Despite the Comica CVM-VM20 Shotgun Microphone having a host of features, it is missing a few things: I have previously reviewed the RØDE VideoMic NTG and you can read that review here. So, I’ll primarily tell you what the DEITY offers. The D-XLR is designed to have a 3.5mm TRS standard wired input. So, many other 3.5mm standard TRS microphones will work with it. Which version should you buy? If you are a commercial videographer on a budget, a YouTube Creator or vlogger these microphones are for you. Another great feature on the VideoMic NTG is that on the bottom of the cold shoe mount there is a 3/8″ receptor so you can screw it directly onto a boom pole. On the Comica it is only a 1/4 20″ receptor.

While the Deity Microphones V-Mic D3 Pro is clearly not for entry-level streamers, where it sells itself is its versatility. This is a mic that you can use for your stream, take it to record the intro for your YouTube video or home movie with the family, and know that it’s up to any challenge you can throw at it. It’s sturdy metal construction is clearly meant to weather heavy use, so you can be confident that it won’t fail because you’ve made the most of it. In addition to recording with the iPhone, I also recorded directly to my Canon DSLR when shooting some video and I also connected the D3 Pro to my MacBook Pro so that I could use it as an external microphone for video conferences. Each time I used the microphone it performed admirably. One of the things I like the most about it is how versatile it is. You don’t have to be confined to using it to record video interviews – it can work just fine as a connected microphone for podcasting or vlogging, too. CONCLUSION Having two levels of a low-cut filter is a handy feature to have since in some circumstances you may not need to filter out frequencies below 150Hz.The physical buttons on the CVM-VM20 are nice and tactile and I found them nicer than the buttons found on the RØDE VideoMic NTG. If you look at the bottom of the hot shoe plate, you’ll find a 1/4″ threaded female mounting point. Perfect if you want to mount the microphone on the end of a mic stand boom arm, on top of a modern light stand, etc. It does work reasonably well and it is quite sturdy, but it doesn’t have as much suspension movement as a Rycote.

The D3 Pro is USB rechargeable and offers a claimed run time of greater than 50 hours. The microphone will go into standby mode when you are changing batteries in your DSLR and the D3 Pro will turn itself off after 15 minutes in standby. This is a really nice feature because it means the batteries won’t go flat in your microphone if you forgot to turn it off. So many of today’s on-camera microphones, especially for DSLR and mirrorless cameras don’t feature this function. The regular D3 can be in standby mode for a whopping 6000 hours (250 days!). Above you can see how this weight compares to the RØDE VideoMic NTG and DEITY D3 Pro. Please note these weights are just for the microphone and they don’t include the mount, etc. I think it’s down to how you intend to use them. If you’re vlogging or creating YouTube videos using a wide-angle lens and the camera is 2 – 4ft from you, then go for the Deity D3. It’s going to give you pretty much all the performance you need. If you need to tweak the audio, perhaps roll-off some bass, you can easily do that in post-production.Just turn on your camera. The microphone automatically detects that the camera has been turned on and it turns on itself. You can see that the microphone is on because the LED on the rear of the mic tube lights up green. If you wish to connect a D3/D3 Pro to a Zoom H4n pro use the D-XLR adapter and turn on the phantom power.