No more advanced hot shoe?
 

I've got a Canon DM-50 microphone that works with the advanced accessory shoe on Canon camcorders. Now all of the sudden, Canon is no longer making cameras with the advanced shoe. Has anyone else noticed this? Are there any new Canon camcorders with an advanced accessory shoe?

You're right, it looks like the advanced accessory shoe is disappearing from Canon's low end camcorders. The Optura 600 has no shoe mount at all.

The current camcorders that have the advanced accessory shoe are the: Optura 60, GL2, XL2, and the XLH1.

Well, they've cost themselves a customer. Not that the mic is all that great, but the last couple times I've upgraded camcorders, compatibility with my DM-50 has been a major deciding factor. I can remember when their lowest ZR model camcorder had an advanced accessory shoe and now it's reserved for their flagship models... as if the DM-50 is a high-end microphone.

Oh well... not smart Canon.

Don't make any hasty decisions yet. The Optura and GL series are due for an upgrade. Perhaps NAB 2006 at the end of March.

How does an Optura HDV grab ya? ... no I don't have any inside information.

Eh, we'll see, but I'm not going to get my hopes up.

Yeah, this is exactly why I've never recommended the DM-50 to users looking to add an external mic. The convenience of the integrated design is nice, but its always only a matter of time before proprietary accessories become obsolete.

Don't give up on Canon though, they do make some seriously nice camcorders. I'd recommend that when you make your next camcorder upgrade, sell the DM-50 with your current cam as a "package deal" and invest in a quality mic that will last for many, many years and work with all sorts of camcorders. I've used my Sennheiser MKE-300 for several years now and on a couple of camcorders (and a couple of weddings for that matter). Its a 1/8" plug, is comparable in price to the DM-50 and is self-powered (uses cheap watch batteries). Something like $160-170 at B&H.

Regarding an Optura HDV... I can just FEEL that its coming out this year. I was kinda sure end of last year, but I'm 100% confident we'll see it this year.

Philip Williams
www.philipwilliams.com (finally back up!)

So true. Perhaps this is a lesson for those using Canon EF-S lenses?

I guess it's not that big of a deal. Technically the DM-50 isn't even a shotgun... it's a "stereo directional" mic. I liked it because you didn't have to worry about it running out of batteries or coming unplugged.

I'm looking at the Rode Videomic... it has a low battery light which is important to me.

Interesting... I was excited by the Optura XI (and bought one), but I haven't been excited about a consumer camcorder by Canon in a while. I'll see what they come out with at NAB.

I understand how you feel about the the DM-50, I'm up in the air about it myself. It will go as part of a "package" deal if the new Opturas don't have a compatible advanced accessory shoe. But it is a good run-around mic, and I like it in its' wide stereo setting for capturing partially directional/ambient sound. Very useful during family & friends type events and way better than the built-in mic. I'll be sorry to see it go, if it needs to go.

The Rode Videomic is a good alternative, but, I ended up selling mine because I found the shockmount too noisy. The rubber generates a lot of self-noise while doing normal handheld movements, which kind of defeats the purpose. Went back to using the AT8415/AT897 combo.

I'm still hoping that Canon will make the MA200 XLR adapter compatible with the Optura's advanced accessory shoe. Now that would be a good move on an HDV camcorder.