VIXIA HF R800, external mic not working

[YSG]

Hi everyone

I have a HF R800 mainly to record lectures, I also have a regular external mic,

when i plug in the mic, it stops to record audio, if I unplug the mic then the machine does record audio

also the mic works on other machines

please advise

Thank you

[dpdeghi]

Thanks for that!

Question: How are you mounting this microphone on your camera or mic stand, since the mic looks like it comes with a "hotshoe" mount?

[Fruguy101]

I use a cold shoe bracket to hold the mic and camera on my shoulder rig at the same time.

[eddie1261]

Fruguy101 You use a cold shoe bracket mounted where and how? On this tiny camera?

[brclarke]

I have found that the TRRS plug is for phones and tablets that allow you to use a non-powered mic in the headphone jack. That won't work for this camera. You need the TRS plug - but the mic has to have its own power supply. The Canon documentation is kind of misleading (by omission); There are 1000's more non-powered 3.5mm mic's out there than there are powered mics. As a minimum, you would need something like this: CVM-V30-PRO- powered Microphone-Super-Cardioid Directional mic (Find on Amazon). This was about $59. I didn't take the time to find one cheaper, but you probably can. Just make sure it is TRS or has a TRRS to TRS adapter AND that it is powered.

[EastKyFF]

I have a Bluetooth wireless mic that I used on my HF R700 with no problems. Then I ordered a lapel mic and connected it first to the Bluetooth mic and then to the jack in the camcorder itself. Now NEITHER external mic works. Like most of you, the only reply I got from Canon (on another thread) was basically "Gee whiz, it should work."

Without the external mic, this camcorder isn't useful to me. I will probably have to buy a new one, and it will definitely NOT be a Canon.

[brclarke]

Connecting a “lapel mic to a Bluetooth mic” doesn’t make sense to me, but most times the external mic does not work because it is not a powered mic. Most likely your camera is fine, but you need a mic with phantom power. I am assuming that your Bluetooth mic sends to a receiver that has a line out that you are connecting to the R800; if so check the batteries or power supply on the receiver. Lots of lapel mics will not talk to Bluetooth or to the R800 because they are not powered. Just trying to help, but may not understand the question.

[EastKyFF]

Thanks for your thoughts. The Bluetooth mic has a transmitting mic with a receiver. I clip the mic on my lapel and connect the receiver to the external mic jack on the camera. It worked great, but the mic was sort of big and clunky and didn't look that great so I bought the lapel mic thinking I would wear the transmitter out of sight with the lapel mic plugged into it. First time I tried it, the camera's external mic jack quit working, so I ditched the lapel and tried to go back to what I had used before, but now it won't work either.

[brclarke]

I am assuming that you are simply recording to an SD card and not out via an HDMI cable to streaming software. If so, do you have the recording level meter onscreen? Is there a possibility that you have reduced the mic volume level in Settings to zilch? Is the input volume set to A or M? Does the camera's internal mic levels work? Plugging in external mic is automatic. Assuming all settings are correct, and you connect a mic that has been verified to work in your computer or other device, and you internal mic is working, then it could be that the mic jack is not being enabled when you plug in. Other than that, I don't think there is anything else you can do.

[BreaMark]

Without offending . . . your answer is way too tecky.  I'm just a simple guy trying to get my Canon product to work.   I too have returned a Vixia HF R800 camcorder because I thought the device was broken.  My previous Kodak camcorder DID work with an external microphone that wasn't powered.  So I still sit here not getting a simple honest answer to how to make the external MIC port work.  

I would like to run a mic cord to the front of the meeting room, or get a remote mic, but I'd prefer not having to try over and over again.

I did find that a TRRS headset for my Galaxy phone worked on it.  So my next test is a TRRS to TRS male by female adapter.

[BreaMark]

I found a very reasonable Wireless Lavalier MIC set that seems to work very well.  I don't know if this allows me to post URL's so I'll paste the description on Amazon.

Wireless Camere Lavalier Microphone Filmmaker Kit, EACHSHOT COMICA CVM-WM100 Professional UHF 48 Channels 100m Distance Omni-directional Mic for Canon Nikon Panasonic Sony, Camcorder ,Smartphone.

I was even able to plug the wired microphone that would not work on the Canon camera into the transmitter and it also worked and sounded great.  It does take 2 double "A" batteries in both the receiver and transmitter and I don't know how long they will last, but they can be switched out very quickly.

Best of luck.