AUDIO LATEST
SARAMONIC BLINK ME The Blink Me system is the latest 24-bit/48kHz dual- channel wireless audio kit from Saramonic, shrunk to a more compact design. Two versions are available: the £229/$249 Blink Me U2 is for Android and iOS, with the appropriate USB-C and Lightning adapters included for high-quality audio recording directly to a phone. There is a USB-C and 3.5mm headphone Y-cable to allow real-time monitoring and simultaneous charging. USB-C connection enables use with computers, making it ideal for podcasting or streaming. The second version is the Blink Me B2, which comes in at £199/$249 and is a more conventional set-up for filmmakers, with a camera-top receiver unit and a pair of transmitters – the same funky ones as the U2 kit. The RX unit can be plugged into a smart device just as long as you have the right cable, so it has more uses but is not as slick as the U2’s tiny plug-in receiver. The most unique feature is that each transmitter has a touchscreen which faces the camera when in use. You could upload your own graphics and photos, if you like, but that makes them hard to hide. Due to the lack of 3.5mm jack, you can’t plug in a separate lav mic and there’s no way to fit a furry windshield. Although, when the RX unit is used on a camera, one of the TX units can be clipped on top – and it’s chargeable. You can also power the receiver via USB or a battery pack to keep charging it while in use. On the Saramonic app, you can customise the UI on the transmitters. It also gives control over button functions, allowing customisation of settings. The app also includes the Saramonic Smart Recorder built-in: a video and audio recording application that works with any mic. Change gain control, low-cut filters, noise reduction, voice enhancement and much more. The Blink Me 2 has a built-in recording feature on the transmitters, allowing recording of audio from each mic directly to internal memory. This does not require an app to download to a computer, just put the transmitters on the receiver and plug the receiver into a laptop, then drag the files onto the desktop. The receiver has active noise cancelling and three output settings. Mono enables recording from both mics, stereo separates the mics to the left and right outputs, while safety mono mixes the mics with a full signal on the left and a -6dB safety track on the right. saramonicuk.com
DEITY THEOS
post-production – perfect for big shoots and multiple cameras. The transmitter can be synced via the 3.5mm jack when using third- party timecode generators. The dual-channel receiver can be mounted to a camera and is also compatible with mobiles. These rugged units have twin SMA antenna ports, so damaged aerials can be replaced cheaply. Power is from 3000mAh lithium batteries, which last for 14 hours in the transmitter and around ten in each receiver. Recharge via the USB port, which also provides external power – or standard AA batteries will last for around seven hours. The Theos kit can be remotely controlled by the Sidus Link app, which also controls Aputure and Amaran lights. deitymic.com
Deity’s high-end Theos kit costs £1137/$1090 but offers swappable frequency ranges based on the user’s phone GPS when moving from country to country. The Theos kit works in the UHF radio spectrum rather than the busier 2.4GHz band, which gives it a more reliable transmission at a range up to 91m/300ft. Included in the kit is one receiver and twin transmitters, with each transmitter having a built-in recorder that features 24-bit and 32-bit float formats. Choose the 32-bit option and you don’t have to set levels as the backup files will record it all without clipping. Audio is saved to a microSD card up to 128GB. The transmitter can sync to Deity’s TC-1 wireless timecode generator, so backup WAV files sync with the master file in
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