hyalinejim

Posts like this are why I love this forum. Between all of us we have such a wide range of gear that there's a good chance someone has/has experience with something!
I do think, money (and quality!) wise, it was probably better to just buy a bigger bag haha but the Tascam is decent for something you can get for well under $100 used (often times in barely used condition.) I think I paid maybe $120 total for both of mine? I don't tweak them a ton, because honestly I'm just using them to get a decentish stereo sound of the crowd from multiple directions and they're going into an audio mix that has three other audio sources in addition to the two stereo ones. The built in mics just don't cut it, and shotgun mics don't provide any immersiveness (though are good to hear blows connecting.) I could most definitely set up a better system overall with all the gear I have, but I'm just one man, so I just do the best I can without driving myself too crazy!

10s is positively glacial!  Wow.....
Yeah, those are all so much more compact that the Rode VideoMic Pro....  that's what I ended up buying years ago and it works well but its size and shape are definitely behind those ones above.  It's nice to see that progress is being made.
The other thing to take into account is the shape of the chassis that they put the mic capsule in.  The more directional mics are more directional because the body is longer and all the holes along the sides all create an acoustic chamber where the sound from the sides gets cancelled out.  If not designed properly the chassis can give the capsule a funny sound, even with the same electronics...  acoustics are a very complicated topic!

See below - from the left, BY-MM3 (without muff), TM-2x (side and front views) and BY-PVM50


Echoing what @newfoundmass said upthread, I think it sounds pretty decent (for a relatively low-cost, compact, stereo mic) and the camera viewfinder is still usable because it doesn't extend back much from the hotshoe. I think the capsules are the same as Tascam use on their low/mid-end handheld recorders. The bass end isn't subterranean, but it's fine with a bit of EQ, and I think it's generally smooth sounding but not super-detailed.
I can't compare it to a Rode Stereo Video Mic Pro (which I think is what is pictured in your first post?) as I've never owned one (it's too large for me to consider using on relatively small mirrorless cameras).

Also the small/cheap recorders in general (I own several) don't make much attempt at isolating the mic capsules from the recorder body, so are terrible for handling noise (and pick up wind noise via body vibration, so you almost have to completely enclose them in a wind muff).

For a height comparison, these are the three relatively small stereo mics I use, mounted on my Pana G9 (which is around the same size as an S5).
Tascam TM-2x (cardioid capsule X-Y stereo, plug-in power). Overall the most flexible, with a switchable low-cut filter, two sensitivity settings and a shock mount that works.

Boya BY-PVM50 (cardioid capsule X-Y stereo, uses LR44 battery). The 3.5mm jack is at the rear centre of the barrel, and the mic can be moved forward and back in the shock mount.

Boya BY-MM3 (omni capsule stereo, plug-in power). This is overall the smallest/lightest/least obtrusive, but as it's non-directional it's only really suitable for 'ambient sound' recording.

The Zoom H1 has the mounting point in the middle of it though, which makes it awkward to mount onto a camera hot shoe. 

I'm not going to use any music for this. Music is all well and good for the corporate vids I do day in and day out but for my family vids I wanna be a bit more Dogme 95!
It's a nuisance having to do that each time - sliding in the mic, tightening the dial, inserting the jack. I'd really like to be able to just draw it in and out of my bag when needed, turn it on and shoot. When it's hanging around my neck it's not even so much of a problem with the Rode.
It's also possible that it'll fit vertically into a holster bag with the Rode on.

Free To Use Sounds is such a great channel. Really nice guy too that offers a lot of his sounds for free!
Buying a slightly bigger bag was probably the right choice, haha

OK, so I think I've decided that I'm going to stick with my Rode stereo omni mic as I really like the sound from that. I just ordered myself a nice vintage camera bag that the whole setup can go in and out of nice and easily.

So I didn't have to spend €300 in the end and I can still get sound that I like.
Today has been an education for me. Many hours spent on YouTube with my headphones on. The best test video I watched was this one. Ignore the thumbnail, it's a slow paced, contemplative, walking video (is that a genre now?) with lots of nice ambient sound.
 

I didn't film the above examples, but I assume they're better than what I can provide! All my online examples feature heavily mixed audio from multiple cameras (one of which is a shotgun mic) with commentary/voice overs and music. I will go through my raw footage and see if I can get some good examples though!
The Sennheiser I'm sure produces a better sound overall sound but for under $100 these blew away the internal microphones, and accomplished what I needed them to!

I've found it's pretty decent personally! I was scared because all the reviews for it were OLD and on DSLRs with crappy preamps, or featured people trying to use it as a vlogging mic, but I used it on my GH5 and now one of my S5s and I think it does a pretty good job. I've found it translates the arena sound pretty well, which is what I wanted. 

