(Above: The original Rode VideoMic, with its problematic, but easily-replaceable rubber bands. Photo copyright Kei Izumi.)
I’ve used DSLRs to shoot video from the very beginning of my business, and it didn’t take long for me to realize that the built-in microphone on my Canon 5DII was awful. My solution came in the form of the original Rode VideoMic. It mounts directly on the hotshoe of the camera, gets perfectly usable directional sound, and came with a nifty shock mount that uses teeny-tiny little custom rubber bands to float the microphone in the air, away from any potential bangs and jostles.
But there was a problem. The little rubber bands break. They get old and squeak. I watched the supply that came with the camera dwindle smaller and smaller as they gradually broke, and this week at the very end of a shoot, disaster struck — four of ’em decided to break within about five minutes of each other.
My glorious little mic no longer floated on air. But I found a fast, easy fix that (so far at least) is working wonderfully.