You may not realize this but a lot of you are walking around with a high quality solid state recorder in your pocket. The iPhone is capable of capturing 44.1 kHz audio and when you add an external microphone and the $9.99 field recording app FiRe from Audiofile Engineering, you have a very capable dual audio system.
FiRe is an amazing pro sound app that lets you record in several formats while providing live metering of your sound levels. $10 bucks turns your iPhone or better yet, an older iPhone sitting in your closet after upgrading, into a replacement or back up of your Zoom H4N or Tascam Dr-100.
The next step to high quality dual audio with the iPhone is adding an external microphone. A versatile choice is the Blue Mikey from Blue Microphones. I have used the first generation Mikey to record interviews and as a dual capture sound device and I’ve been very pleased with the results even in loud environments. The second generation Mikey which has rounded off corners, added 230° rotation and a line in for attaching other microphones. One thing to note is that Apple changed the connector pin order on the iPhone 4 which has reeked havoc with external hardware like the Mikey. At this point, neither of the Blue Mikey units works with an iPhone 4. Instead you would want to use the headphone jack with an adapter for an external mic. Make sure to call and talk to someone from one of these audio companies before you purchase a mic or adapter for the iPhone 4.
You can attach a shotgun microphone to the headphone jack of your iPhone if you have the right adapter. Here, I’m using the Rode VideoMic on a Redrock Micro rig for NAB show floor interviews. As I mentioned in that article, I couldn’t get the right cable adapter in time for NAB and fell back on the Blue Mikey. The cable you need in order to use the Rodes VideoMic with the iPhone is the 1/8 inch microphone adapter – 3.5mm 4 conductor TRRS Male to 3.5mm Microphone Input Jack from KVConnection. You might want to call them and let them know which microphone you plan on using so they can match the impedance for you. Here’s some trouble shooting help I got from KVConnection sales manager Rob Neal:
There are lots of variations in microphones and the iPhone looks to detect when an external
microphone is plugged in to switch over from its internal mic. The iPhone detects the external mic
by its input impedance which needs to be between 1k-10k ohms. By the looks of the specs on your
microphone the input impedance is 200 ohms and that is what would be causing the problem. We will
ship you a new modified adapter that should work to trigger the iPhone sensor with your microphone
so that it will switch over – KVConnection
Some other adapters you might want to keep in your HDSLR sound kit are:
iPhone 1/8 inch microphone and headphone adapter – 3.5mm 4 conductor TRRS Male to 3.5mm TRS Jacks
This adapter allows you to connect a standard microphone with 3.5mm (1/8 inch) connector to the iPhone or other compatible device for quality recording and provides a 3.5mm stereo (audio out/headphone) jack for audio playback to standard headphones.
iPhone XLR micrphone and 1/8 inch headphone adapter – 3.5mm TRRS Male to 3.5mm Headphone Jack and 3-pin XLR Microphone JackThis adapter allows you to connect a standard microphone with XLR connector to the iPhone or other compatible device for quality recording and provides a 3.5mm TRS stereo (audio out/headphone) jack for audio playback to standard headphones – KVConnection
Another great use for an iPhone Field recorder is to tuck it in a back pocket and use with a lav mic like this one from Giant Squid Audio which retails for $30. Giant Squid has been around for a while and has a great reputation. Early on they started making microphones that would work with Iriver digital audio players (DAP) and now they offer iPhone/iPod mics. If you find yourself needing a lav mic set up and don’t have a wireless unit with you, this mic combined with your iPhone and the FiRe app makes a nice little set up that can easily be hidden in the subjects pocket.
Update: Darren from Giant Squid has put up a special order page for PCN readers. Follow this link for an $8 discount, bringing the total down to just $22!
It’s a good idea to carry redundant recording devices and a healthy supply of adapters. I haven’t been carrying XLR to mini stereo adapters in my kit because I don’t own any XLR mics but on a shoot the other day the Tascam started eating batteries (they were in a new package but must have been old stock) causing us to go to our back up Zoom H1 solution. Unfortunately, we were using a Sennheiser wireless rig as the main mic and it only had XLR out to the recorder but the H1 only had a mini jack line in so it wouldn’t work. Instead, we had to go out looking for batteries at midnight (and no, we weren’t shooting Christmas elf porn late at night before the holidays).
Whether you are just getting started with dual capture sound and need an inexpensive recorder or you are a seasoned pro who owns a Zoom or Tascam, a properly set up iPhone is a good addition to your DSLR filmmaking kit. It’s also a good use for your old phone when you upgrade to a new one.
BTW, I came across this similar blog article about using microphones with an iPhone that you might want to check out as well.
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