DJI Mic Mini
★★★★ | The best portable mic, now smaller and more refined

I interview dozens of artists, filmmakers, and game developers every year. Most of the time, these interviews take place during festivals or conventions – loud environments and often in another country altogether. That means I need a microphone that's not just reliable and with great battery life, but malleable to changing situations and different recording equipment.
For years, I worked with an old-school dictation device that was powered by AAA batteries. It was great for what it was, but the audio quality struggled in loud locations, and getting the recordings off the device was a pain. When I upgraded to the DJI Mic, it was a revelation. Since then, I've recorded every single interview and video review I've made with the same mic. It's traveled with me across the planet and hasn't ever let me down.
So, when DJI offered their updated Mic Mini for review, it had a lot to live up to. After all, how do you improve on perfection? As it turns out, by altering the form factor to a smaller footprint and offering some smart quality-of-life improvements that make content creation on the go even easier.

Who's it for?
When reviewing any device, one of the major things to consider is who is the target audience. I'm an outlier, as I try out everything, but even I have my preferences and needs that cut me off from certain devices entirely. For example, I don't need massive bitrates on my cameras, and I don't need the most powerful 8K-capable drone out there. What I need is functionality and ease of use. I need something reliable that works without me having to think too hard about it.
As a solo creator and reviewer, I value accessibility above pure hardware specs.
In that regard, the DJI Mic Mini is among the finest devices created for the content creator market. For people who need hardware that works with pretty much everything and delivers great quality right out of the box with minimal tinkering, the DJI Mic Mini is a hit.
If you need more options for editing, you're probably better off with the DJI Mic 2, which has a higher 32-bit float for internal recording, and internal storage backup as well. It's more expensive and slightly bulkier, but it does come with a touch display and a lavalier mic connection. Both of which are necessary for more elaborate setups.
But if you're the kind of journalist, content creator, streamer, or musician who just wants to hook up the Mic Mini to their phone or other DJI video device for B-roll and social media footage, I think you'll be more than happy with the DJI Mic Mini.
Coming from the first-generation DJI Mic, it's a major upgrade in almost every respect. Though I personally would probably buy the Mic 2 just because it has the internal storage option, if I ended up using the Mic Mini as my daily driver from here on out, I would be happy as a clam for the next couple of years.

DJI Mic Mini vs the DJI Mic
If you're like me, and you're coming from the first-generation DJI Mic, the leap to the Mic Mini is massive.
The first thing you'll notice is how light the DJI Mic Mini is. At just 10 grams, it feels unreal next to the hefty 30-gram DJI Mic. Now, granted, I'm used to the slightly bulkier weight of the original, and I don't think it's a deal breaker. But after carrying the DJI Mic Mini for almost two months, it does feel like a step back. For content creators who need the mic every day on the road, the Mic Mini is superlative for its portability.
Despite its size, the Mic Mini offers the same level of omnidirectional audio recording in the receivers as the previous Mic series. There's a USB-A to USB-C cable in the box, along with a USB-C adapter piece for attaching the device to your phone. You can purchase a Lightning adapter separately if you're still using an older iPhone model.

But the bigger upgrade is the new DJI OsmoAudio, which allows you to transmit the recorded audio in high quality to any of the newer Osmo Action 5 Pro, Action 4, or Pocket 3 devices. You can even pair the DJI Mic Mini with the DJI Neo drone for some spectacular aerial video to go with your narration. I didn't get to test this during my review period due to weather conditions, but I look forward to bringing it along for my trip to Cannes later this year.
The Mic Mini has two-level noise canceling, something the original Mic does not. It also supports automatic limiting to prevent audio clipping. Both of which are improvements that I now can't live without. If you're a social media streamer, interviewer, or musician who often records in loud environments or with multiple speakers, the DJI Mic Mini is the absolute standard for portable recording.
One big downside to the size is that the DJI Mic Mini doesn't have any internal backup recording available. This means that whatever you record directly to your phone or device is all you get. For me, who often has to go and edit audio footage or transcribe material for written interviews, that's a dealbreaker. But if you're just using the mic for social media videos and don't need extensive tweaking afterward, the Mic Mini is still the one to get.
Compared to the DJI Mic, the Mic Mini doesn't have any touch controls or displays on the case. Instead, all buttons are physical, including the gain dial brought over from the Mic 2, and the case itself is plastic. While this may divide opinion, I love it. I always prefer physical buttons over digital interfaces, and the hard shell plastic proved more than durable in my use. It's the kind of device that I can throw in my backpack and never worry that it might break or dent.

