What Accessories To Get

[David Zeno]

You should check out this thread :
http://hv20.com/showthread.php?t=88

the 2nd poster says the Rode mic may interfere with the film talking of the HV20. I don't have this mic, and will prob never buy an exernal one, but you should make sure this mic works with the HV20 before you buy one.

Somebody also says this mic picks up the motor noise from the camera ( scroll down that thread to see that person's post )

I will order him a Rode mic when I have a full list of stuff

[Erik Bien]

I can confirm that the (mono) RODE videomic with dead cat doesn't intrude into the picture, even with the Canon wide-angle adapter attached (see for yourself). There is some handling noise and "creaking" from the rubber O-rings of the suspension mount (I was running and gunning through cow pastures and overgrown abandoned cemeteries, so consider this a "worst case scenario"). I haven't yet noticed any motor noise from this combination (but I haven't tried to record anything really quiet in a really quiet location either, when you'd most expect to hear it).

Filters, wide-angle adapters, any extra layer of glass between the subject and the sensor will degrade the image: the only questions are "in what way?" and "how much?" Really crummy WA adapters will bend horizontal lines into arcs, be incapable of sharp focus at the edges of the frame and exhibit chromatic aberration (little "halos" or "fringes" of incorrect color around areas of contrast, especially near the edges of the frame). Good wide-angles do all these things too, just to a much lesser degree.

Don't worry if you don't get every accessory at once: I bet I'm not the only person here who owns a lot more gear than he actually uses!

For instance at some point, you will probably want a tripod, but exactly which model will depend somewhat on your intended uses -- something you wouldn't mind dragging to your kid's dance recital might be unthinkable on your once-in-a-lifetime vacation climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro!

[Eric C]

Just had to say that this is a great thread! It helps me out too with what to buy. Keep up the good work guys!

[unluckytoe]

Dear David:

I think I'm going to go with the Rode Stereo Mic and am looking at a dead cat for it now, as I have not heard anything negative about it. When my husband becomes a "Pro" than I would like for him to upgrade to a better HD camera and this one can become mine

Dear Erik:

I can totally understand what you are saying in regards to WA adaptors as I have spent many more hours reading on this site, dvinfo, and many others just trying to get a feel for what everyone is saying. So here's what I'm going to do. I think I will stick with the Raynox 52mm WA, if it doesn't work out for him in regards of picture quality, than I'll inform him that the Canon should be where he goes next based on all of the research and our conversations.

Since I'm still learning and I really want him to have the good stuff, I'm going to order his stuff tomorrow (Monday) and I'll order everything over night or priority. B and H has some of the items on back order so I will have to look elsewhere.

I still need a dead cat, bigger bag (probably going to go to Frys for the bag) and a hot shoe adapter to connect the mic and a light that I'll be getting him.

Thank you guys and gals so very much:

Jenn

[lthj75]

Dear David:

I still need a dead cat, bigger bag (probably going to go to Frys for the bag) and a hot shoe adapter to connect the mic and a light that I'll be getting him.

What light are you getting him?

[unluckytoe]

Dear Ithj75:

I'm not exactly sure which light yet as I have not seen a lot of talk on the light issue as of yet. I'm going to continue on that subject however if all else fails, I will get him the Canon light and he can figure it out if that will work for him or not. I don't know if he'll us it that much.

I'll let you know what I find, or, if you know of a good light, let me know, I'm always open to suggestions.

Thank you so much,

Jenn

[Ivan Fuentes]

I hope I'm not late!!! I don't know why I didn't see this thread before, but anyway...

I really think that, for church, you need a mic which is as unidirectional as possible, so you can mostly catch sound directly from it's source, and avoid as much as possible all of the reverb coming from all the walls. Reverb is a HUGE issue in church.

[Erik Bien]

I'll second what Ivan said; in general, a lousy mic placed close to the speaker will sound better than an expensive one farther away, but sometimes it just isn't practical to wire everyone up with a "tie-clip" lavalier mic.

Others might disagree, but in my opinion a very directional shotgun mic, such as the (mono) RODE VideoMic, is generally more useful than a stereo mic with a broader pickup pattern. I rarely find myself wishing for more "ambience" in my soundtracks; normally I want whatever the camera's pointed at to come through loud and clear, with as little extraneous noise as possible. This is why dialogue is nearly always recorded with mono microphones.

