Camcorder Mic Tests - Canon HF200 Built-in Mic

[dragossorin85]

daamn is very sharp.....good job

[octap79]

IS it THAT difiicult to leave the cam rest on a table or something ?

[hasan218]

in my HF 200 built in mic

I can't hear much of a conversation between me and a guy 2.5 meters away.

do you have the same problem ?

I want to make an interview with people behind a desk in offices , what do you advice ?

[TheCanadianPublic]

Push the joystick next to the LCD screen downward to bring up the list of adjustable settings, and check if the mic level control has been accidentally set to "M" (Manual).

Watch out when recording in rooms with both solid walls and ceilings. It'll produce a ton of echo. If the office has an acoustic tile ceiling, you should be okay.

[hasan218]

Thanks for the reply :-)

I appreciate it a lot.

it is on Auto mode

but the thing is, I end up with a very low sound and the person's voice it also quiet.

is that normal.

is there a good solution for good indoor recording. I will use it only for talking (no music, effects or wind)

whats your advice on that

thanks a million in advance

[TheCanadianPublic]

How are you listening to the clips? there might be a problem with the playback.

At 2.5 meters away however, the sound can be a bit low especially if there's a bit of background noise in the room.

You might need to use an external microphone. Google "ty ford microphone tutorial" for an excellent tutorial on how different microphones will behave in different rooms.

[hasan218]

I am playing the clips with the software that comes with it " Image Mixer SE 3 player "

I will watch the video

and it seems I am going to have to buy an external mike , case I want my interviews to be clear.

thanks a lot :-)

[ygftygft]

yooo, how would the mic in this camcorder sound like at shows for like heavy music that contains screaming, heavy riffs and heavy bass riffs and so on?

get back to me soon! : )

[ygftygft]

Also would like to know how good the battery is, I am looking for a nice HD camcorder for concert and shows, this one I love alot due to the video quality in day light and low light. the sound I don't mind actually, I will be using a Zoom H2 but my most concern is the battery, I usually film about 4 bands at a show, which is 2 hours. how would this camcorder do for me?

[TheCanadianPublic]

The included battery will only last for an hour and a half in recording mode. You'll either need to purchase the BP-819 (3 hrs, good fit) or BP-827 (4.5 hrs, but huge) battery to get the duration you need along with a 32 GB SDHC card (3 hrs at MXP mode).

If you have any Canon FS100/FS200 camcorders lying around, you can use its BP-808 battery in the HF200. Just swap them during a break.

And do get an external mic. The built-in mic is okay, but I wouldn't use it to record live music.

[ngvgnDOTcom]

@ygftygft Keep in mind this is recorded music not live.

[TheCanadianPublic]

Even worse, it's an MP3 file converted and burnt to a standard CD format! :)

What mattered here more than anything else was consistency. Same music clip, same audio system, same volume level. This makes it very easy to spot the differences in the mic tests.

[neek49]

I bought this camera not long ago after reading many reviews of the video quality but not finding much on the audio capabilities. As I use it primarily for concerts and music capture I didn't know what to expect. However with the built in mic and manual levels adjustment I was pleasantly surprised. Even from a distance the sound is great. You can hear this in my latest video's posted at my site. I'll have to try an external mic next time but for now it's just what I was looking for.

[maynardcat]

This is an interesting test, as I am not too happy with digital camera sound. It looks like you have a $30.000 or up stereo here. The Canon sounds more full with less detail, and a more digital sound. The Sanyo less full sounding with more detail, highs and a warmer sound. I may be way off on my judgment here. What is the better sounding camera in your opinion, as you are familiar with the sound of the stereo system

[TheCanadianPublic]

The room itself was dead silent. The live set-up's main flaw was being a bit bass-heavy.

The Rode Stereo Videomic was the closest to the original sound, with a bit of a drop-off in the low end.

The Rode Videomic came in second with slightly aggressive lows and weak highs, which is actually normal for this mic. The mic can be confused by multichannel set-ups.

The Canon built-in mic is perfectly suitable for vocals. But go beyond that, and the recording sounds thin.

The Sanyo mic stinks.

[TheCanadianPublic]

BTW, the set-up you see in the video wasn't active. The actual playback system was a Naim mini component system which was located on the right side of the room out of camera view, connected to the smaller Harbeth speakers.

It still sounded great though, and it did the job.

[michaelscottholiday]

I love the tests I am actively reviewing microphones for my canon vixia hf10 and this really helps. Question have you purchased a wireless lapel microphone for your hf200 yet and if so which one?

[TheCanadianPublic]

Not yet! That's a planned purchase, but it may be part of a more elaborate audio set-up.

[xFRANKRIZx]

still sounds pretty good with the built in mic

[TheCanadianPublic]

It is! It has nearly the same performance as the built-in mic in my standard definition Canon FS100.

But for eliminating wind noise however, use one of Rode's dead feline accessories! :)

[vwestlife]

I think Canon uses the same internal microphone and audio circuitry in all of their cameras with an external mic jack because they know anyone who wants real hi-fi sound is going to use an external mic. Here the treble sounds clear but I'm unfamiliar with the music and speakers so I withhold judgement of the bass response. The stereo separation isn't very distinct, but that's par for the course with most built-in camcorder microphones.

[TheCanadianPublic]

The set-up was a bit bass-heavy, but only the Rode Videomic reproduced it properly, which is misleading since the microphone is already a bit too aggressive on the low end.

The Canon built-in microphone, despite being no match against higher quality external microphones, still does a good job of recording vocals. But go beyond that, and the recordings will start to sound thin. Despite this, it's probably still one of the best sounding built-in microphones out there.