What is a good external mic for the Canon HV30?

Eternal mic for a canon gl1?!?!?!?!?

• I have a canon gl1, i would LOVE to get an external mic for this camera, weather it be a lavalier,shotgun, boom, what ever. I have an old computer mic that i tried to attach just to see if it would work or what the quality would be, but it didnt work... will an external mic only work through the hotshoe???? so here are my questions... 1. What kind of mic should i get? 2. Where do i plug the damn thing in? 3. Why wouldnt the mics i tried on it work at all???? any tips or ideas would be AWESOME!

• Answer:

  A computer mic won't work on your camcorder because they usually need amplification. (If it happens to provide 'phantom power', then enable it and see if it works.) There are plenty of decent mics that use a mini connector. Professional mics tend to use an XLR connector, but there are adapters available for these. Any dynamic mic should work, as will any condenser/electret mic that is sufficiently powered. If I recall correctly, there should be gain controls on the camcorder, to adjust how loud the mic signal will be and to avoid 'clipping' that occurs when you use too much gain. Use a good set of headphones to properly gauge the audio. The hotshoe is only used to mount the microphone (with a suitable adapter) so you don't have to hand-hold it. You still have to plug it in to the audio jack.