Insta360's Mic Pro isn't just another wireless mic. Can its unique feature set stand out in an increasingly competitive field?
Wireless mics have come a long way since the days when radio devices were the preserve of high-end professionals. The 2.4/5GHz frequencies have allowed dual band digital wireless mics to flourish at incredibly affordable prices. Even now, a UHF wireless mic system could set you back between $500 - $1,000. On the other hand, a good 2.4/5GHz mic can now be purchased for less than $50.
Granted, UHF microphones do have an advantage when it comes to distance, but for most people a good digital wireless mic is all that's needed. And, it's an increasingly competitive marketplace out there for such devices. We've got the RØDE Wireless GO and Wireless PRO series, DJI's Mic system, Hollyland's LARK, as well as systems from SmallRig, Boya, Sony, and now GoPro.
There are many more examples besides, so any new system needs to offer something that differentiates it from the rest of the competition. A tough ask for a device as simple as a microphone.
Insta360's new Mic Pro system aims to take on the challenge with a quite unique take on the genre.
The first thing that strikes you when seeing the Mic Pro is that it is much larger than competitors' mics. This might put some people off initially, but there are a couple of reasons behind its size.
The first is an obvious one, the built-in e-Ink display for custom branding. More on that in a moment. The second is that the Mic Pro isn't intended to be used just as a body-mounted lavalier-style mic. Each mic transmitter consists of three microphones allowing for different pickup patterns, so it can be used effectively as a camera microphone as well.
The Mic Pro is capable of recording 32-bit float files internally, which is a feature we now come to expect from devices like this. However, those additional two microphones on the transmitter allow for the Mic Pro to lay down stereo 32-bit float recordings, which is a capability that no other competitor offers.
Insta360 claims that the system can cater for distances up to 400 m. I wasn't prepared to leave my camera alone for that distance, but it's important to point out that how far you can go will depend on your environment. For example, the transmission distance will be drastically reduced in a busy city environment.
Lastly, the Mic Pro's receiver is capable of connecting up to four separate transmitters, another feature that sets it apart.
In short, the Mic Pro's feature set means that on paper, it's got multiple uses and applications.
It's true that the Mic Pro is physically larger than rivals, but the build quality is high, as you'd expect. The review sample we were sent consisted of two mic transmitters and one receiver. These are housed inside a charging case.
The charging case itself has a slightly quirky design. I found it a little tricky to open due to the way the lid is hinged in a place you're naturally inclined to hold onto. That said, once it is open, the mics and the receiver are all easily accessible, although it does also have another drawback in that you can't close the lid with the windshields attached to the microphones.
DJI had this issue with its early Mic systems, but modified things for the Mic Mini and Mic 3 to allow the windshields to stay attached while inside the case. It's an important thing to mention, because if you need to move from location to location it's a bit of a bind to have to keep removing the windshields and then re-attach them all the time. It also means that it's easier to lose the windshield as well.
Charging case issues aside, the mics themselves can be mounted to clothing using either clips or some very powerful magnets. With the clips attached, they can also be slid onto a camera's cold shoe for use as a shotgun mic.
The Insta360 Mic Pro's standout feature is its ability to display custom logos and graphics using an e-Ink display. Users can upload any logo or image via the Insta360 app.
Photos can be used, but the limited colors available mean that they have to be extensively dithered, so bold, solid color designs seem to work best. The upload process takes seconds, and it's the only time that the e-Ink display consumes any power. Once the image is established, there's no power draw.
The really great thing about the e-Ink display is that it is still easily viewable even in bright sunshine. It's a matte display, and behaves very much like, well, ink! So you won't lose visibility to the camera due to light glare or other issues.
The different pickup patterns on the Mic Pro allow the mic to be used in different environments and situations, but they don't necessarily act in the way you might traditionally expect.
There's a choice between omnidirectional, which picks up a 360-degree sound pattern, cardioid, which focused on what's in front of the mic, figure-eight, which focuses on sound in front of and directly behind the mic, and super narrow, which acts like a super/hyper cardioid shotgun mic.
Traditionally, if you use a super cardioid, you expect voices to be naturally recorded in front of the mic, with voices and environmental sounds off-axis to be reduced and 'colored'. This isn't quite how the Mic Pro behaves. Instead, the super narrow mode picks up voices directly in front of the mic, but digitally filters out voices and chatter that are off axis, while still leaving the environment sounds intact. In other words, it focused on eliminating off-axis human 'chatter'.
It does work effectively, although the off-axis voices do sound a little processed in the way they are filtered out.
If you want to filter out the environment, for example if you're recording in a busy and loud city, a better option is to use the noise cancellation mode. This has two settings, weak and strong, and is quite effective at reducing ambient sounds to almost nothing. There's a little bit of a processed sound to the recording in the strong mode, but if you don't wish to get bogged down with post-editing, it works well in busy environments.
My preferred solution is to record everything in 32-bit float and then use Resolve's incredible voice isolation filter to drastically reduce (but not eliminate) any intrusive environmental sounds. The great thing is that with the Mic Pro you have the option of being able to record both the processed noise-cancelled audio along with an unprocessed version, so you don't get locked into either of them.
The Insta360 Mic Pro is certainly unique. The size might put off some who are after something more discreet, but with online video branding being ever more a 'thing' it's easy to see why the e-Ink display will appeal to others.
But, the Mic Pro's appeal goes beyond that of a simple body-mounted microphone. It can be used on-camera as I've mentioned. But its receiver can also be used as a timecode sync device, and the stereo 32-bit float recording means that the transmitters can be used as standalone tiny portable sound recorders. For example, they could be mounted near car exhausts or in engine bays or other places that are difficult to get microphones in. The 32-bit float recording would help ensure that audio levels didn't peak, and the stereo nature of them would give the recordings a dynamism that is difficult to achieve for the same price elsewhere.
It also stands to reason that each Mic Pro transmitter can connect seamlessly with Insta360's own cameras such as the Ace Pro 2 and X5. All settings can be adjusted in camera, with recording to the mic synced with the record button on the camera.
I did find that the USB receiver didn't play nicely with GoPro's Mission 1 Pro, however. The result was some pretty garbled audio, and I'm not sure what the reason could be. Other USB mics such as the DJI Mic 3 worked just fine, so my hunch is that there's something different about the way Insta360 may be implementing the USB audio standard that the Mission 1 Pro isn't reading correctly. GoPro is aware of it and looking into it. Despite the fierce rivalry between the two companies, the Mic Pro could well be a product some people might want to use with GoPro's new flagship, so hopefully it can be fixed.
All in all, it's a good job by Insta360 in an increasingly crowded marketplace. The Mic Pro is available now, starting at $99 for a single transmitter, and going up to $329 for 2x transmitters and 1x receiver and the charging case.