Blimey, DJI is really throwing down the gauntlet of late. Despite earning the wrath of the orange Trumpster and therefore unable to sell a fair bunch of its products in the United States of Americaland, the company is releasing kit at a dizzying speed.
Latest across my desk is the DJI Mic Mini 2S, an upgrade from the Mic Mini2.
Well obviously.
On the surface, it is almost impossible to tell the two apart. A keen eye will spot though the on/off button is slightly different, and if you pair them with say a smartphone via Bluetooth as against using the receiver plugged into a smartphone, tablet or computer’s USB-C port, you’ll see at that point via the pairing message.
Under the skin though is a different story with some major upgrades in the Mic Mini 2S.
What’s New?
The first of these brings the recording quality up to the par of most of its competitors such as RØDE and Sennheiser, with 32 bit floating point recording capability now included. This will give far better quality in the Mic Mini 2S. DJI has also added internal recording options to the transmitters as a fail-safe option if the signal is cut to the receiver, no matter it be to DJI’s own receiver or via Bluetooth.
You can record up to 4 mics with a signal receiver, and the noise reduction has been vastly improved from a basic setup to a full AI managed format. In fact, DJI has cleverly taken advantage of this by allowing each mic to be a separate channel so if using 4 transmitters, you can record quadraphonic audio. Neat trick.
Up to 28 hours of recording to the transmitter is available depending on the mode. The stated range of transmission is 400 metres when in line of sight.
Other Import Points
If you use DJI kit such as the Pocket 4/4P, Action 6 etc, the Mic Mini 2S supports the OsmoAudio ecosystem so the camera will pair directly with the Mic Mini 2S without needing the receiver.
If you are an iOS user and still stuck with Lightning based hardware, an adaptor is included to convert the USB-C to Lightning. Also included are magnetic clips and magnets to attach the transmitter to a lapel, collar or even the brim of a hat.
To save on battery life, the Mic Mini 2S has an auto shutdown feature after 15 minutes of inactivity.
Conclusion
I have had a reasonable play with the DJI Mic Mini 2S and am suitably impressed. The audio quality as expected is very good, clean and crisp and the noise cancellation works very well indeed.
If I had one complaint it is that in the event of a signal break and you have to rely on the backup recording from the transmitter(s), the only way to get that data off is to place them in the charging case and download via USB-C to a PC.
It’s unlikely I suppose that someone would NOT keep the charging case with them, but there is of course always a chance.
The only other issue one that all the wireless mic manufacturers seem to be doing these days and that is making sure their logos are prominently displayed on the transmitters. I find that a little irritating.
DJI does make a set of coloured magnetic covers to slip over the top of the original clear plastic one, but these also contain the logo. Perhaps make an optional set you can buy that are blanks might by an idea?
The pricing of the various configurations available is as follows:
- DJI Mic Mini 2S (2 TX + 1 RX + Charging Case) retails for AU$279
- DJI Mic Mini 2S (1 TX + 1 RX) retails for AU$149
- DJI Mic Mini 2S (1 TX + 1 Mobile RX + Charging Case) retails for AU$149
- DJI Mic Mini 2S Transmitter retails for AU$99
- DJI Mic Mini 2S Charging Case retails for AU$79
- DJI Mic Mini 2S Multi-Colour Magnetic Front Cover Set retails for AU$35
- DJI Mic Mini 2S Time Series Magnetic Front Cover Set retails for AU$69
For more information, please refer to: https://www.dji.com/mic-mini-2s