Introduction
The Rode RODELink Newsshooter Kit is a wireless audio system designed for capturing news and reporting. In this review, we explore its features, how well it works, and how easy it is to use, so you can decide if it’s the right choice for you.
Design and Build Quality
- Strong Construction: The sender and receiver are made tough to last in tough news settings.
- Small Size: Its tiny design is handy for journalists on the move, and it doesn’t sacrifice how well it works.
- Simple Controls: Easy-to-use buttons and clear labels make it easy to use quickly and without problems.
Performance
- Reliable Wireless Range: The kit offers an impressive wireless range, maintaining a stable connection even in crowded or challenging settings.
- Crystal-Clear Audio: The audio quality is exceptional, delivering clear and crisp sound, essential for professional news reporting.
- Low Latency: Minimal latency ensures that your audio and video stay perfectly synced, a crucial aspect for real-time reporting.
Setup and Connectivity
- Effortless Pairing: Setting up the RODELink Newsshooter Kit is a breeze, thanks to its user-friendly interface and simple pairing process.
- Versatile Connectivity: The kit supports multiple devices, allowing you to connect microphones, cameras, and other audio sources effortlessly.
Battery Life
- Long-lasting Power: With an impressive battery life, the kit ensures uninterrupted coverage during extended news assignments.
- Quick Charging: The fast-charging feature is a lifesaver for journalists on tight schedules, ensuring minimal downtime.
Pros
- Reliable wireless performance.
- Compact and durable design.
- Exceptional audio quality.
- Effortless setup and versatile connectivity.
- Long-lasting battery life with quick charging.
Cons
- Limited range in certain interference-heavy environments.
- The compact size may be challenging for users with larger hands.
Conclusion
The Rode RODELink Newsshooter Kit is a great option for journalists who want a dependable wireless audio setup. It’s well-built, works really well, and is easy to use, making it a useful tool for reporting on the move. Although it may have some limitations in certain situations, its positive qualities make it a good investment for professionals in the field.
ZRL –
AM REALLY PLEASED WITH THIS SYSTEM, ITS A BIT PRICEY but it free me from cords during street interviews and at partys ,where patrons trip over or get caught in my mic cable, the sound is astounding best ive heard on any wireless mic system ,i got clean audio without drop out for about 250ft LINE OF SIGHT, the audio is so clear, its as if you are using a wired mic
Robert Armin –
This is the first mic transmitter/receiver that I haven’t been disappointed with, having been unable to afford top-of-line pro equipment. It works beautifully with a shotgun mic (with a boom) or at the bottom of a handheld mic (though a bit bulkier than more expensive attachments). You can also use the included case to attach it to a belt for lavaliere mics. Note that the transmitter does have phantom power (see the photo of the screen), contrary to one of the responses to a question here.
SPLECTRON –
Very decent sound. But a little less on the 150Hz and below frequency range.
Paul –
En un principio el primero que compre me venia sin un cable, pero rápidamente, me lo han cambiado por otro. Este es genial, es un producto maravilloso, lo puedes utilizar en cualquier sitio. Es muy fácil de configurar, y alcanza en linea recta mas de 100 metros, estoy muy satisfecho, lo utilizo con camaras réflex la Nikon D4, y en la Sony PMW X1. La ganancia del sonido es muy buena, con un micrófono Rode el Rode NtG1, cuando lo escuchas con los auriculares, se escucha todo, hasta el mas diminuto sonido.
ZRL –
I recently had a shoot with Sony Lavs, Rode Lavs, Rode Booms, Audio Technica Booms and this unit. Guess which unit was the star of the show and stood out from the rest? This guy, the XLR powered wireless mic kit. Even though it’s the same transmit technology as the Rode Lav kit, having an XLR base that neatly connects to a hand-held mic makes such a difference.
Lavs are really hard to place and prepare, but hand a stick mic to anyone in the business and you’re pretty much guaranteed a good show. I wish I had run every audio source this way. This thing is worth every cent.
Robert Armin –
Paid a high price for a new product and it shows up with scratches and scuffs as if it’s used!
Busy Mom of 2 –
This Product Excellent. Thanku amazon
Chef Daddy –
GREAT! With one Caveat below…
Connects easy, drives my Azden condenser mic beautifully which is very hungry for power and signal gain. It seems like the transmitter headphone monitor port is really, really warm compared to the RF signal at the receiver, so recording off the transmitter headphone monitor out is going to sound a LOT different than the receiver AF out. Just considering this as I had a second recorder going off the transmitter headphone monitor and it was very different.
I got a couple of hours pretty easy on the transmitter with two AA batteries even driving 48v phantom power which says a lot. It’s not all day but it also has plenty of power options for running all day so no big deal there.
MAJOR CON: There is no apparent way to gauge battery level? This is a huge problem since there is no way that I can see to guess how much time is left on the current batteries. I had the mic quit on me mid recording with no obvious warning and I lost a pretty solid bit of footage on a remote unmonitored camera.
Pete S. –
Utilisé en cadre pro, Le Rode Newsshooter est aujourd’hui un indispensable à mon activité. Quoi dire ? C’est la suite du kit Rodelink Filmmaker, en un peu plus gros, mais en tellement plus adaptable à tout.
