Poor External Mic socket on HF-S10
 

I have just found that the external 3.5 mm. mic socket on the HF-S10 will not accept the better quality "Neutrik" plugs. Also, it won't accept the gold plated generic plugs either. There seems to be a problem in the final (tip) contact in the socket as the plugs won't go in all the way & stop about 4 mm short. However, it will accept the plugs found on cheap Chinese extension leads. I think Canon should investigate this.

Has anyone had similar problems or is this model too new, but it is better to be aware of it before anyone gets caught on a shooting job being unable to use some external piece of kit.

RonC.

I'm planning on just using an external recorder myself.. as far as I can tell on my HF s100 stereo plugs will go all the way in, but mono plugs feel like they're about to fall out though they will still record. Doesn't seem to be a very high quality connection in any case (of course you can't expect much from a 3.5mm input, and I suspect the a/d converters aren't the best)

For a more solid mono connection you could use a 1/8 stereo to dual 1/8 mono adapter and plug the mono plug firmly into the adapter, this is what I've done for the time being but overall I don't feel this input to be solid enough for serious recording. Unfortunately most of the cheaper multitracks only record at 44k/16 bit but I'm still on the lookout for a low cost solution, although even if you used one of these cheaper boxes with true XLR inputs and preamps I feel you'd still get a far better quality even after having to upconvert to 48/24

I'm not sure what kind of plugs you're using but the XLR adapter I use from Juicedlink plugs right in. It does take a stereo plug.

So I assume these type of adapters take an unbalanced stereo signal and convert it to balanced mono, correct? That would be a great improvement

They allow you to use mics with balanced XLR connectors. Here's there site. I'm using the CX-231
Camcorder XLR Audio Adapter/Preamp: Buy Direct and Save

I just got it a few days ago. You can pan the mics or have one mic left and one right, there's a 3 position gain switch, and dual volume switches.


That was my one beef with the camcorder. The onboard mics are like all the other onboard mics you run into. They're bright and un-natural sounding.