Canon DM-100 Directional Stereo Microphone

Pricey But Worth It

Strengths: Provides superior audio to the internal mic. Selectable shotgun (mono), 90* and 120* pattern stereo modes. Eliminates wind noise. Lightweight.

Weaknesses: Typically high Canon list price.

Summary: Once you make peace with having to pay roughly one-quarter of the price of the HF100 just for this mic, you'll be very happy with the substantial improvement it provides over the Vixia's internal mic. It's just a shame Canon accessories are always so expensive.

The 90* and 120* patterns readily pick up ambience, producing a nice stereo soundstage with substantial depth. The shotgun mode, on the other hand, proves quite handy at focusing on your subjects' conversation in very noisy environments.

The mic also has better dynamic range, yielding a more natural sound, which is especially evident in the less-constricted bass response. Acoustic music in particular comes across with more life-like presence.

While the wind screen gets its share of comments -- it looks like a squirrel's tail -- it totally handles wind and it's acoustically transparent. I recorded an outdoor scene while we were being hit with 60+ MPH wind gusts, and the mic faithfully captured the sounds of wind through the trees without adding any of its own coloration.

While it may take some time to adjust to the furball sitting on top of my Vixia, ergonomically, the mic is all but undetectable. It's so light that it doesn't make the camcorder feel any different in my hand.

Overall, I would rate this mic's performance as superb. But I'm subtracting a rating star for the price!

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A must for good video recordings

Strengths: Good range, excellent stereo ability

Weaknesses: longer than the camera itself (but really that's the camera's fault for being so small)

Summary: I bought one of these with a new Canon HF100 HD camcorder primarily because the camera was to be used at my outdoor wedding. The mic did a great job of picking up the ceremony in shotgun mode and my cameraman was about halfway back in the audience.

I've also gotten cool shots of birds and the honeybees on my peach tree picking at the old peaches. The mic was able to pick up the buzzing bees while the video was zoomed in from 10-15 feet back.

The mic also does a great job of picking up stereo differentiation when switched to 90 or 120 degree mode. Obviously you need headphones plugged in to hear what you're filming, and closed-back 'phones work the best.

The included wind shield looks like a conspicuous, giant rabbit's foot, but works like a charm.

All in all, an essential accessory for such a reasonably priced ($650) HD cam as the HF100.

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