When DJI announced the Mic 3 just 18 months after the excellent Mic 2, I didn’t really get it. The Mic 2 has been my own go-to wireless microphone (bought with my own money, no less) for over a year now, and it still feels new to me. What could justify yet another iteration so soon?
It took about five seconds with the Mic 3 in my hands to understand exactly what DJI was thinking. The transmitter units are dramatically smaller and lighter than those on the Mic 2, so much so that they feel like entirely different products. Taking a page from the more recent Mic Mini, they're light enough at 16 grams that you can genuinely forget you're wearing one.
Photograph: Sam Kieldsen
But the real revelation came when I opened the charging case. This time around, DJI has designed a case that can actually hold all the accessories you'll actually need. The furry windscreens that are essential for outdoor recording? They fit. The clips, magnets, and even the 3.5-mm TRS cable? All tucked away neatly.
Anyone who's owned a Mic 2 will know the frustration of having a charging case that can't accommodate the windscreens, forcing you to carry them separately. Not a problem here. It might sound like a small thing, but it's exactly the kind of practical improvement that makes the difference between gear you actually use and gear that stays on the shelf.
Professional Touches
Photograph: Sam Kieldsen
DJI hasn't just focused on convenience upgrades, though. The Mic 3 adds several features that push it further into professional territory. There's now support for timecode—something the Mic 2 lacked entirely—and the system can handle group recordings with up to four transmitters and eight receivers. I wasn't able to test the latter capability with my standard two-transmitter, one-receiver review unit, but it's a step up for anyone working on larger, multi-camera productions.