Need advice on camcorders / microphones

[colbykenyon]

Hello! I'm very new to this, so I don't yet have a lot of technical knowledge. I'm looking for a camcorder no more than around $700-$800 that has a jack for an external lavalier microphone. I orignally bought a Canon Vixia HFR10 and loved it. But then, once I began shooting indoors more, I discovered that the camcorder picks up an internal static noise even when using a microphone. I investigated and found that this issue is very common with the Canon Vixia series. My question (the first one) is, does anyone know of a camcorder in my price range with an external microphone jack? Do you think all Canon's in that price range are likely to have the same issue or do you know of a model that does NOT have this internal noise problem? I've looked into some other models and found reviews mentioning this same issue. As I said, I really liked everything else about the Canon and would like to get another one if it didn't have this internal noise problem.

Lastly, I've looked into the Sony CX110. It does not have an external microphone jack. But I've heard that you can attach a universal adaptor to the camcorder's hot shoe, which will allow you to use any regular lavalier microphone (I already have these and don't want a wireless one). Would this give me the same same sound quality as plugging the lavaliere microphone directly into the camcorder?

Thank you in advance for any feedback.


Colby

[Bobby]

Colby, I have the Canon HV30 with their mic that clips into the accessory shoe on top. It works very well and really eliminates side and back noise interference. It is the only mic I use. But it is a shotgun-type mic and you might still get better results in, for example, a personal interview with a lavaliere. There is no perfect solution, unfortunately.

[Chuck Engels]

Here is some good information on Microphones
viewtopic.php?p=17520#p17520

I couldn't agree more with Bobby's suggestion, I would recommend the HV40 highly for your price range.

[colbykenyon]

First off, thank you very much for the advice. I appreciate it. I read, on the link provided above, that a lavalier mic ran through one of the Beachtec adaptors on a camcorder with ano mic input, will not provide the same audio that you'd get from plugging a lavalier mic directly into a camcorder that does have a jack (as a opposed to running through the adaptor on the hot shoe). Do you know if the quality of audio is substantial? Thanks.

Colby

[Chuck Engels]

I'm pretty sure the quality difference will be substantial. Don't short change yourself when it comes to audio. Get a camcorder with a mic jack.