Regarding a light: I have the tiny Canon VL-3 which draws power from the camera's "smart accessory shoe"; it's not bright enough for anything but close-ups, but being as small as a pair of dice and requiring no batteries at least it's easy to pack! Most of the time, though, I'd rather have a mic mounted to the accessory shoe and, if more light is needed, I'd rather use something off camera to avoid the "deer in headlights news interview" look most camera-mounted lights give.

[unluckytoe]

Dear Ivan and Erik:

Thank you so much for that information. I'm very glad that you told me the differences between mono and stereo.

I will go with the Rode mono mic instead since that should suit him better. Do you know which dead cat I can get from B and H?

Would you recommend the mic on the shoe, or should I get him a bracket? And if so, which would you recommend?

Thank you very much,

Jenn

[Erik Bien]

Jenn,

The RODE VideoMics (both mono and stereo) come equipped with shoe mounts, so either can attach directly to the camera. The HV20's motor is a bit loud, so mounting it to something like a flash bracket to get it further away from the camera noise is a popular option, which can also give you additional mounting points for lights (there are several pictures of various rigs of this sort in this thread). Also I believe in RODE's terminology the "Dead Cat" is for the mono VideoMic, the one for the stereo version they call a "Dead Kitten."

This may be an unpopular opinion (especially on a thread devoted to accessories!), but for casual shooting part of the HV20's appeal is its diminutive size; a wide-angle adapter and external microphone probably add enough utility to be worth their size and bulk for most people, but "pimping it out" to an extreme degree means you'll need a much larger camera bag and/or extra time to "build" the camera before shooting and "break it down" afterwards.

Aspiring filmmakers won't be too concerned about this issue (what's the big deal about a slightly larger camera bag if you're already schlepping a tripod, dolly, lights, etc. to your shoot), but it might be a big deal if you're back-packing across Borneo.

[Lunchbox]

There're lots of good info on this thread. I suggest making it a sticky and change the title to "What accessories to get for my HV20". Would you be alright with that Jenn?

[unluckytoe]

Dear Taky,

That would be fantastic! I'm almost complete with my list, but maybe others will see it and add their input, so I can gear up my husband with more stuff.

Thank you so very much Taky,

Jenn

BTW, would the Rode dead cat muff for ntg-1 and ngt-2 work on the Rode Mono mic? I'm having a hard time finding the correct one as I can only find this one on B and H. Thank you.

[Erik Bien]

Jenn,

Yes, the RODE Dead Cat is for the mono VideoMic as well as their NTG-1 and NTG-2 models.

[unluckytoe]

Dear Erik:

Thank you for the info and I added it to my list. I ordered about a week ago a Velbon Videomate 607 tripod, when I received it the box was damaged, I opened the box and the tripod was trashed. I was so mad! I called B and H and they told me to return it and I asked them if I could upgrade to the DV-7000 and they said it was cool! Great customer service.

From what I read, that tripod is good for the price range?

Thank you SO much,

Jenn

[Ivan Fuentes]

REAL glad I could help!

Only for knowledge purposes, not every mono mic is unidirectional... being stereo/mono doesn't necessarilly involves omnidirectional/unidirectional. But yes... the Rode Mono Mic is quite more directional. Precisely I have just ordered one from B&H (I wanted to buy one from Taky, but I didn't have the cash in that exact moment), for shooting some short films.

PS: Looking forward to know how it all went! Tell us when your husband gets his presents! Which date is it?

[unluckytoe]

Dear Ivan:

Thank you for the continued information! I'm still looking at anything else I can get him.

I'm looking very forward to his birthday as well. It's this Sunday 01/20! I'll give him my user name and password and I'll have him introduce himself to all you wonderful people.

Thank you for everything,

Jenn

[lthj75]

Folks here with mics.....are they necessary for regular home movies? I am awaiting for my HV20 to arrive.....is the motor sound that bad? Just trying to plan ahead.....thanks!

[Lunchbox]

Dear Ivan:

Thank you for the continued information! I'm still looking at anything else I can get him.

I'm looking very forward to his birthday as well. It's this Sunday 01/20! I'll give him my user name and password and I'll have him introduce himself to all you wonderful people.