You should be able to find one for cheap! I stole that idea from @Mattias Burling when I was filming with the OG Pocket!

Whenever I'm doing interviews I check to see what direction the light is going in and therefor what directions the camera might point. Then I find a background I like and frame that up with the camera at the height of the interviewee's head and at around 70-135mm full frame equivalent. Then I place the person within the frame, moving them forward or back, left and right until I get the composition I want. If it's an off-centre framing then I'll get them to angle their hips and shoulders towards the other side of the frame slightly.
And I always try to shoot people standing as I think it looks better - they're less likely to slump or slouch than when sitting. This works well until I get someone who hops and jumps about and gradually crawls closer to the camera.
One thing I've learned is that there's no perfect interview location. But good enough is good enough!
Available light, S5II, EF 70-200 f4.

Whenever I'm doing interviews I check to see what direction the light is going in and therefor what directions the camera might point. Then I find a background I like and frame that up with the camera at the height of the interviewee's head and at around 70-135mm full frame equivalent. Then I place the person within the frame, moving them forward or back, left and right until I get the composition I want. If it's an off-centre framing then I'll get them to angle their hips and shoulders towards the other side of the frame slightly.
And I always try to shoot people standing as I think it looks better - they're less likely to slump or slouch than when sitting. This works well until I get someone who hops and jumps about and gradually crawls closer to the camera.
One thing I've learned is that there's no perfect interview location. But good enough is good enough!
Available light, S5II, EF 70-200 f4.

Personally, I would never, ever in a million years add sharpening to a video clip.

A few thoughts...
The Rode Video Micro or V-Mic D4 Mini etc can be good options - watch comparison videos to get real-life examples of how they compare, especially their relative output levels (as you want to get the most signal out of the mic so you can turn down the internal preamps) The shock mounts are usually bulky and fragile, especially for putting into a camera bag, but I've seen alternative mountings (for example using adhesive velcro) but there might be a compact solution that fits into the hotshoe You should test the internal mics as they're often higher quality than you think People seem to think that the EQ of a microphone is what defines its quality - just listen to how people talk when comparing mics, but it's one of the easiest things to change in post so don't fall for that Be aware that AI can now clean-up audio sources to basically eliminate all the background noise and retain only the voice (Resolve now has this built-in) One thing you can't fix in post is directionality - early in my journey in video I recorded the kids riding go-karts around the track and while I was recording I thought the video would contain audio of their karts going around the track but when I got home I found it mostly contained the person sitting behind me in the stand talking about how her hairdresser had broken up with her boyfriend or whatever The dead-cat can be swapped for a trimmed down foam microphone cover designed for a large shotgun mics from eBay to create a much more slimline profile Happy to elaborate on any of these so just ask 🙂  

I'd of course want to suggest the Sanken CSM1 😉
But more seriously, I would suggest the Deity V Mic D4
https://deitymic.com/products/v-mic-d4/ 

Ditto.
Only difference to the standard set up is I swapped out the dead cat for a foam windshield instead.
Just as with the Rode Wireless Go, I don’t use the result from it as anything but a base line for my lav mics.
Actually, having said that, I do sometimes use the direct result from the Go if I have attached it to a speaking mic and it’s good enough, but it’s not meant for the best quality audio.
I do like the Micro though because it’s very small and you can never forget to charge it!

I'm still rocking the Rode Micro and am quite happy with it!

For such occasions I actually just use the built in microphone of my S5 with a self-made mini wind-muff stuck on it using double-sided tape. For capturing ambient sound it is good enough and not much worse than an external omnidirectional microphone. I'm actually always a bit surprised by the quality of the microphones Panasonic puts in their cameras. This has also been true for their camcorders. You may tweak the frequency response to taste in post. Using a fairly low recording level so the auto-limiter doesn't need to kick in also helps.
In my experience, when you want to capture some specific sound like someone talking to camera, having a directional microphone on top of the camera is not helping much due to poor placement of the microphone. But if someone else has positive experiences I'm curious to know as well.

@MrSMW I picked up a Sigma 18-50 to use in crop mode based on your recommendation and it's great! Vignetting and distortion corrections work. AF is great (quiet as a mouse, I think it's actually totally silent). Build quality is good. Image looks good.
I'm going to use it as a family/holiday lens. Thanks for the tip! I never would have spotted it otherwise, as it's not a popular choice for Panasonic L mount. I think I got the only one in all of Ireland!

