I have 24 hours to decide whether to keep an HV20. I was only able to look it over and record 2 minutes before rushing off to work. I can't download a manual here or open the package containing the manual when I get home.

Could someone give me a link to the manual so when I get home, I can check. In case of problems (Life itself), I have a few questions concerning audio.

A friend lent me a small SONY mic with 1/8" plugin that fit nicely into the shoe. I'll try it tonight.

Should generally any plugin mic work? Must it be stereo or mono?

I assume when using I must switch from internal to external mic, right? How?

Do I need to turn off phantom power, and mics without phantom power do work fine in the shoe, right?

With headphones on, I found the motor louder than the HV10, and I could hear the zoom motor on fast zooms, not on slow zooms. An external mic shouldn't pick those sounds up, right?

It also seemed the instant AF was not so instant after a fast zoom, it took a moment and then focused, there was also a little beep each time I did.

Otherwise, I'm liking this camera, would just like to get squared away audio-wise.

best,
elmer

Here's the link Wes:

http://www.usa.canon.com/consumer/controller?act=DownloadDetailAct&fcategoryid=326&modelid=14869

I'm a bit confused about that 'beep' you hear. I've never heard that and I'm not sure what setting the cam is in that's causing it.

Surprise, I was able to download the manual here! I'm shocked. Thanks, Ken.

Unfortunately, I'm also troubled because the manual seems to indicate I just plug in a mic and use it. I didn't see anything in the menu for switching from internal to external. I taped 2 minutes with the SONY mic (phantomless, but connected to the shoe), and if anything the noise was louder.

Could I be doing something wrong?

thanks,
elmer

I believe I've now read enough of the manual so that my only concern is that, apparently, you just plugin a mic, without switching to external. Having captured 2 minutes with a little SONY mic, listening to it the noise seemed worse than without an external mic.

That is correct. The act of plugging in an external mic will automatically switch off the internal mic.

HV10 footage, when quiet, hits about -36db.

HV20 w/o external mic, -30 decibels. HV20 w/ mic, -24db.

We're talking louder and louder.

I wonder what issues could be affecting the HV20 w/ mic: balanced, unbalanced; stereo or mono; the shoe itself? Hmm.

johnny baffled

Elmer, I'm not sure which Sony mike you're using, but if it's the little DS-70P, that unit is a dog! I bought one for a high quality digital recorder I bought for voiceovers, and I couldn't believe how bad it was. It has a terrible S/N ratio and made my onboard voice recorder mike sound like a $1,000 mike.

Well, it's an ECM-MSD1, but it's a dog from the same litter!

I also tried my old Sennheiser MKE300. It was a little quieter but picked up the zoom with remarkable fidelity. ;) It's the best mic I have that's not xlr.

This is supposed to be my guerrilla/tourist cam and I'm not looking for incredible audio, just audio sans motor whistle and zoom grunge. Comparatively, the HV10 is way quieter. If it only had a mic input!

best,
elmer

Elmer, one thing to keep in mind, in the quiet of a room you will pick up varying degrees of motor noise with any of these small cams. But (and it's a BIG but), these noises are essentially inaudible when out in the 'real world'. Just a thought.

That pretty much seems to be the case with my HV20. I've got the DM-50 mic for it and outdoors, I don't seem to pickup anything other than what I'd expect (no apparent motor noise or zoom noise). Indoors, I will occasionally hear the zoom a little but that's about it. I put the DM-50 on the instant I pulled the camera from it's box and haven't tried the built in mic at all.

Steve

Steve what sort of battery times are you getting when using the mic? I am interested to know if it has much of a drain on power?

Cheers

I haven't yet shot long enough to drain my battery completely. I picked up the larger BP-2L14 when I got the camera and so far that's the only one that I have used.

The longest sequency that I shot was a 15 minute clip of my kids playing in the sprinklers. After that shot, I played the footage back for capturing. The battery meter was still reading at least 75% charge though.

Steve

That pretty much seems to be the case with my HV20. I've got the DM-50 mic for it and outdoors, I don't seem to pickup anything other than what I'd expect (no apparent motor noise or zoom noise). Indoors, I will occasionally hear the zoom a little but that's about it. I put the DM-50 on the instant I pulled the camera from it's box and haven't tried the built in mic at all.

Steve

Thanks, Steve for the info.

I'm interested in a mic. Do you know how that DM-50 compares to the RodeVideo mic?

best,
elmer

I couldn't answer for the comparison. I'm still very green when it comes to much of this. The only equipment I've got is the HV20, DM-50 and my first video cam (Sony TRV37).

Steve

I compared the Rode to the DM50 on my GL2 and the Rode was quieter (less motor noise) due to I think the fact that the DM-50 is hardmounted to the camera and therefore more susceptible to vibration transmission. The Rode sounded quite good, actually. It's mono though, not stereo (if ambience is important to you.)