Thank you for everything,

Jenn

That's a lucky bastard to have a wonderful sweet wife like you. You shouldn't be sharing the user ID/password with him. You should let him know about this site and have him registered as a member. So we can tell who is who. We definitely like you more so far

[nolonemo]

Folks here with mics.....are they necessary for regular home movies? I am awaiting for my HV20 to arrive.....is the motor sound that bad? Just trying to plan ahead.....thanks!

I think it's that bad, but (a) I was spoiled by the Panasonic GS500, a very quiet cam, and (b) I am going to work around the sound because the HV20's picture blows me away. It's a real pity, this is one area where Canon really fell down. Motor noise was a notorious problem with at least some Canon consumer cams (early ZR series) years ago, you think they would have paid attention. The Pannys and Sonys show that a camera doesn't have to be that noisy.

That said, you'll probably only noice the motor noise when taping indoors in quiet environments.

[lthj75]

Thanks nolonemo.....sucks this is a shortfall of the camera. I don't think the HV30 will fix the issue either since there are minimal changes. I wish there was an easy and affordable work around. The Rode mics and the like seem like such overkill for a home camcorder.

[unluckytoe]

Dear Taky:

You're so sweet! Ok, I'll tell him to create his own user name and password, you guys are the best

Thanks Much,

Jenn

[unluckytoe]

Dear Guys and Gals:

I found a link to the Cinetactics web site for a matte box. I've read some reviews on it but I can't decide. Should I get him the Cinetactics DV matte box or Cavision LH-77?

BTW, I'm ordering his stuff tomorrow !

Thanks Much,

Jenn

If I only knew how to do it, I would send all you guys and gals who helped me some Starbucks! I just love that place.

EDIT: I've been looking for a lens removal tool from B and H but I can't seem to find one. I've typed in the words "tool" and "lens" with no luck. Any suggestions? Thanks.

[Erik Bien]

Hi Jenn,

I've used the Cinetactics: it kind of "straps around" the Canon wide-angle adapter, or it can also mount to the camera using a couple of step-rings screwed together. It's light, durable, packs up small and offers good lens shading to protect against flares. There are also (optionally) a large "french flag" or "eyebrow" to offer even more shading as well as holders for Cokin-style square filters which velcro in -- never used the filter holders personally, but at least one user here found them difficult to use.

The Cavision is "just" a hood, i.e., there's no way to mount filters or a "french flag" to it like a "proper" matte box. Since you're going with screw-on filters, none of this really matters to you, and either should work fine.

I can't really say whether I prefer a "soft" or a "rigid" lens hood: each has good and bad points, and either will serve the purpose of keeping stray light off the lens.

I'm not really sure why you'd need or want a "lens removal tool"; maybe you're thinking of a filter wrench? It shouldn't be necessary unless your husband is like my friend who isn't sure something's "tight enough" until he's torqued it down with unreasonable force! Even then, spraying a bit of WD-40 on a Q-tip and wiping a tiny amount of it on the filter threads should keep anything from siezing.

[unluckytoe]

Dear Erik:

What would I do without you! The one word that I didn't use was "wrench".

Yeah, I saw that matte box (hood) and I thought it was great cause you can extend the cover and you can fold it up saving space.

Thoughout the stuff I read about it I didn't read of any disadvantages to the soft type. I guess I need to keep reading.

Heck, before you know it, I may know more than my husband! Now I need a camera.

Thank you for all your help,

Jenn

[betasx]

I'm not seeing a whole lot of emphasis on audio. Is your husband tied into the church system at all? Most church systems I've been to (I shoot weddings on the side of my real job) have some sort of mixer located towards the back or at least have a "pro" connection system under the podium.

What I'm getting at is this, if your husband wants to hook up to those professional grade cables he'll need an adapter. My girlfriend bought me this one http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc..._Dual_XLR.html after she saw me drooling over it one night.
I love her more now.

I don't know how important sound is for your husband or your church, just throwing that out there for your consideration.

BTW that adapter is for XLR inputs which pro-grade audio equipment uses. It takes the XLR input and converts it to that little mic jack on the side of your camera. It's a little more money than a radioshack special but you get better results.

Eric