Mise au point tout d’abord : la nature du transmetteur (TX) fait qu’il est “bulky” et que sa taille demande un peu plus d’imagination pour l’installer et le dissimuler. Au pire, achetez vous en complément l’autre TX (https://www.amazon.fr/Rode-TX-de-ceinture-Transmetteur/dp/B078GV7PG2) qui est tout aussi compatible avec le récepteur.
Pour en revenir au newsshooter, la partie TX (transmetteur) :
– Transmission HF digitale de très haute qualité, sans latence détectée
– La possibilité d’y brancher un XLR avec alimentation phantom P48, ou pas (c’est désactivable), d’y régler la sensibilité
– La possibilité de brancher un micro jack TRS (ne peut fonctionner en simultané avec le XLR)
– Une prise casque pour monitorer en direct (super pour un perchman) si le Récepteur (RX) est au loin
– une prise micro-usb pour alimenter (pas charger) le transmetteur, même sans batterie
– La partie batterie : un caddie avec 2x piles AA ou la série de batterie sony (ou tiers) NP (içi avec une NP-F550 qui fait très bien l’affaire (je pense environ 3h d’énergie en alim phantom), sachant qu’on peut s’amuser à flanquer une énorme NP-F960-970 au besoin. Note : pour pouvoir mettre le TX dans son étui accroche ceinture, rester sur les piles ou maximum des NP-F550, au-delà, ça ne rentrera pas.
– En somme, un homme-à-tout-faire qui laisse la place à l’imagination : Transmetteur d’un micro cravate, en haut d’une perche…
Pour le récepteur, rien à redire, c’est le classique RX de chez Rode, 8 canaux, ils s’adaptent aux deux types de transmetteurs, demande 2x piles AA et peut fonctionner aussi en alimentation micro-usb. Il est juste un peu gros, un peu plastique, mais les antennes sont dedans et pour le prix, c’est très raisonnable. En agrément supplémentaire, on peut également rêgler la sensibilité. Donc de quoi s’amuser.
En conclusion, c’est le kit à toujours garder sur soit. Micro TRS ou P48, il fera l’affaire. Alors certes il est un peu massif, surtout la partie TX, mais pour le service rendu, on s’en contente très largement. Sans regret.
Weston Franklin –
Still Trying to figure out why, but there is a lot of noise in the background that is clearly not coming from the microphone. It’s coming from the actual device that the mic hooks into. I am able to apply a denoiser filter after the fact and this fixes the problem but it seems like there should not be this much noise in the first place.
TheCyberQuake –
In the past year, I wanted to use XLR mics wirelessly for multiple purposes, and so I bought a $200 wireless XLR transmitter/receiver set, which at the time I thought was pricey. There was so much interference noise that it made the audio pretty much unusable. Sent that back, and gave up on wireless audio.
Fast forward to a couple weeks back, and this popped up on my radar. I decided to bite the bullet and put down the roughly $500 for this product, since if I tested it and didn’t like it, Amazon returns are pretty easy. And I was extremely impressed in testing to find that even in an area with a lot of wireless noise, this thing introduces almost no noise on it’s own. Along with that, the fact that it accepts both XLR and 3.5mm, and can provide phantom power to the XLR, makes this one of the most versatile transmitters as it will work for pretty much any use you would need.
Definitely happy that I put down the money as I can now record audio straight to my camera rather than using a dedicated recorder, which makes it so much easier to keep things organized in post.
Hiroyuki Ikezi –
When Rode started selling this kit, I purchased two of this to test if they can be used for live music recordings. Initial tests by recording a piano at a recording studio and a jazz octet at small hall were promising.
– The transmitter supplies phantom power. Thus, any condenser microphones can be used.
– Gains are set manually. No auto gain adjustment is involved, which is important for music recordings. The system gain is 0dB when gains of both transmitter and receiver are set at 0dB. Thus, the recorder gain setting can be identical to the settings of wired microphones. This is independent of the range.
– Recordings of side by side microphones with wireless and wired connections are compared. They are not distinguishable as long as the recordings are played back by B&W 800D speakers at the original instrument sound level.
– Rechargeable batteries on the transmitter units last longer than tested 4 hours. Batteries do not come with the kit. They were purchased separately.
– Rode representative indicated the range is reduced when multiple sets are operated at the same time. Two set operations at 100′ distance indicated no disruption of connection.
– Pairing can be made easily by pressing a pairing button. Receiver unit shows battery levels of both transmitter and receiver.
I then purchased 4 more sets, altogether 6 sets, for live music recordings at classical and jazz concerts at various music venues, where the cables on the stages are nuisance. All six pairs have been working flawlessly. I am considering to add two more, which are required in some cases of multiple microphone recordings. Rode representative indicated maximum of 8 pairs can be used at the same time.
Negatives:
– Need better user guide. It took me a while to find how to change channel number.
– Nicer if some sort of bracket for holding multiple receivers together is provided.
SPLECTRON –
Got these to try out when they were offered at a reduced price and thought it was so good, decided to get a second set. They’re excellent with really good sound quality. Range seems to be good too, although only really used them indoors so far in churches large and small, because outdoor work is limited, due to the current restrictions. Overall having had them for about 4 months now and used them around 2 dozen times, I’m really impressed and happy with them, at least so far. 12 months or more will be a better test.