Sony ECM-680S Stereo/Mono Shotgun Microphone
 

Has anyone had any experience with this microphone?

In particular, how does it compare with the Sennheiser MKH418S microphone?

I'm looking for something which will operate as a normal shotgun microphone but also be capable of recording good quality ambient sound when required.

Hopefully in stereo mode it's not overly directional and can therefore act as a high-quality replacement for the internal microphones.

If you can afford it the Sanken CMS-10 is worth considering. I've had great results from it with stage productions in stereo. Can't vouch for how it performs in mono as I borrowed the mic just for the show. Still Sanken did make it as an on camera mic so it's well suited to on camera duty. Also the phased array mics seem to work as well in small rooms as in the open.

If my budget would allow it that's what I'd go for, but at around three times the cost of the Sony I'm afraid it's not an option at the moment.

I got the Rode NTG-1 shotgun recently after it was recommended to me by Dean harrington here at DVinfo. $180 and it works really well. google some reviews. Cant go wrong.

I was particularly looking for something that would give me stereo as well as mono though.

You could look at the Edirol CS-50 - unexpensive short and lightweigth shotgun. It has two stereo modes:
-wide, which is really spatial
-focus, which is almost mono and exceptionally directional.

The Audio Technica AT835ST works perfectly on the EX1 and gives mono shotgun and stereo in one mic. They were used in the Sydney olympics extensively by networks for ENG - so they are good mics.

I have a lot of mics including the Senn 416, several Rodes (including NTG1 and NT3), and have used the Sanken CS1. The AT835ST is still one of my favourite mics due to its versatility. I think that for your applications it is the best choice.

I'm using the ECM-680S. There's also a Sony Rebate if you get it within 30 days of buying the EX.

Nice stereo spread in that mode. Much better than internal mic. Nice side rejection when in mono mode. Don't forget you'll need the 5 pin to dual 3 pin adaptor. Mic isn't seen in the frame even when camera is full wide. Frequency response is also very good. Seems one needs to bring down the mic sensitivity on the camera a bit.

I've gone for the Sony 680S also.

At the price it seems to be very good value.

Sony 680S
 

I like Sony 680S because it reverts to a mono shotgun if you phantom power the left side only. I can still use the mic for nat sound if I am getting a direct feed on the other channel. Other stereo shotgun mics need both sides phantom powered to work at all. The sony 5 pin to 2 x 3 pin XLR cable is $$$. I made my own with right angle 3 pin XLRs to the camera with one pointing forward and the other to the rear. This keeps the cables in tight to the camera. The mic output is hotter than the built in mic. Consider a isolation mount. The mic sounds great!

B&H added another maker 5 to 3 XLR plugs, does this make any difference, say noise-wise, compared to the more expensive Sony connectors?