What is a good external mic for the Canon HV30?

Could I use the Canon XL2's mic as a boom mic?

• I don't have money for a shotgun mic and the only other mics I have are two studio mics (MXL 990). My Canon XL2 is coming and I wanted to know if I could detach the mic that comes with it and use it as a boom mic. I've made my own boom pole but does the mic work alone or through XLR cables or does it have to be attached? Also does the mic sound good enough to use it at all? If so could I just keep it on the camera?

• Answer:

  The mic, really isn't good enough to use as a boom mic. Although I suppose it would be better than nothing. However the only problem is how it would plug in. The xl2 mic connects using a stereo headphone cable and another smaller headphone jack ( I believe that one is for power) not using an XLR port. You would have to use an extender cable for both of the connections for it to work. Also the XL2 mic is designed to only pick up sound from the front and bottom of the mic not all the way around. What about getting a cheep mic ( like an ATR55) off of eBay? The XL2 is a great camera though.