Saramonic CaMixer Adds a Headphone Jack to Your Sony a6300 / a6500

by Olaf von VossOctober 13^th, 2016

If you’re a proud owner of a Sony a6300, you might be in desperate need of  some sort of audio interface due to its lack of a headphone jack.  Saramonic has your back here with the release of a very compact and very affordable audio mixer. Meet the Saramonic CaMixer.

The Saramonic CaMixer

This little audio interface could be just what you need if you’re after a a small, lightweight and affordable audio solution. Saramonic claims it is brand new, but actually it looks very familiar to me. Last year they released a very similar audio interface, the SmartMixer, intended to be used with smartphones. It’s a little more expensive, as it comes bundled with a smartphone holder and a grip. The new CaMixer comes in professional black rather than in consumer red.

Spot the dfference! Saramonic CaMixer (left) and SmartMixer (right)

Anyway, the functionality for a device like this is still very relevant, as a lot of smaller cameras like the Sony a6300 or even the freshly announced Sony a6500 lack a decent headphone jack for monitoring audio. You also get two detachable directional microphones plugged into 3.5mm mic inputs, a phantom powered mini XLR jack and of course an audio out port for connecting the Saramonic CaMixer to your camera. A lot of stuff for such a tiny preamp device, indeed.

The Saramonic CaMixer can be mounted directly on top of your DSLR or mirrorless camera via the built-in cold shoe. This setup could help you get the next run-and-gun interview right, taking out the guess work when it comes to audio. It’s a bit cheaper than it’s last year twin, since it’s just the mixer itself without any accessories except a provided mini XLR to XLR adapter and a mini jack output cable.

Back and front of the CaMixer. It’s powered via a standard 9V battery.

On the front side you can toggle 48V phantom power for the microphone inputs on and off and there is a built-in LCD display, too. This is a very handy feature for such a tiny device, as it helps keeping your camera screen real estate as uncluttered as possible. There’s a volume control too, of course.

We will take it for a test ride for sure, and I’m very curious how it performs in real life!

The CaMixer weights just 156g (5.5 oz) and is powered by a standard 9V battery. The device itself is $129 and it’s available for purchase directly via Saramonic, the smartphone version is available at B&H.

Might this tiny thing be your next upgrade in terms of audio? Let us know in the comments below!