Audio Recording

I have a passion for capturing life through memories. This page serves to list the different methods I use.

Mobile Recording on smartphones

Most smartphones have an extra connection on the headphone jack that allows for controlling music or calls. Even more importantly, there is another connector that listens to incoming audio. So, how do you connect a microphone to a smartphone?

• Bluetooth Microphone
• USB interface/data port connector
• headphone port

Headphone Port
To skip all the DIY and low-cost options, here is a great solution to record audio right into your smartphone: the Rode smartLav bundle with vampire clip and extension cable is about $80 and is a great choice.

For constrained budgets, use your own mic with an adapter

To bring a microphone’s audio through the headphone port, an adapter is needed. A Camcorder adapters have the longer, 4-pin connection into the headphone port that is needed. (White/Black: Audio out (L), Yellow: Audio Out (R), Red: Mic level input).
So can I plug in a massive, power-hungry microphone that demands a certain level of phantom power? No, some have reported that the microphone should be less than 800ohms.
The Neewer Camera Camcorder Uni-Directional System Condenser Shotgun Interview microphone has impedance of 1000 ohms for short distance and 2300 for long distance (tele), but I believe it should work fine because it uses it’s own battery (phantom power). Over generalizing, think of it like this; the lower the impedance, the better the microphone. The $1 Chinese lavalier microphone I just bought has 2.2k ohms. Unfortunately, this means part of the low end is impeded and thus lost- the sound seems slightly tinny (hear/see the comparison to higher quality microphones).

This PDF explains the connections (pin out) in depth of you are curious.