ext mic won't work on hv20
 

I have a small (unpowered) stereo mic that works properly on my canon 550d.
When I plug it into my HV20 it doesn't work. In the menu 'mic attached' is set to ON!
I also tried a (powered with 1,5 volt battery) NTG-2 on the HV20 and that works, but with a lower volume then the internal HV20 mic.
Any suggestions?

For both my Canon HF100 and HF S100 camcorders, they need a powered mic of some sort to work. An unpowered mic gives no sound at all. A very low powered mic gives low levels of sound. It sounds like this is also the case with your HV20. If so, your only choice is getting a powered mic or at least a pre-amp between your existing mic and the camera.

I have no problems using an NTG-2 with an HV-30 which is much the same, so I'm wondering if your connection to the camera is OK or the MIC ATT is on by mistake.

EDIT: Bingo! Just realised ... MIC ATT is "MICrophone ATTenutor"

NOT

"MICrophone ATTached"

It looks like a case of RTFM to me, I'm afraid. If you haven't got a User Guide, you can download a PDF one from the links in the Sticky at the top of this forum.

As for connecting other mics, this is what the HV-30 user manual says (check yours to see if it's any different):

Remember that the HV20 does NOT have "plug-in power" like many (most?) other camcorders do. So any microphone that requires power (and doesn't have its own battery) will be unusable.

Yes, this is the case: HV20 needs powered mic. Thanks, Rob

I think there is still some confusion in terminology here. You may be calling a mic "unpowered" if it needs power and isn't getting it from the camera. I call a mic "unpowered" if it doesn't need power at all, like a typical dynamic mic.

While it's true that these Canon camera's discussed here don't provide plug-in power, you can still use a mic that requires no power as long as the Mic ATT (mic attenuator) is switched OFF.

I use an unpowered BeachTek adapter with dynamic mics all the time with my Canon HF11. And I just checked it using a Sennheiser e835 dynamic mic using a regular XLR to dual mono TRS-mini adapter cable. It works just fine and gives the level I would expect.

Also keep in mind you can adjust the mic input level manually on most of these cameras.

So a mic that doesn't need power is fine with the proper cable and proper setting of Mic ATT (off) and mic input level.

A mic with its own power should also be fine.

A mic that requires plug-in power won't get it from these Canon cameras, so other arrangements must be made. However I wouldn't call it an "unpowered" mic but rather a mic that needs power and isn't getting it from these Canon cameras.

Does the Rebel T2i (550D) provide plug-in power when your small stereo mic works on it? If the answer is no, then there's some other problem besides power when you try to use it with your camcorder.

Certainly the Mic ATT (attenuator) should be switched to OFF in the menu for any low-output mic. Then adjust your mic input level manually, use the proper cables and place the mic in a good location for recording your source and it should work.
As I said, I do this all the time with my Canon HF11.

Re: ext mic won't work on hv20
 

Hi

I just buyed a cheap König CMP-MIC8 microphone.
It works well with Zoom H1, and Sony TD30, but no sound
with my Canon HV20. Nothing.
It only has sound when i unplug half the jack connector.
I thinked this is becuase mic jack is stereo and HV20 input is mono,
but i read that HV20 input is also stereo.

So, why don't we have sound?

Re: ext mic won't work on hv20
 

Your König CMP-MIC8 is a computer microphone. The standard computer microphone uses the same 3.5mm plug as headphones and stereo mic jack on a camcorder. But the computer standard for microphone plug wiring is different. That is why it works only when plugged half-way in.

Unless they have added plug-in power to the HV20, I don't know why your König CMP-MIC8 microphone would work at all.

Re: ext mic won't work on hv20
 

Is it possible that when the Konig is plugged in only half way, it is allowing the camera's on-board mics to still work and you are being fooled into thinking the external mic sound is being picked up?