I shoot DSLR videos on my Canon t2i and enjoy it very much because of the ability to have interchangeable lenses, but the only downside, is that the t2i (and most DSLR cameras) has very shoddy built in pre-amps. If you have tried recording with these cameras, then you know what I mean. To hear any decent amount of sound you have to turn the gain way up and this also increases the noise signal. The amount of noise you get from recording directly through your on-board microphone is just terrible and unusable. Because of this, I have to dub music over all of my projects and mute the audio that is recorded along with the video. This virtually limits my ability to film anything with dialogue.
If you use a Rode Videomic, or a Rode Videomic Pro that plugs directly into your camera, then yes, it is better, but there is still bit of noticeable noise. Also, because of the nature of the shotgun-microphone's pick-up pattern, it will pick up, not only your actor/actresse's voice, but also everything behind him or her (cars, people talking, etc) when it is mounted on the hot-shoe and aimed directly at your subject. Is not ideal to capture crisp dialogue. To really get nice audio and emphasis the dialogue, you have to have a boom mic operator that can hold the microphone pointed down and close to the actor/actress's mouth (without being in the shot).
So why am I telling you this? I'm telling you this, because I'm suggesting that to get better audio, you should mount a videomic to a boom pole and get it close to the actor/actress. But, do realize that there will still be a little noise. If you are on a tight budget, I recommend this route. Or, you can always use lapel microphones (I don't like this option because the mics don't capture the atmosphere very well; inside or outside, the captured voice always sounds the same (it's a little bit too crisp).
If you have a bigger budget and can get a XLR microphone, then this will ensure nice audio. Problem is that, you need XLR inputs, and that, to get nice audio, you need clean gain (lots of it, if you are using a Rode NTG-2). Enter the JuicedLink RM222. The RM222 lets me plug my NTG-2 into it and use the RM222's preamplifier to replace my noisy on-board preamps. This allows me to still have audio while recording and makes it actually usable when editing in post. This eliminates syncing in post and is a HUGE time saver, especially if you are recording a bunch of super short clips. Zoom H4n or Tascam DR-40 users know how annoying it is to synch short clips.
It's made out of aluminum that is anodized (I think) black. It looks really nice, but when you hold it, it does feel fragile. Still, I prefer it to be made of aluminum, because it is much lighter and doesn't get as hot as steel. The battery compartment is VERY cheap. It is made of plastic and is probably the most fragile part of the device. It's ergonomics are definitely lacking also. If you want to replace a battery, you have to use some sort of tool (or in my case, my finger nail) to open it up. Same applies to the switches on the bottom, I use a pen cap to switch options on and off. I really wish the battery compartment designed differently and was made of something a bit stronger.
There are a lot of switches on the bottom of device that let you control a lot of things like: which XLR inputs are active, how much phantom power they get (none, 12v, or 48v), hi gain or low gain, lithium polymer (not lithium-ion) or alkaline battery metering, and whether or not you want a -16db audio duplicated track that serves as back up track in case something causes a spike in audio on your main channel (I think this requires turning on another XLR input, which will drain battery, so be careful).
It's default position is to be mounted on the bottom of your DSLR by it's 1/4 20 bolt, but if you want to slip it into the hot-shoe you can buy a hot shoe to 1/4 20 bolt on eBay and attach it there (if you do, make sure you switch the position switch from "norm" to "lift").
The gain knobs are very nice and and firm, but are a bit small. And the battery meter indicator should have at least three dots, instead of just two.
The box is a very plain white, and comes with an allen wrench, a preamp to camera cable, a piece of cork strip, a card telling you were to find the manual online, and of course the device itself.
With so many faults, you're probably wondering why I still gave this device 5-stars. I give it 5-stars because it does what it's supposed to do, and that's to provide clean gain preamps. The imperfections are minor compared to this. I could have chose something from Beachtek or Tascam, but all the devices that had on par or better audio quality, were way out of my price range.
For the audio comparison: youtube.com/watch?v=KKVeBqhXMvM (yes it's conducted by the maker of this device, and I realize it could be rigged, but still I took a chance, and this device definitely worth it).
If you're wondering how I monitor audio levels, I use a mini HDMI to female 3.5 adapter with the Magic Lantern firmware. If it wasn't for Magic Lantern, I would have to get the RA222, which has audio metering and a headphone monitor, and costs a whole lot more. If you don't want to install Magic Lantern then DO NOT buy the RM222 and get the RA222 instead, because without Magic Lantern, you don't have audio metering and monitoring on your camera like the Canon 5d Mark III does, in which the product was created for.
If I didn't buy this device, I would have filmed without audio, and then would have had my actors/actresses come over to have an extensive ADR (additional dialogue recording session), but that isn't always convenient, because of scheduling and post audio syncing. I'm really happy that I bought the JuicedLink RM222. I do think it is overpriced at $330, but it is made is the U.S.A., where labor is expensive. This is a very nice preamplifier, and I highly recommend it for DSLR shooters.
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