Railfan Technology > External Microphone Recommendations & Settings

Hi Everyone,
I'm in the market for a new external microphone. Looking for something small, portable, and travel-friendly that still captures great audio and works well with compact cameras. I currently have a Sennheiser MKE 200 that I've been using with my DJI Osmo Action 3. While it's a good microphone, I think it's better suited for vlogging than railfanning. I'm planning on getting a mirrorless camera soon (Lumix G85, possibly) and want a mic that would pair well with it, as well as with my DJI camera. Any recommendations are welcome.

On a related note, what sort of audio settings have you found work best for railfanning? What do you typically set you gain or volume levels to on your microphone and/or your camera when filming trains? Again, advice and recommendations are welcome. Thanks!

Hopefully, someone here provides you some good input.  Regardless, I recommend you contact my former employer, Sweetwater Sound, in Fort Wayne, Indiana.. They probably have the largest selection of sound equipment, both consumer and commercial grade. And a tech salesman will be happy to help. I no longer have an affiliation with them (retired from there almost two years ago ) but they really go out of their way to help customers and provide technical assistance. Mary McPherson, who posts on Trainorders,  does some great video and still rail photography. You might try sending her a private message for some advice. She is a regular Sweetwater customer, including guitars!

Victor Baird



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 02/27/25 19:20 by wabash2800.