Is it bad to switch from the internal mic to the external mic while recording?

If, for example, you have 2 or 3 people speaking but only have 1 lav mic, would it be ok to switch to the internal mic for the people who are not on a lav? I know the audio quality drop off will be very noticeable, I just want to know if it is bad for the camera.

Thanks,

Which model of camera are you using?

And which model of lav mic, as well as how it's powered (internal mic battery or external power from the mic jack)?

XA10 with a battery powered lav mic XLR. (sony UWP-V1)

I have not tried it.

First, you may get audio glitches/artifacts (thumps, static, and/or scritches) at the points where you flip the switch.

Second, if there is any bleed through of power from the mic, that would not be good (but not too likely in your case)

I would consider getting a separate (perhaps omnidirectional) mic for the folks without a LAV, or at least a shotgun on the camcorder. One to the left channel the other to the right channel. (The internal mic is OK mainly for ambient sound.)

second Don, get a small shotgun for on camera.

search amazon, there's plenty of inexpensive options. Some internal mics get do a respectable job, but it's a safer bet to add on something more substantial

I suggest you check out the Audio Technica AT875. I find it to be a nice short shotgun that work well on the XA10/XA20.

However, if the people without the lav are more than, say 6 to 8 feet from the camcorder, you really should have a mic, wired or wireless, near them rather than on the camcorder for significantly better sound.

Also, if you can, run some tests in the venue in advance of the money shoot to be sure you have a good feel for how the sound levels will be. Also, with different sound feeds/mics for L and R channels simply relying on AGC may not give good results due to different levels.

Sounds a lot like shooting a wedding with wireless on the groom or officiant and the other speakers at the podium. In this case the rehearsal is a good time to run tests. It may work to just have a separate small handheld audio recorder (e.g., TASCAM DR-40, DR-05, or similar) at the podium to record the full event plus and just insert extracts from that sound later where needed.