Sony ECM-W5 review: a pricey wireless mic with a unique trick

Sony ECM-W5: two-minute review Sony’s ECM-W5 is a prosumer wireless microphone system cut from the same cloth as the DJI Mic 3 , Insta360 Mic Pro and Rode Wireless Pro.

Like all those, it's available in a package featuring two clip-on transmitters, a receiver that plugs into your camera or phone, and a charging case to keep everything topped up.

At £350 for the full kit, however, it costs more than any of them — so it needs to bring something extra to the table.

It does just that.

The headline feature is in-camera 32-bit float recording, something no other wireless mic I’m aware of can do.

Rivals will happily record 32-bit float files to their transmitters' internal storage, but that leaves you syncing separate audio in the edit.

With the ECM-W5 mounted on a Multi Interface Shoe camera such as the Sony A7 V, that extra headroom is baked straight into your video files.

Most people won’t need it day to day, but if you’re shooting somewhere unpredictable, where a sudden bang or boom could clip your audio, it’s a useful safety net. (Image credit: Future | Sam Kieldsen) There’s plenty more for pros to like.

Each transmitter has a 3.5mm lav mic input with a screw-lock connector (a feature DJI dropped after the Mic 2 ), along with a generous 62.5GB of usable internal storage.

There’s timecode support and an optional 96kHz/24-bit Hi-Res Audio mode, too.

The claimed 500m range is the longest I’ve come across, and in my testing the signal held up flawlessly through two floors of my house — a situation where other mics have faltered.

Sound quality is clean and clear, though in fairness that’s true of every decent wireless mic these days.

The noise reduction is on the gentler side and less effective than what DJI and Insta360 offer, but it doesn’t introduce any odd artifacts.

The trade-offs are size and price.