Daily Use
The DJI Mic Mini is at its best on the road. For the review, I tested it in an airport, at a loud movie theater lobby after a premiere, walking along a river, and in a train terminal. What struck me about the results wasn't the sound quality, it was that all the results sounded the same regardless of the background noise.
That's because the DJI Mic Mini has fantastic two-level noise cancellation and sound clipping. Granted, the more expensive Mic 2 has better ambient noise cancellation, but its use cases are different from the Mic Mini. Coming from my regular DJI Mic, the upgrade in sound quality and background noise reduction was massive.
The two-level noise cancellation works via a simple toggle. Basic is for indoor settings, like offices or rooms with a minor ambient hum. Strong is for everything else, including conventions and outdoor activities. I used the Strong setting for most of the recording sessions, including one interview in a crowded bar with an almost oppressive amount of background din, and the DJI Mic Mini delivered high-quality vocal clarity from both speakers. I only noticed minor dips in places where the mic aggressively tried to filter out extra voices, as the table next to us decided it was best to shout everything they were saying, but even in that extreme environment, the output was more than useable.

The automatic audio clipping function proved a lifesaver as well. It detects when the audio input is too high, resulting in unusable footage, and smartly lowers the signal when it's about to hit that limit. In the previously mentioned restaurant environment, this function proved useful more than once.
The review unit for the DJI Mic Mini comes with two windscreens, both of which proved useful in the Finnish winter landscape. The high-quality additions clip right onto the mics, and they're just small enough to go unnoticed even when clipped onto a jacket or lapel.
Battery life is incredible, especially for a device of this size. During my testing period, I could go for a week of light use without ever even thinking about charging. The wireless transmitters have approximately 10 to 11 hours of use per transmitter, and the case, which doubles as a charger, can recharge them fully over 3 times, resulting in what DJI claims as 48 hours of extended use.
In my testing period, I found this to be surprisingly accurate. My longest period without recharging was just over a week, during which I used the transmitters on and off at a film festival and threw them back in the charging case between uses. The charging case stayed in my backpack when it wasn't in use, and I didn't plug it in at any point during this time.
For this kind of use, the DJI Mic Mini proves invaluable. Content creators and journalists who are on the move can appreciate the importance of convenience, and that's precisely what DJI Mic Mini offers. While other devices may have more robust onboard tools, I value portability and ecosystem functionality above all else. I love that the DJI Mic Mini works when it needs to and I never have to think twice about it. It's one less thing to worry about, and that alone is worth the asking price.

The Competition and Verdict
The DJI Mic Mini has little competition in the Finnish market, at least in this price range. You could take a look at the Rode Wireless GOI, which is more expensive and with a less robust ecosystem around it. Alternatively, the Hollyland Lark M2 is cheaper but, apart from a few recommendations from friends, it's an unknown to me.
Instead, the bigger competition comes from smartphones themselves. Many, like the Pixel, iPhone, and Samsung lineups, come with superb mics and recording software on their own. If you're just recording the occasional bit of dialog or music, you might be better off sticking to your phone for now.
But if you're working on the go and want to use your phone for video, the situation changes drastically. Most phones have terrible pickup at range, and their noise cancelation, even with the AI-assisted reduction software, is nowhere near the quality of the Mic Mini 2.
Similarly, if you're already in the DJI ecosystem, be that with an Osmo Pocket or Action Cam, you know just how robust and extensive it can be. For me, the compatibility and accessibility are already worth the cost. Granted, Android devices still lag behind their iOS counterparts in terms of software support and functionality, which is something I wish DJI would improve. But even with these minor limitations, I've had no issues working with them on either platform.
The DJI Mic Mini kit sent for review costs 179€ and comes with two wireless transmitters, a receiver, and a charging case. You can buy a single transmitter and receiver for 89€ and build up from there.
At the price, the DJI Mic Mini is the current champion to beat in this category. It delivers high-quality sound with very few compromises in a form factor that continues to impress even after months of heavy use. If you're in the market for your first wireless mic or you're upgrading from the DJI Mic to something newer, the Mic Mini is a fantastic choice for newcomers and even more experienced users.