Fotowelt AIR 36 Channels UHF Wireless Lavalier Microphone System Built in Battery Wireless Mics Compatible for Canon Nikon Sony Panasonic D/SLR Camera,XLR Camcorder & Smartphone (70m-229foot)

I purchased the Fotowelt Air 36 microphone system to use with an iPhone 11 Plus and an iPhone 8 Plus. This review is based around how it works with my iPhones and the minor problems I had to overcome - which I did.The system comes in a nice case with camera mount, Go Pro mount, charging cables, camera cable and a phone cable which unfortunately does not plug directly into iPhones. This was a serious omission. The receiver and transmitter are neat little units each about the size of a matchbox with smart looking OLED screens. Each box has four easy to understand function buttons and a recharging socket. The transmitter also has a mic socket and a built in microphone. The receiver has two sockets, one for headphones and one for the cable which goes to the camera microphone.The receiver unit is not provided with a bluetooth for connecting the audio to the camera or phone, it relies on the cable connection. The cable connecting the receiver to the phone is about 8 inches long. The clamp on the receiver is not suitable for clamping the device directly to the phone which makes life messy. The fact that the unit, as supplied, will not work easily connect to the iPhone, probably the widest used phone in the world, means I cannot give a five star review.I had a few initial problems getting the unit to work with my phone. I had to do a certain amount of research to find out why but eventually sorted out all the minor problems as follows.:-1. Because no cable was included I purchased two inexpensive generic 3.5mm to lightening adaptors online. This was a mistake. They worked with headphones but neither of them worked with this equipment. Unexplained problems were solved as soon as I invested in a proper cable direct from Apple.
2. If you do not know the difference between TRRS and TRS 3.5 mm cables please ensure you learn the difference. In practical terms a TRRS plug has four areas of metal conductivity separated by three black bands; A TRS plug has only three metal areas separated by two black bands. The Fotowelt is provided with a cable marked ‘phone cable’. Ensure that the TRRS end of this cable is connected to the Apple lightening adaptor and the TRS end goes into the Fotowelt receiver box.
3. When you have finished recording on your iPhone unplug the lightening adaptor if you wish to hear any sound through the iPhone speakers during video playback. The iPhone Camera screen will default to mute when plugging and unplugging. Turn the sound back on by clicking on the loudspeaker icon on the video play screen so that the diagonal line disappears.4. The iPhone can record in Stereo and in Mono. The Fotowelt is mono only. On the phone go into Settings/Camera and turn ‘Record in Stereo Sound’ OFF. This should not be necessary in theory but it works.5. Be careful when handling the Fotowelt during recording. It is very easy to knock the transmitter device or receiver device to ‘Mute’ without realising.6. OK I never really sorted the clamping issue - it sort of clamps with a biting action on the glass screen but it is still messy.General overview:-The iPhone 11+ already has a good microphone system. The Fotowelt allows you to take it to the next level. My distance tests were good. I easily recorded good clear sound at 90 metres distance in a relatively open environment. Beyond this distance it started breaking up but until breakup occurred the sound was clean and there was no background noise. (I was on a campsite where many of the caravans and motorhomes have their own MiFi systems competing for the 2.4GHz band). Battery usage is OK, typically about three hours plus. The units can easily be charged with a pocket power source during use.For volume and clarity I found I normally had to have the microphone gain set at 13 or 14dB which is turned up quite high. The user has a choice of two microphones, one internally in the transmitter box which can work as a hand held microphone as well as a lapel mic with just over a metre of cable. Plugging in the lapel mic disconnects the built in mic. The anti-wind sponge cover of the lapel cover can cause quite a loud rustling sound in the recording at times and so has to be fitted carefully so it does not brush against the subjects clothing; not as easy as it sounds. Both microphones produced similar quality sound clear sound during use.I see three main benefits of investing in this system:1. The ability to clearly record someone talking to camera many feet or even metres away. Great for vloggers.2. In a noisy environment the microphone sensitivity can be adjusted easily to be used within a few inches of the required sound source which enables the background noise to be subdued.3. With experience and practice in use it is possible to produce clearer sound on your iPhone videos than would be achieved with the built in microphone. The sponge on the lapel mic should reduce wind noise, very common when shooting on a phone although I have not had a chance to test this.I LIKED:The small size with a feel of a quality item.The built in rechargeable batteries.The OLED screen.The good range.The ability to change channels and adjust the dB gain.The ability to record good quality sound at a distance.The clarity of the sound.The range of accessories provided for use with cameras, Go Pros and some phones.The good quality case provided.The fact that it will work eventually with an iPhone but not without a little patience.Did I mention the good range in the open up to 90 metres?!!!I DISLIKED:The need to purchase an additional adaptor to use this item with an iPhone.How the short cable requires the receiver box to be within 8 inches of the camera or phone without a sensible clamping method for anything other than a GoPro or large SLR camera.The multitude of connections needing to be made before use.The lack of bluetooth capability to transmit the sound to the phone.I would like to give the FotoWelt 4.5 stars but that its not allowed. I suspect that I might have given 5 stars if I was using a GoPro or other suitable camera but for use with an iPhone in all honesty I can only give 4 stars. For the price it is still money well spent. For vloggers just starting out it is great - we all have heard people trying to vlog using their phone's microphone and subsequently the viewer is unable to clearly hear subjects more than 3 feet away. The FotoWelt has a definitive place in the market and I can recommend it.

Your browser does not support HTML5 video.  I had to get a wireless audio transmitter for a job with limited budget and I am happy to find this! I wanted to test it to see if I want to keep it or not, and thought to share a video showing the sound quality. Disclaimer, I am much better behind the camera! (the setup and settings at the end of review)My take on these cuties:+ Good quality sound for the money. That was good enough for my work definitely+ light weight and very compact and transportable with a hard bag!+ has all necessary accessories: 2 sets of USB C chargers, adapter for DSLR hot shoe (picture), a useful bag , even TRS to TRS cable, TRs to TRRS cable! so it can be connected to both modern smart phones and DSLR/ mirror less cameras+ comes with a good quality external lav microphone+ simple to set up (less than 1 min)+ you can control the sensitivity- battery life is not great, but you can charge both sender and receiver while recording, which compensates the shortage to some extent-the built in microphone is fine, but as naturally it doesnt have protection some blowing sound can be recorded when talking, also sometimes hiccups can be heard with internal mic.Camera: sony a7 iii, Sound level on my camera: 18 (out of 31)The best sensitivity for me in this video (with lot of ambient noise ) was between 7 to 10. going up all the way to 15 caused some clipping!

Works great and feature packed alternative to others I researched. Loved the fact that a lav mic and various other accessories are included with the product.If you need this for long distance mic recording then this is not for you as it does loose connection and suffers drop out. But for what I need it for this is a great purchase for the price.

So clearly if you're looking at this you like me are searching for a more budget alternative to the Rode Wireless Go set. This has the same form factor and the same functionality as the more expensive Rode version but without the hefty price tag.This far exceeds its price point of around half the branded version, but without any compromise on quality and usability. The audio quality has far exceeded my expectations and the product is right up the with the easiest to use in fact it's pretty much a plug and play set up.Really pleased with the purchase and really looking forwards to spending more time with it. So if you are like me and are looking for a budget alternative to the Rode version, this is definitely a great option for you.