 does fade in and out, but that’s more to do with the fact that it’s bouncing the water off the speaker surface than the Mikey capabilities. 
In both videos you’ll notice that the background noise is omnipresent; we were in the cavernous, low-ceilinged basement of the London Film Museum at Covent Garden with a huge crowd, all talking and demonstrating. But you’ll also notice that the focus of the videos, Jan Sapper and the BRV-1 are clearly audible. 
These videos were captured with the iOS camera app, and not processed for sound before uploading, so this is the raw output you’d have to work with. 
Is the Mikey Digital+iPhone setup going to replace your directional mic or mixing board? No. Certainly not. And neither will your iPhone camera replace a SLR with multiple lenses. 
But in the vein of “the best camera to use is the one you’ve got with you,” it will certainly take your audio & video capabilities up a couple notches if you’re a citizen journalist or budding iPhone filmmaker. And, for around the same price, if the choice is between carrying a basic digital recorder *plus* a phone in your pocket(s), or buying the Mikey Digital, the choice to go with the Mikey is crystal clear. 

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