Panasonic has announced the DMW-DMS1, a microphone designed to attach to the digital hotshoe on recent Lumix cameras. It features support for 32-bit float recording on certain cameras and has a four-microphone array, allowing for multiple computational pickup patterns.

The microphone is small, measuring 45 x 64 x 74mm (1.8 x 2.5 x 2.9″), and weighing just 100g (3.5oz) without the included windscreen. It plugs directly into the hotshoe, without the need to run a separate cable down to the camera’s microphone input jack. It has physical switches for wind reduction, noise reduction and gain, as well as a gain dial.

On the back are six backlit buttons that control the pickup pattern. The buttons’ brightness can be adjusted for indoor or outdoor working. The microphone has different modes for capturing sounds and subjects in front of and/or behind the camera, while suppressing noises from other directions.

The capsules are 10mm, which Panasonic says strikes a balance between cost, quality and dynamic range.

The company says this is possible thanks to “beamforming technology,” which we suspect is similar to how other companies implement similar features on cameras with built-in multi-capsule microphones. The capsules themselves are 10mm, which Panasonic says it chose to strike a balance between cost, quality and dynamic range.

The microphone combines dual analog-to-digital converters with 32-bit float recording, which come together to capture both loud and quiet sounds separately with plenty of latitude to prevent clipping. While the microphone capsules themselves can still clip – Panasonic says this happens above 120dB, which is around the loudness of an emergency vehicle’s siren – anything the microphones are physically capable of picking up can be recorded. Of course, it can also record in a more traditional 24-bit mode, too, which is where the gain dials come into play.

It also includes a wind noise canceler, which Panasonic says uses a new method that’s better at isolating the wind, without adjusting or muffling the sounds you’re actually trying to record. Of course, as a software solution, it can only do so much, but thankfully, the company includes a fluffy windscreen with it.

The microphone supports four-channel recording, and can use two of the channels as a backup track.

The microphone supports four-channel recording, with the option to use two of the channels as a backup track. These are primarily designed for use in 24-bit mode, and give the options to either record the results of omnidirectional pickup to two channels, one at reduced volume, or to mimic the main recording but 20dB quieter, to protect from clipping.

The microphone itself doesn’t have any built-in memory, so the recordings are done in-camera. The settings for 32-bit float and backup recording are managed in-camera, a decision Panasonic says was made after consulting with audio professionals.

The capsule itself is vibration-damped as it goes into the body of the microphone, rather than the damping happening where the unit itself connects to the camera. In theory, this makes it less likely for it to pick up handling sounds if you flip a switch or press a button on the microphone.

When it launches, the microphone will be compatible with the Panasonic S1II, S1RII, S1IIE, S5II and S5IIX, though the latter two don’t support 32-bit float recording or the backup function. The cameras will require a firmware update to use it, which will be available on March 9th. Panasonic says the GH7 and G9II will gain support for the microphone at an unspecified point in the future, and told us that it’d be safe to assume that the former will have support for 32-bit float.

The DMW-DMS1 will be available in March and will retail for $399.

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