HV20 boom mic query

[LefkyTheShin]

Hi, I've looked tirelessly for an answer that comes close to answering this, but to no avail.
I have a Canon HV20 and purchased an Audio-Technica ATR55 Shotgun Mic and was looking to use it as a boom mic. Unfortunetly, the mic has a permenantly attached 3' cable with a 3.5 mm output plug as opposed to an XLR; the HV20, as you know, has a 3.5 mm input jack. It seems my only option is to get a male/female headphone extension cable, which, from what I've read, will most likely cause interference/noise. Could I possibly get decent or half decent results with this or is there a better solution given said equipment?

Thanks in advance for any helpful suggestions.

[Square Bob]

It has been my experience that as long as you use a high quality 3.5mm cable under 12' in length the signal degradation is minimal.The problem is that a long cable will result in loss of high frequency signal due to the capacitance of the cable which forms a low-pass filter with the microphone output impedance. Also hum and radio frequency interference (RFI) become more problematic with longer runs. It's up to you how much signal degradation you are willing to live with; if you want pristine audio from a boom mic you will have to invest in a low impedance condenser mic and an adapter with phantom power.

[LefkyTheShin]

Thanks for the quick reply. Could you recommend a low impedance mic and adapter with phantom power?

[Bif]

As a practical matter I routinely use a 16' shielded mini stereo extension cable from Radio Shack with the Rode SVM and have encountered no problems. I do observe precautions such as keeping the cable away from AC cords, use the camera on battery, etc.

If there is a degradation in signal quality it is slight enough I've never noticed it.

So far the 16' length has been long enough for me to suspend the mic above actors on a boom attached to a 13' light stand and get the mic to within about 2-3 feet from the talent.

The Audio-Technica ATR55 you have appears to be a mono mic and will likely put your signal on the left channel only. A mono to stereo adapter (again from Radio Shack) will put the mic output on both channels. I also recommend a mini-stereo right angle adapter at the mic input on the camera to keep weight and strain of plug and cable from putting undue stress on the mic jack on the camera.

Another mic you might consider is the Azden SMX-10. Priced under $80 at amazon.com this one is stereo and playing around with the one my son has, the sound is almost as good as my Rode SVM! Check it out here and read users reviews.

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Azden-High-performance-SMX-10-Condenser-Microphone/dp/B000GE403I/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1248577468&sr=8-1"]Amazon.com: Azden High-performance(SMX-10) Stereo Condenser Microphone: Musical Instruments[/ame]

[CorbenT]

Maybe if you purchased two 10 feet gold plated leads, you could wire them together in parallel so that there is half the resistance and that may reduce the interferrence.

[RERozak]

XLR balanced lines are inherently much less susceptible to picking up noise and interference than unbalanced lines:
http://www.juicedlink.com/index_file...d_balanced.htm

Aside from the ATR55 being unbalanced and more susceptible to noise/interference, it is relatively a very noisy mic to begin with:
http://www.juicedlink.com/index_file...897_AT4073.htm

This is the shotgun mic that I use:
http://www.juicedlink.com/index_file..._camcorder.htm

Along with the juicedLink that I designed:
http://www.juicedlink.com/index_file...xers_CX231.htm

Sounds beautiful ...


-R