Reddit mentions of Olympus ME-15 Mini Tie-Clip Microphone

3.5mm no contest.

USB devices eat CPU, they eat battery on mobile devices, they're more complex making them both more expensive and easier to break. They can also suffer from driver problems and otherwise cause system problems (e.g. moving sound between a USB headset and soundcard is annoying).

I'd say purely in terms of sound-quality they could, in theory, both be equal. But with lower-end devices in particular 3.5mm based microphones kick USB's ass. The best a USB device can do is match a 3.5mm device's quality, it can't really exceed it.

I personally hate microphone headsets and stopped buying them many years ago. I now use a desk mic which I haven't replaced in over ten years (contrast that with buying a new headset every two or three years).

PS - Whatever you do do not buy a Creative headset.

From the YouTube page for OP's video.

>So I bought 2 Olympus ME-15 mics and hooked them up to the tailgate of my ZJ. I get no wind noise and quite a good sound output. I'm planning on making a more cinematic video of the ZJ with this new audio equipment!

Link to the mics.

No info on how or where the mics were mounted, but if it were me, I would affix them to the camera somehow, unless this were a permanent setup for his truck.

Since your title specifies low cost you can save some money by using a wired lav mic like this Audio Technica or this Olympus lav mic. You simply plug it into the camera's mic input. A 3.5mm extension cable might be needed to reach the camera. Use the lav mic with an inexpensive voice recorder if you need the subject to move around. Smart phones have decent audio recording apps too. Syncing the audio in post can be a hassel so only do this if the shot requires being untethered. If you record audio with a separate recorder it helps to mark it by saying a scene number and making a clap sound so you can find it and sync it with the video editing software.

For lighting you might consider an inexpensive LED light and a second battery. Charge one battery while using the other.

I've used clamps like this and this for quick and simple mount of camera and small lights to a chair, windowsill, cupboard, etc. You can use JB Weld to put a 1/4-20 nut-coupler on the light if it doesn't have it already.

edit: I like Canon equipment and their line of Vixia Camcorders starts at around $300 and has a mic input. The lens and image stabilization gets you a nice picture compared to a camera phone or similar "cheap" camera.

IIRC Premiere has a basic mode that uses a simpler timeline more like Apple's iMovie. You can download 30 day trial versions of the latest Adobe products. Give Premiere Elements a try.

What kind of camera are you using? More important, what kind of inputs does it have? Mini-jack? XLR? (judging by the shadow of your camera, I don't think it has XLR inputs).

The most important thing is to get the microphone close to the source (your mouth in this case). So for narrating, you could hold the camera pretty close to your mouth.

Another trick people do is to use their smartphones to record the sound. This is possible when you're wearing a shirt with a pocket. The microphone can be placed in the pocket and closer to your mouth that way.

Normally you have a boom operator who will get the microphone as close to the source as possible, without the boom getting into the cameras framing. The reason I'm saying this is that, even when you get a good microphone (some microphones that are relatively good for their price are the videomic (pro) by Rode and external recordes like the Zoom H1N or Zoom H4N), the quality of the sound will only be good when it's close to the source. If you're in the car, for example, and the microphone is closer to the engine than to you, people will still have to strain to understand what you're saying.

So get a good mic, but make sure you use it properly.

A lavalier is a good option since you can attach it to your shirt. However, a good lavalier is expensive. Also, most professionals will prefer the boom as the sound recorded will be richer. (lapel mics miss some bass and some clarity).

A wireless lavalier is great for mobility and when the camera is far away. But cheap wireless lavaliers are worthless, the signal is not stable, there is interference and the sound isn't great. If you're looking for wireless you should be looking at sets starting at $500, not $200.

The one you were linking to isn't used for video, but for events and most likely conferences. You would need an outlet to power the receiver. Wireless lavalier for camera's have a receiver that runs on batteries. Example

Also, most camera's compress sound. So the advantage of the zoom microphones is that you can record the sound in a less compressed format. The disadvantage is that you'll need to match up your sound to the video in editing. There are some tools (like plural eyes), but you'll have to decide what you prefer. Audio on the camera that's in sync but more compressed, or an external recorder with better sound (and you can place the microphone/recorder wherever you want) but syncing of the sound in post?

Here's some information on lavaliers for video.

I got a cheap "lavalier" for a recorder and connect it straight into the mini-jack port of my camera (sometimes using an extension cable). e.g.

You could also consider renting a professional wireless microphone.

Maybe a clip-on mic?

I attach this to my headphone cord, but you might want to consider a "lapel" style mic.

Maybe this?

If you're looking at getting a clip-on that's better quality than the Zalman, I recently bought this one from Olympus and am very happy with it. Great quality and seems pretty durable.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Olympus-ME-15-Tie-Clip-Microphone/dp/B000815CF4

Never buy a gaming headset as they have trashy audio. If you are on a low budget get a combo like this.

Best iems for the price.
http://www.amazon.com/Monoprice-109927-Enhanced-Isolating-Earphones/dp/B00B8QCMHY/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1382473058&sr=8-2&keywords=monoprice

Tie-clip mic
http://www.amazon.com/Olympus-145045-ME-15-Microphone/dp/B000815CF4/ref=sr_1_17?ie=UTF8&qid=1382473407&sr=8-17&keywords=microphone+tie+clip

You can prob find them in amazon Uk. Cheers.