Whether it is a technical talk at a conference, a political rally or a budget-conscious wedding, many people now have most of the technology they need to record it and post-process the recording themselves.

For most events, audio is an essential part of the recording. There are exceptions: if you take many short clips from a wedding and mix them together you could leave out the audio and just dub the couple's favourite song over it all. For a video of a conference presentation, though, the the speaker's voice is essential.

These days, it is relatively easy to get extremely high quality audio using a lapel microphone attached to a smartphone. Lets have a closer look at the details.

Using a lavalier / lapel microphone

Full wireless microphone kits with microphone, transmitter and receiver are usually $US500 or more.

The lavalier / lapel microphone by itself, however, is relatively cheap, under $US100.

The lapel microphone is usually an omnidirectional microphone that will pick up the voices of everybody within a couple of meters of the person wearing it. It is useful for a speaker at an event, some types of interviews where the participants are at a table together and it may be suitable for a wedding, although you may want to remember to remove it from clothing during the photos.

There are two key features you need when using such a microphone with a smartphone:

• TRRS connector (this is the type of socket most phones and many laptops have today)
• Microphone impedance should be at least 1k