Stereo Microphone DME1D

I am using this on my Canon EOS R7 and the sound quality is very good. Easy to set up.

Easy to set and use, great quality

I shoot video in urban centers—places infested with radio and cellphone towers—and every external camera mic I’ve tried is plagued with RFI. I owned mics from Sennheiser, Deity, Rode and Movo and all picked up a local classic rock station on the audio track. The only way around RFI was to use XLR mics with an external audio recorder—fine for special productions but a pain for run ’n gun ’n wander style video I mostly do. So, out of desperation I bought the Canon DM-E1D Digital Stereo Microphone and gave it a go on my Canon R6 MK II, not expecting much. Apparently the DM-E1D is RFI immune! I shot footage near my local radio tower and the DM-E1D track was clean. Mind blown. Shooting in and around a thousand unit condo filled with Wi-Fi and a mammoth cluster of cellphone transmitters—clean audio. I can use this mic anywhere in a big city and will record actual sounds rather than RFI. RFI resistance aside, the DM-E1D is a decent mic but not great. My Sennheiser MKE 440—about the same cost—sounds much better for stereo: fuller spectrum of sound, better sound stage and hot output. Sadly, DM-E1D output signal is weak and requires plenty of gain. For a talking head from arm’s length, manual gain needs to be 75 to 90% for levels to hit -12 to -6dB. Testing in a quiet space—my studio—reveals a small amount of self noise—hiss—at high gain levels. Easy to remove in post production but it should be cleaner for a mic at this price. As for the pitiful frequency response specs—100Hz to 10,000Hz—they are inaccurate. Using piano and guitar, I found the DM-E1D able to record more than an octave below 100Hz. I can hear the bass gently round off towards the lower bass—typical of most small mics—but it is definitely there. The 6th string of a guitar is 80Hz and it is loud and clear with no rolloff evident. There's plenty of bass down to about 50Hz (according to the spectrum analyzer in Logic Pro). On the other hand, my Rode VideoMic Go II is spec'ed at 20Hz - 20kHz and yet has much less bass response than the Canon DM-E1D. Highs are in a similar situation: the DM-E1D gently rolls off above 10,000Hz but I found plenty of audio information well beyond 13,000Hz. I've been using the DM-E1 with the pricy Canon OC-E4A Off Camera Shoe Cord. It helps get the mic closer to subjects. The cable—less than a meter—is too short for a boom but works at arm's length or on an extension arm or cold shoe. I assume because of the digital transfer of data, no problems with RFI using the OC-E4A, albeit I wish the cable was longer. There is no denying the convenience and flexibility of the DM-E1D: no batteries or wires, a dedicated button for the audio menu, petite form factor, and shotgun and stereo modes (30º and 90º). However, what keeps this mic in my bag is the RFI resistance. It’s the only mic I’ve owned—and I’ve owned many—that is reliable in RFI prone urban centers.

Really thought it would do better. It is better than the internal mic. Sure. But not much better.

I've never been a big fan of stereo mics, but this one is very good. I use it on the 90 degree setting. It picks up dialogue just like in shotgun mode, with the added ambiance of stereo. Recommended.

I tried this microphone. The AD converters are noisy. Like unusable. The mic only goes up to 10KHz. Most shotgun mics go to 20KHz. Having a dedicated button to access the audio menu was convenient but that and not having to use an 1/8th in cable are literally the only good things about this mic. I cannot stress how poorly this product sounds. I love Canon, but they really need to stick to lenses and camera bodies. I returned mine. Shure, Sennheiser and Rode all offer noticeably superior products for the same price or less.

Small size and easy to use. Sounds great.