To me it seems the new build works almost flawlessly, atleast for my use. Supposedly there have been some issues in photo mode, and with AF, but I never use those things on the Eos M (I think it is one of the worst cameras for photography ever made, especially when using af). I get continuous recording in 2.8k raw (2.9 crop as the bmpcc original), 11bit 25fps, 2.39:1. In overexposed areas the timer turns orange (indicating that it can not go on forever), but when going back to normal exposure it goes back to green (continuous). If I would use 24fps I guess I could maybe go up to 12 bit. In 10bit it is always clean. Haven't tried it though, and probably won't do any extensive testing, as I have what I need now. The same settings as above are ok for continuous recording at 5.2k raw for me. Haven't tried dual ISO as I see no need for it. The preview is full screen and real time for both modes. Rolling shutter is an obvious issue in 5.2k mode (which is a 1.6 crop from full frame), a bit less so in the 2.8k raw mode. Good rolling shutter in the standard, almost fhd, raw mode, but that mode has a lot of aliasing. I would say the eos m is perfectly useable now, especially as a super-16 camera. I also really like the mlvapp. You could look at it as a cheaper alternative to the BMPCC original, but with better battery life and manual focus aids.
Watch the build walkthrough if you are interested in trying it out:
 

I own two C70s, a Red One MX, and even a 5D iii that also runs ML with more stability and at higher resolutions. I keep asking myself why I even care about this cheap little camera that I have never shot an actual project with, and why I haven't sold it yet. On the surface, it's because I think that once the ML firmware gets straightened out, the EOS-M has the potential to be one of the few raw-capturing cameras that can work with 16mm lenses. But it's dawned on me that it's not so much the camera as it is the community collaboration around this camera.
The "movement" (mostly happening in the FB group) is reminiscent of the early days of DSLR and mirrorless video, when people were all trying to squeeze every inch of quality out of these cameras that were never intended for cinematography. Nowadays, every camera has great IQ and a pleothera of custom-fitted accessories and perfected workflows. But 10-15 years ago, there were no dedicated cages or practical battery solutions and the cameras were full of quirks. You had to lean on the community for workarounds if you wanted to have a chance of creating anything worthwhile with these difficult cameras. Despite all of the hurdles, some people were able to do it and it always felt like a team victory.
I think what's going on with the EOS-M reflects the evolving hacks for the GH1 and GH2 in lot of ways. There is no dedicated cage for this camera either. Plug it into a battery and you have to find a place to hide the unruly adapter cable. Moire and aliasing abound in the lower resolutions. Rolling shutter is horrendous in the higher ones. The ergonomics make the GH cameras look like a dream. And it just doesn't make sense to throw a lot of money at a defunct $150 camera, which really ups the ante for DIY solutions. People share their rigging experiments freely (with lots of 3D printed parts), as well as their footage since the software is constantly being tweaked and improved.
That group is experimenting, tinkering, and collaborating like it's 2011. It's the fun side of camera geekery all over again.

It's great for photos as you can one click the vignetting away in LR if desired. This is the one I have, which I think is the last version of it.

Because I'm a cheapskate who is recycling his 5D Mk II era EF glass on the latest and greatest Panasonic body thanks to the wonderful Sigma MC21 adapter, I can't take advantage of in-body camera corrections for things like vignetting and lens distortion. And sometimes I would like to do that. It's a lot of fun using the phase detect AF in the S5II to shoot wide open and get in-focus footage with my Canon nifty fifty. But wide open, that lens has something like 2.4 stops of vignetting. That can look really cool sometimes but other times it's not. I first noticed it when editing some interview footage shot against a plain white wall. I wanted to do a little bit of reframing and it looked kind of bad because of the heavy vignetting.
I know there are effects that attempt to add or remove vignetting, but I was interested to see if there's a way to do it perfectly, as you can when shooting RAW and using Lightroom. And there is!
First of all, I put a semi-opaque piece of white plastic over the lens, focused it to infinity, set the aperture to wide open, pointed it at the sky and did a manual white balance. The aim here, in terms of exposure is to get the brightest part of the image (the exact centre) at exactly 50 IRE. Or you can use ACES to make a linear change to the data to get it looking like this:


Then desaturate it, invert it and export as a 16 bit TIFF or similar.
Place this image file on a layer above your footage. Change blending mode to Linear Light and Opacity to 50%. Hey, presto! Bye bye, vignetting!

(Note: doing this in ACES linear gives perfect results, but it works pretty well in log Rec709 too - the center needs to be 50% IRE in both methods)
This is how it looks on real world footage.
Before:

After:

 
Obviously, this isn't as convenient as doing it in camera as you would need a different vignetting profile for each f stop. But it will allow you to finally shoot your Nocticron f0.95 or whatever wide open without that pesky vignetting! I'm not quite as flush as all that, but I'm quite pleased that my old Canon plastic fantastic that I had in a drawer behaves a little more like Panasonic's version which costs 4 times the price. And a simple Lens Distortion filter at -2 knocks back the distortion. Now if only there was a way of making the focus motor perfectly silent...