XLR=on but no mic equals no audio???

I have enabled xlr inputs but have no external mic plugged in. Is it true that the on camera mic doesn't work at all when the XLR's are enabled?

I'm used to a betacam where we always have on-camera recording BG on CH2 and plug a mic into CH1 for a quick interview when needed. Do I have to go in and enable XLR for each interview or use an external shotgun for this to work?

Confused.

I believe turning on the XLR disables the on-camera mic.

That's going to be a real pain in the hass. I hope your not right .... but suspect you are :-(

Aaron is right. Turning on the XLR inputs via the menu will automatically disable the on-camera mic. If the XLR inputs are on and yet no XLR source is connected, that means no audio is recorded.

You should check out our XH Firmware Upgrade Wishlist Poll v1 discussion thread. One of the votable options there is a request to offer the XLR on / off switch as a mappable Custom Key selection. While there's no guarantee that Canon will actually do anything with those suggestions, they will at least get the message about the changes we'd like to see in the XH Series camcorders. The more folks that vote, the more impact it will have.