Note: This review was first published on 2 May 2024.
DJI Mic 2 comes in two colours, with Shadow Black being uniquely translucent.
DJI is probably better known for their drones, gimbals, and cameras but in 2022, they launched a wireless microphone system simply called the DJI Mic, and it immediately became the front-running competitor to the popular Rode Wireless Go II. Two years on, we now have a successor in the form of the DJI Mic 2. Key improvements over the original include direct Bluetooth connectivity, improved battery life, and a new intelligent noise cancelling feature.
The Mic 2 can be purchased in three configurations:
● DJI Mic 2 (2 TX + 1 RX + 1 Charging Case) - S$469
● DJI Mic 2 (1 TX + 1 RX) - S$279
● Dji Mic 2 (TX only) - S$139
The TL;DR version:
The DJI Mic 2 is a highly versatile wireless microphone system with decent audio, lots of quality of life features and improvements, and a price that's hard to ignore.
Note: You can get the DJI Mic 2 on the official DJI store, Amazon, Shopee, and Lazada.
The full combo comes with two transmitters, a receiver, and the charging case.
Start recording right out of the box
With its newfound versatility, the DJI Mic 2 transmitter can be connected via Bluetooth to your smartphone or as a wireless mic for other DJI products such as the Osmo Pocket 3 and Osmo Action 4 cameras.
In the case of the combo sets, the transmitter and receiver should come linked out of the box. If for whatever reason they become unlinked, the Mic 2 charging case can be used as a pairing tool; just place the transmitter and receiver into the case and it should do the rest. A solid green light on the transmitter will mean that it has linked successfully to the receiver. You can also check if it is linked by closing and reopening the case to see if the battery life of the transmitter shows up on the OLED screen.
Whichever method you are connected, there doesn’t seem to be any restriction to recording apps that can be used with the DJI Mic 2. During my testing, I’ve recorded using Blackmagic Camera and Motiv Audio with great success. However, there is a caveat that the internal recording and intelligent noise cancellation features will not work when connected via Bluetooth to a smartphone.
Besides wireless connectivity improvements, DJI has updated its wired components too. With the DJI Mic 2, both USB-C and Lightning connections support digital audio playback without disconnecting the receiver. The 3.5mm TRS connection also now supports auto power on/off and syncs with your camera.
Lightning and USB-C connector support.
Battery life on the DJI Mic 2 has gotten a slight upgrade. The transmitter now has an additional 30 minutes of operating time, up from the previous 5 hours 30 minutes. The receiver is also rated at 6 hours (up from 5 hours in the previous edition). However, it’s not as impressive as the Shure MoveMic or Rode Wireless Pro, which are rated for 8 and 7 hours respectively.
The charging case holds another two cycles, which means that you can get up to 18 hours of total operating time. The overall bump in battery capacity also means that the DJI Mic 2 case is about 13mm longer, though DJI did manage to keep the width the same, and even shaved a little of its height. Still, it's a pretty chunky case.
The DJI Mic 2 receiver is chunkier and heavier than the original, but with more battery, larger screen, and that sweet dial, I guess it gets a pass.
There’s not much to say about the transmitters in terms of physical design, but I do appreciate that the LED is now on the sides of the device instead of at the front. Maybe it's just me, but a flashing LED right in the front during recording sticks out like a sore thumb.
The new and improved DJI Mic 2 receiver now features an orange control dial to make navigation easier, in addition to a slightly larger 1.1-inch OLED touchscreen.
The magnetic clip on feature makes a return on the DJI Mic 2.
Recording Quality
Note: All footage and audio testing done for this review were recorded on the DJI Mic 2 through the Blackmagic Camera app.
Connection distance remains at a very respectable 250m like the original DJI Mic, but with Bluetooth, you do need to be in direct line of sight for better performance.
In terms of microphone quality, the DJI Mic 2 is generally decent. It has an omnidirectional audio pickup design and during testing, managed to capture voices easily. When connected directly to the receiver, there are no problems with the audio whatsoever. However, when connected via Bluetooth, I noticed that voices would become slightly muffled if you are not within line of sight of the device it is connected to.
When comparing the DJI Mic 2’s capture to my phone’s (iPhone 13) build-in mic, there is a significant improvement in audio quality. Both male and female test subjects were clearer, and the DJI Mic 2 could easily pick up their voices even when held at arm’s length from the speaker.
However, judging the audio on its own, I have noticed that when speaking, plosives caused by consonants like p’s and b’s will cause the microphone to peak. If you find yourself being sensitive to this issue like me, you can plug in the wind muff and the problem of plosives will go away almost entirely.
The wind muffler hack helps reduce 'plosive peaking'.
During my time with the DJI Mic 2 mostly making TikToks and voiceovers, real world battery life holds up well despite having lesser operational times compared to the ShureMove Mic or the Rode Wireless Pro. If you’re recording short videos for social media, the DJI Mic 2 will easily last you throughout the day without having to worry too much about it going flat.
Quirks to note
As mentioned at the beginning of this review, the DJI Mic 2 has a new intelligent noise-cancelling feature. But one glaring issue I found during testing is that it would greatly muffle your voice. Without noise-cancelling, audio from the microphone sounded crisp and I could distinctly hear the pronunciation of words. After turning it on, the speaker’s voice will sound muddled and muffled. Hopefully, this is a software optimisation issue that can be addressed with a future firmware update.
Surprisingly, the DJI Mic 2 also comes with a haptic feedback motor in the transmitter itself, and it buzzes every time you do something like changing modes. DJI claims this feature is designed to “keep you effortlessly in tune with the device's status”. However, in my experience, the physical vibration is strong enough to be heard in a recording, creating unwanted noise. Fortunately, you can turn off the haptic feedback in the transmitter settings, which I highly suggest everyone does right out of the box.
DJI improved the internal recorder specs of the DJI Mic 2, which now supports 32-bit float recording. However, accessing the internal audio still requires a computer to be connected to the transmitter. And if you’re like me, who edits on mobile, you’d then have to transfer the audio file from your PC to your phone, which is a multi-step process I would much rather be able to skip.
A fuss-free update
Ultimately, the DJI Mic 2 features a range of small, but meaningful improvements to the original. It has greater utility with direct Bluetooth connectivity, longer battery life, and a lovely dial that makes accessing functions so much easier. Don’t get me wrong, I love touchscreens, but on something this small, having tactile control is always better.
The new intelligent noise cancelling feature was unfortunately a miss for me, and there are audio and feature tradeoffs when you use Bluetooth to connect instead of the receiver, but at S$469 for the full combo set with charging case, the DJI Mic 2 is probably the most affordable, full-featured wireless microphone system out there. In comparison, the Rode Wireless Pro costs upward of S$500 (we found prices online ranging from S$506 to $569), and Shure is asking for almost S$800 for the MoveMic Two Receiver Kit.
the DJI Mic 2 is definitely one to consider if you’re always on the go and creating mobile content. It seems a perfect fit for the social media creator looking for the best bang-for-buck wireless microphone and receiver set.
You can purchase the DJI Mic 2 on the official DJI store, Amazon, Shopee, and Lazada.
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