Canon 2591B002 DM-100 Directional Stereo Microphone for HF10 and HF100 Camcorders

Fantastic sound in a simple, compact, hotshoe design. Definitely a good buy and addition to the Canon Vixia HF10.

I wanted to like this product (of course I did, I bought the darned thing), but I just couldn't. Instead, I was compelled to return it.

Why did I return it? Because it, no matter the adjustment I made, was not worth the $150.00 I paid for it. I bought it with the hope that it would provide higher quality sound than the sound provided by my Canon HF-100's built-in microphone(s). It doesn't. I was also hoping that, by using it's "shotgun" setting, I could cut out extraneous sound and have only the sound from directly forward of the camcorder; ufortunately, this mic's shotgun mode doesn't do so well in this respect.

After returning this, I bought, through Amazon (good price) a "Rode Videomic" which cost about the same, but is a lot better mic. A heads-up for those considering the Rode Videomic: you have to buy a $30 Adorama 'cold shoe to hot shoe adapter' to have the Videomic fit on your Canon HF100 or HF10. Additionally, the Videomic is HUGE, compared to the HF100; it looks really strange sitting atop it. Oh, well. Such is the price I have to pay to get (affordable) shotgun mic sound.

I recently purchase the high definition Canon Vixia HF100 ...

Canon VIXIA HF100 Flash Memory High Definition Camcorder with 12x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom

I figured if I wanted better video, I needed better sound. I found this the best solution. It took away the air roar outside and when on the shot gun setting worked well when I recorded a recent Mac User Group speaker, yet still picking up the audience questions. It did not reach out to the pitcher mound where my grandson was standing, but afterall this is a consumer level microphone.

Highly suggested that if you are outdoors you use the furry windsock. Even the slightest breeze effects this more than the builtin mic. But the windsock is extremely effective. You may hear slight wind noise during a wind gust, but otherwise the audio probably would have been unusable.

My onboard mike on my new HD videocam easily makes a buffeting sound with the smallest amount of wind present. This option totally solves the problem 100% (with the wind guard on, of course).