Today we will be going over our dedicated Sony ECM-GZ1M Review that we have had planned for some time now. We have seen a number of people reaching out for advice on the mic and after recommending it as out external microphone of choice for a number of cameras, we decided to push a dedicated review of it to the top of our list of upcoming articles.
If you are looking to pick up a nice little hot shoe mountable microphone for videography, vlogging, and any other audio needs then the Sony ECM-GZ1M can be a solid choice for you. Although the Sony ECM-GZ1M has proven to be popular within the community and has earned a ton of independent reviews (click here to read some of them) we would still recommend the Rode Video Micro (Click here to check for product prices and availability) over it any day of the week. The Rode Video Micro is cheaper than the Sony ECM-GZ1M and in our opinion at least, has better performance.
That said, we know that there are a number of people who are against using Rode microphones for whatever reason so we will still review the Sony ECM-GZ1M.
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Table of Contents
User Interface And Control System
As you would expect from a small, budget-friendly shotgun microphone the user interface on the Sony ECMGZ1M is very basic and easy to use for anyone as seen in the photograph above. It is based around the simple three setting flick switch and then you simply mount the Sony ECMGZ1M on your cameras hot shoe mount and then jack it into your camera.
Performance And Functionality
Being a pretty basic entry-level external microphone, the functionality and features that the microphone offers are pretty limited as you would expect. On the flip side though, this could actually be an advantage for you like the lack of features makes the microphone very easy to use with minimal experience.
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When it comes to performance, the Sony ECMGZ1M does a pretty good job in all fairness and we have some example audio taken with the Sony ECMGZ1M mounted on a Sony a6000 against the regular Sony a6000 microphone. We feel the video does a much better job of showing the difference of audio quality that the Sony ECMGZ1M can make.
Click Here To Read Independent Third Party Reviews Of This Product!
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Build Quality
The build quality of the Sony ECMGZ1M is solid in all fairness and it is very robust and lightweight. The included wind muff with your purchase also does a great job of reducing wind noise as well as other external sound sources. The hot shoe mount on the microphone is a little flimsy in all honesty and it really wouldn’t have taken much for Sony to upgrade it and improve its performance.
If you are planning on using the microphone for something like travel vlogging where you will be going around various locations then the robustness of the microphone is a great feature. It will easily hold its ground against the punishment that is common for camera accessories in your photography kit bag while out and about traveling.
Our Verdict
That concludes our Sony ECM-GZ1M Review, we know we couldn’t go into much on this one but in reality, its a budget level external microphone with very few features or customization so there really is not much to say about it. Although it could make a great addition to your camera accessories and provide some great sound quality, we just feel that Rode Video Micro (Click here to check for product prices and availability) is a much better option.
The Rodes mic is actually cheaper, it’s sound quality is better, it probably has the best reputation of any microphone on the market right now at this price point in the market. So unfortinatley, we would always say take the Rode over the Sony microphone.
Click Here To Read Independent Third Party Reviews Of This Product!
Click Here To Check For Prices On This Product!
The video below offers an additional third-party, independent review for the Sony ECM-GZ1M to offer our readers an independent opinion of the product.
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