I went with the Canon mic, the DM-50, I think it is. Check the owner's guide. It is a noticeable improvement over the built in mic. You can hear the difference when monitoring with headphones. You can find them cheaper than the Rode.

What pushed me in favor of the Canon mic was two things:
1) runs from the accessory shoe. No external power needed
2) Small form factor.

No offense to anyone who answered already, but I couldn't see the ergonomics of mounting a big shotgun onto a tiny camera. Same with the Beechtek XLR adapter. I like the HV20 because it's almost inconspicuous, like a Leica still camera. Mounting a big mic and adapter negates that. I might as well carry around a bigger rig.

Some one here once posted a comparison of the Canon and Rode mics. Do a search....I think they were comparable in terms of sound.

Cheers
Bob

A big shotgun & wide-angle adapter definitely raises the profile of the HV20, and upsets its ergonomics a bit. But the improvement in sound is worth it. You are still saving a significant amount of size & weight over a bigger camera (ie. an XHA1).

Although I use an AT897, I may also pick up a Rode or a DM-50 for a lower profile mic option.

Here's an Audio Technica mic that is short, 7 inches, made for video camera use:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...r_Shotgun.html

The AT897 is 11 inches long.

Here is a matching adapter:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...w_to_High.html

Here is a shockmount:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...hockmount.html

For stereo, the Rode VideoMic is a good choice:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...ic_Camera.html

The Rode VideoMic also comes in mono:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...a_Mounted.html

For the HV20 I think the best choices are the Rode VideoMic (built-in shock mount, size, quality sound) or the Canon DM50 (with sound indistinguishable from the Rode VideoMic, but with less of a shockmount). Both (in mono) cost $150:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...icrophone.html

I want to play around with recording a band with my HV20, and after reading everyone, I'm thinking the Rode videomic...am I correct in thinking the stereo version for music? Later I think I will add a recorder once I get comfortable and get some more $$ to play with. So...stereo or mono? Tks folks. bob

I would go with the Rode StereoVideoMic for music. While I don't do music I've had excellent luck with mine mounted on a stand with boom and suspended close to the talent (with a 16' stereo extension cord).

For mounting on the camera I use this bracket meant for mounting a flash centered over something like a Hasselblad.

http://www.veachco.com/j120mhBW.jpg

While the grip is meant for the left hand I mount the camcorder the other way and grip with my right so the fold out LCD isn't blocked. If you don't use something like this that gets the mic up high, the Deadcat windmuff (which I wouldn't be without outdoors") lets "fur" hang down into the field of view.

Hope this helps.

Thanks Bruce for the info. I've got a flash mount I use with my Nikon 35mm stuff, so that would work pretty good. bob

Bruce, do you experience any background noise due to unbalanced connection? (long stereo extention cord). I have an inexpensive audio-technica stereo microphone and it works OK if I connect it on my camera, but when I connect it using a long stereo extention cord, then the camera picks background humming noise.

Thanks.

P.

Me64
 

Check out the new post 'ME64 and Sony wide angle combo'.....should have postedd it here too...

Thanks for all the comments.

I ended up checking out online reviews.

Here's one that lets you listen to recordings made with various mics.
http://www.dvcreators.net/shotgun-shootout/

I also asked both online and local video store which mics they recommend.
bhphotovideo.com and ebay.com others offer plenty of choices also.

Brandon S. shared his set up with the AT and bracket mount which looked like the way to go.

I went with the RODE NTG-2 with xlr/mini adaptor plus bracket with Rode mount from bhphotovideo.com.

After a couple outdoor and indoor tests, I am happy with the improved sound. There is a big improvement in sound quality. For indoor, I will use lav mics though when able.