This Mic Has a Freakin' Laser Beam

We like to keep you up to date on news, trends, stats and industry news. Sometimes, we just want to show you something cool.

So... lasers!

Specifically, the new Ray condenser microphone from Lewitt Audio. (Laser ray? Manta ray, a play on the old Austin Powers sharks-with-lasers bit? Not sure, but we like it.)

We ran across a review from James Cridland over at Podnews, and it's just too fun not to share. You can check out his full review, but here's a summary.

Lasers!

Okay, not that short. Here's the real description.

The Ray incorporates a small, low-power green laser, built into the housing, that measures the distance from you to the microphone, and adjusts the pickup levels accordingly.

It can also sense when you've moved away from the mic, and auto-mutes until the laser detects that you're back. Lean away to cough, and the cough won't be picked up at all.

Lewitt calls this the Aura technology.

Essentially, the microphone is utilizing the laser to pre-edit your audio, saving that editing time in post production.

One potential drawback, noted by Cridland: Those who tend to talk with their hands might confuse the laser as the distance readings jump from a hand to a face and back.

Full details and specifications on the Ray are available from Lewitt Audio.