Where do you get a decent external microphone for a video camera?

Do I need to get an external microphone for my camcorder?

• I have a small Sony Handycam DCR-SX40, but as I don't like the video/picture quality, I am thinking about selling this camera and upgrading to the Canon VIXIA HF R400. I notice that this camcorder has a microphone jack, and a headphone jack, which is good. The question I've got is: do I NEED to get an external microphone for the camera? I plan on using it to record fun events I attend, making vlogs (video blogs), and maybe making one or two short films. So, with that in mind, do I need a shotgun mic, or can I just get by with the internal microphone on this camera? Also, what program would you recommend for video editing purposes? I love Final Cut Pro, but I don't have a Mac, so at the moment, I am stuck using Windows Live Movie Maker which is adequate for cutting shots and splitting scenes, but it isn't good for special effects or greenscreen/bluescreen work. I would like to find a great program (free or less than $300) that can allow me to edit videos like the professionals do without breaking the bank. Please keep in mind that I am an amateur photographer/videographer, so I need something that can easily be learned while allowing me to develop my skills over time...something that's high-quality but not too complicated.

• Answer:

  That depends entirely on what you're doing with it, and how important professional-sounding audio is to your production. The disadvantages of the internal mic are familiar. The element is tiny, so it doesn't respond very well to loud or low frequency sounds. They don't filter out background noise very well, so if the audio you aim to record isn't comfortably louder than background noise (think about recording a person speaking near traffic with construction in the distance) it's going to become difficult to isolate the voice later, and amplifying the sound afterwards is going to distort it. Their lack of sensitivity also causes them to "blur" frequencies that are close to each-other. So, I wouldn't record (say) an orchestral arrangement with it unless you don't care much about the sound quality. But, there are plenty of uses where these problems will probably never surface. If you use it to record human speech in a quiet environment (video blogging) it'll probably perform just fine. Interviewing people on the street is fine as long as you don't mind also recording some traffic. No problem recording events like birthday parties. Louder events (rallies, concerts...etc) will probably end up distorted. As for short movies, you can get by on the internal mic if you are careful to control ambient noise in the environment and aren't recording a large range of frequencies. A basic documentary (for example) about the fall of the Berlin Wall is probably fine. A documentary on the history of the violin will give you problems. You get the picture :-) The nice thing about audio equipment is you only have to buy what you need. So, start using your camcorder the way you plan to and see how you like the audio. If it's fine, don't waste your money on a mic. If not, another nice thing about mics is that their price ranges scale with your need. You don't have to jump immediately to a pricey studio mic, and even a slightly larger element will make a huge difference. You can get a small external mic for the cost of a trip to the Olive Garden...twice that if you take your mic to dinner with you. I don't work with video anywhere near as often as I work with audio, so I can't offer great advice on video editing software. My girlfriend works with it a fair bit though and I can ask her. I know she likes Pinnacle Studio, and I don't think she paid much more that $100 for it.