Rode Mini Boompole Professional Microphone Boom Arm, MINIBOOMPOLE

Basically poor quality and not properly thought out by Rode.There is a 3/8 screw at the top which is not threaded all the way down. There is no locking collar so the microphone can easily undo and swivel. The twist mechanism is horrible. Mine failed after half a dozen uses and the bottom section no longer locks. No velcro straps supplied with it to tie the cable down. The bottom of the pole has a rubber bung; it would have been nice if a screw thread was there to attach feet if wanted.Good points - it is lightweight and balances well at the mid point consistently as you pull out each section.However, it’s not really fit for the job because of its poor build quality.

The Rode Boompole Pro in carbon is a big disappointment. On paper it seems great and it is indeed one of the lightest options available at 3M full extension. It is however extremely noisy, the joints and locks make all sort of squeaky and crackly noises and each time you tilt the boom slightly you can clearly hear noises from the joints. The microphone, even mounted inside a blimp picks all these noises. This happens even with very gentle manoeuvring. It does not matter how tight you close the joints, they still make noises. Will submit now a request to return the product. This is simply not fit for purpose.

I was hoping to give this a significantly higher score, maybe a touch ambitious for a budget boom pole... However, from a name like Rode I expected quality all the same.Compared to an adapted painters ceiling pole (as seen on many a YouTube video) it looks more professional, only because it's black, has a foam grip and a 3/8 thread on one end. However, it's many times the price, even that as sold by Amazon (I've seen for much more elsewhere). The materials and manufacturing don't really differ that much to justify the price differential. Like all photographic/video gear, especially when it's aimed at the pro market (not really suggesting that this pole is), there's an added value to the purchase price that makes you think that someone is making a absolute killing. In my opinion this is one of those cases.The tip of the pole has a 3/8 thread with a couple of rubber spacers which are pretty useless to be honest. They're too soft so any mic clamp just waves around. This is made worse, on my pole at least, by the fact that this machined solid threaded part is held onto the hollow pole by a rather feeble pin in a way that it wobbles slightly. The pin is so loose that if you tap the side of the pole it falls out and the threaded part can fall out of the end of the pole! The Eggsnow Camera Microphone Shockmount (excellent BTW) that I bought at the same time has a handle/adapter that is foam covered and matches the foam grip of the pole nicely. This has a mic 5/8 thread on one end that attaches to the shock mount itself. At the other end there's a 3/8 inch thread, a perfect match for the one on the pole. However, the threaded part has no thread on the bottom 4-5mm which will add load onto the thread in the aluminium bodied Eggsnow part which has a reasonable 8mm or so of thread in the hole (it's hollow beyond that). Whilst I appreciate that for engineering reasons the thread on the pole can't go all the way to the bottom the depth that's not threaded is unacceptable.As I have the means to put these issues right and make it acceptably usable for my purpose I will not be returning the pole to Amazon. Though I must say that I'm disappointed, this is the first Rode product I have purchased. I'm new to videography (long time stills shooter, previously pro) and whilst I have already purchased a couple of budget mics, HTDZ HT-81 and a Sony lav (both of which I'm happy with), I will hopefully be stepping up to better kit as I progress. Rode will now probably be off the short-list when that comes around if this is an indication of the quality of their products.With a bit of workshop fettling this will make a technically acceptable boom pole. However, I was naturally expecting this without having to do some engineering work of my own. As a consequence of my experience I wouldn't recommend this boom pole. I was even toying with the notion of only giving it one star.

We had to duck tape all the telescopic joints because they do not secure sufficiently to prevent 'rattle' which transmits up the pole tp the isolate microphone. And then we had to buy another boom and keep it closed and taled to allow for closer working. The idea of a boom is to minimise handle noise, but if the boom pole itself is going to 'rattle-around' it is pointless. The telescopic function and the way its achieved needs a rethink. It does make me wonder if any of these equioment producers ever test their products in real world conditions? mol

i wish they put some grease on between the metal so it doesnt eat away at the metal and ware out. I heard a lot of people say it breaks soon as you use it. i am waiting for my grease to arrive before i start using it. its an okay design but i dont think pros would use this its a little flimsy. i've only examined it and this is all i could gather but have not used it on a shoot yet. its def not what its hyped up to be and is heavier than expected. there are plastic bits which hold it together so the poles dont slip off but that is also cheaply designed and built. i think as long as you apply some grease to it and be gentle with it (which you shouldnt have to be) it will be okay. Also you will definitley not be running any xlr cables withing the boom pole! i dont know why they even advertise this as such. no xlr cable will fit through it.