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Pixel Universal Video Microphone for Smartphones and DSLR Cameras with Shock Mount – Full Review

By Mark's Tech Blogs

3rd January 2020

Read on for the written review, click here to watch the video review or pick one up on Amazon here.

If you’re looking for an external microphone to improve the sound quality of your videos then the Pixel video microphone might just be the one for you!

Retailing at £40 the Pixel isn’t going to break the bank but does come with everything you need to get started. It comes with 3 shockproof mounts with shoe clips for fitting onto the top of cameras, tripods etc, a foam windscreen, a fluffy windscreen, an extension cable, a cable to connect it to a DSLR and a cable to connect it to a smartphone.

Pixel Universal Video Microphone

The microphone itself is made of metal, feels incredibly well made and is reasonable small. It’s a super-cardioid microphone with a reasonable range (see Pixel’s diagram below)

However, nice and fancy diagrams are the real proof is in how it performs.

Set Up and Performance

Using the microphone is as simple as plugging it in. I tested it with my iPhone X and once I got the cable plugged into my lightning to 3.5mm adapter the right way round (hint: the end with 3 black lines goes into your phone) it worked with whatever app I recorded audio or video with.

As well as recording a couple of YouTube reviews I was filming anyway I also ran some specific tests with the microphone. (You can watch them in the video review on my YouTube channel).

Music Test
I decided to play some guitar and sing. I recorded the same clip with my iPhone microphone and with the Pixel microphone. Both clips were generally pretty similar except the Pixel clip had less room boom and generally had more low end (which made it sound better).

Background Noise Test
This time I set my iPad up in the hall behind my camera and played some music from it with the door closed. I then recorded some video with my iPhone, with the Pixel and with the Pixel with windscreens on to see how well it blocked out the background noise.

The iPhone microphone clip has a lot of background noise but even the Pixel without a windscreen reduced this noise and adding the windscreens reduced this further.

Outside Test
Finally, I took the microphone outside and did tests on a couple of days. On the windier day the audio using the Pixel with the foam windscreen was clearer than my iPhone microphone audio.

On the day with less wind I found that the fluffy windscreen dramatically improved the sound of my voice and the foam windscreen also made a difference.

Verdict
Overall, the Pixel microphone is a great accessory that is well made and performs well (especially outdoors). It has plenty of accessories and a nice carry case and is certainly a great budget option for recording better audio for your videos.

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