The wireless microphone kit is a mainstay in any mobile content creator’s life. Vloggers and other creators rely on these kits to capture the best audio they can, as the mic sits closer to your mouth than a camera-mounted microphone, reducing overall ambient noise and often providing multiple mics to capture audio from more than one person. What’s become more of a challenge is that many creators are trying to minimize the amount of gear they bring with them.
Given that some things are necessities, they need to go smaller and lighter to be more agile in the field, which has led to many of the biggest names in audio offering smaller mic kits. DJI has thrown itself into this market with gusto, announcing the DJI Mic Mini, a wireless mic kit that will make your camera bag lighter without taking too much weight out of your wallet.
In the box, you get the DJI Mic Mini charging case, complete with two transmitters and one receiver, a USB-C receiver adapter for phone connections, magnets to fix the transmitters for better placement on your clothes, fuzzy windshields in black and grey (depending on which you want on your mics), a USB-C to USB-C cable, and a TRS-TRS cable for camera connection.
“The DJI Mic Mini is a wireless mic kit that will make your camera bag lighter without taking too much weight out of your wallet.”
The build quality on the DJI Mic Mini’s case is impressive. It features a similar look and feel to the other DJI Mic charging cases, with a little locking mechanism that keeps your gear secure while allowing access as easily as the push of a button. The transmitters are built with a solid plastic frame that feels sturdy, even for a microphone that weighs less than half the weight of the DJI Mic 2—at a mere 10 grams, they feel incredibly durable thanks to their shape.
The receiver, however, feels like a less densely packed tool. Its lightweight build and missing features, such as a display—something that DJI Mics had previously done better than anyone else on a consistent basis—make it feel like a bit of a downgrade, albeit the only one in this kit.
The transmitters’ clips have a strong spring to ensure the mic stays secure when worn, and the magnet is stronger still, allowing you to place it in an ideal location on your shirt even without lapels or pockets to secure them. Each transmitter has small notches on either side of the microphone, making it easy to snap on one of the wind screens—much easier than how they were attached on previous models. Outside of that, the DJI Mic Mini has only two buttons: a power button and a connection button to connect to your receiver or other devices wirelessly.
The DJI Mic Mini’s receiver also has a power and connection button, located on opposite sides of the device, with a 3.5mm headphone jack for monitoring on the side of the connection button. The front features three small LEDs: one to indicate that the receiver is powered on and the other two indicating connection to each transmitter. There is a single knob that controls the gain of the microphones in increments of 6 dB.
While the receiver is considerably lighter than other DJI Mics, it is roughly the same size as the original receivers. Although several features have been removed from this model to save weight and cost, I would have liked to see the front, in the absence of a proper display, at least include VU meters for each transmitter to provide a visual representation of audio levels. A vlogger recording on their own may not be listening to their audio via a monitor, so some visual monitoring feels warranted.
The charging case no longer comes with a Lightning adapter, given that the latest Apple devices no longer use them, but there is a space for one, and it can be purchased separately if you still have an iPhone with a Lightning connection. DJI was smart to hedge its bets by including the option to have it if needed (with a place to store it) while excluding what is likely to be an unnecessary accessory for most users.
The case also leaves enough space to carry accessories, with the windscreens attached to the transmitters and the TRS cable tucked away. However, their smarter, more efficient design of a smaller carrying bag is still the best way to keep everything organized. The case is roughly the same size as the original DJI Mic case (the Mic Mini case is just slightly smaller), but the overall kit is significantly lighter.
The DJI Mic Mini has two levels of noise reduction: one for ambient sounds, such as an air conditioner, and another that can handle room noise, such as people talking, all with minimal impact on the vocals. Additional settings, such as recording with a safety track, can be set up by connecting to the DJI MIMO app.
Connectivity is one of the great strengths of the DJI Mic Mini. Through the receiver, you can connect your mics to your phone via the USB-C adapter or to your camera via the TRS to TRS cable (the clip on the receiver doubles as it fits in a standard cold shoe). Connect to your PC by connecting a USB cable to the receiver. You can do away with the receiver in many cases and connect wirelessly directly to your transmitter.
“DJI has done a fantastic job maintaining the high audio quality of their full-sized kits in a much smaller package.”
On your phone, you can connect via Bluetooth to any third-party application for audio or video capture. You can also connect the DJI Mic Mini transmitters natively to DJI’s line of cameras, like the DJI Osmo Pocket 3 or the DJI Osmo Action 5 Pro, which I used to test its native connectivity. Setup on the Osmo products was seamless, with both transmitters connecting in a matter of seconds. Once connected, you can see the mic’s settings and change them from within the camera.
During my testing, the DJI Mic Mini connected as the DJI Mic 2, which I imagine will change following a firmware update now that the mic kit has been announced. Finally, you can connect your Mic Mini transmitters to the DJI Neo drone via the DJI Fly app, allowing you to capture clean audio without propeller noise interfering with your footage.
There is nothing “mini” about the audio quality of the DJI Mic Mini. DJI has done a fantastic job maintaining the high quality of their full-sized kits in a much smaller package. The noise reduction makes it a stronger choice than the original DJI Mic, which, while it still sounds good, captures much more ambient noise than the Mic Mini. The range is great at 400 metres.
While I didn’t test that distance, I got further than I was comfortable getting from my camera for fear of someone coming up and stealing it, and it worked beautifully. The battery life is phenomenal, lasting long enough for anything long-form, like a video podcast, while providing even more with the charge case, allowing up to an hour of use with a five-minute charge.
One thing you lose out on compared to the bigger kits is onboard recording. This feature is missing on all the mini mic kits I know of, so if it is important for you to have an additional safety track, you’ll need to look for a full-sized kit, like the DJI Mic 2. However, if you are satisfied with capturing audio directly where you capture video, I recommend the DJI Mic Mini for every starting vlogger and creator who just needs a transmitter to connect to their existing gear.
Getting to the price, you actually have options. The kit I used, consisting of two transmitters, a receiver, and a case, costs $169 USD, less than half the price of the DJI Mic 2 kit with two transmitters. If you don’t need as much, you can purchase a one-transmitter, one-receiver version for $89 USD. There’s no case for this version, but the transmitter comes with a small charging dock, which is both effective and adorable. If you only want one transmitter because you plan to connect directly to your DJI camera or drone, you can get one for $59 USD.
The DJI Mic Mini feels the most like a mini version of what DJI already excels at with their mini mic kits. Other major brands that have entered this market have created entirely new designs for their transmitters and receivers. However, the DJI Mic Mini feels familiar and delivers a familiar result.
