I have a couple more questions. I've tried my Sennheiser ME66 (self-powered) with and without a line-matching transformer. I've also tried a RODE NT2 and NT3. Both self-powered but the RODE NT2 shotgun gives me such a low signal when powered that it's completely unusable. I thought maybe there was something wrong and it wasn't getting power. But I tried it on my friend's HVX200 without camera-supplied phantom power and it worked just fine. Must be some incompatibility with the H2. Strange that my ME 66 works fine though.
I've also tried a little Sony ECM-717. It's a little consumer mic powered by a watch battery.
http://reviews.cnet.com/microphones/sony-ecm-717/4507-6469_7-20038201.html?tag=navIt doesn't seem to matter much if the "plug-in" power is turned on or not. With the H2s plugin power turned on and the Sony turned off.. it's not really supplying the mic with anywhere near enough juice to get a decent signal. If the plugin power doesn't help with a little powered consumer mic.. what the heck is it for? And, even with it self-powered I have to have the H2's gain on HI and the level cranked up to about 125.
I also tried a little Sony ECM-DS70P
http://reviews.cnet.com/microphones/sony-ecm-ds70p/4505-6469_7-20648800.htmlThis mic is not self-powered and I get nothing from it unless I turn on the "plug-in" power. Even still, the signal is pretty weak and I have to have "plugin" power turned on.
I've also noticed that with any and all of these mics so far.. when recording and getting an acceptable level.. if ANYTHING jumps up a bit, I frequently get this sound like the mic has hit some "ceiling"? It just abruptly sort of gives you this jarring sound like you've just thumped the end of the mic. You can get a good recording if you're very careful and the source audio is fairly steady. However, the mics on the H2 seem to be MUCH more forgiving. If I get out of range, it just distorts a little. Never this jarring "thumped" sound. Do you know what's going on? Someone said I might be overloading the preamps.. but doesn't the external jack use the same pres as the onboard mics? If so, why would I ONLY have the problem with external mics?
It's appearing that not just any mic will work well as an external mic with the H2. I'm hoping that someone with access to many more mics dials in the perfect external mics to use, because my results have been all over the place.
Thoughts about what's going on? And or, a suggestion on the best all-around external mic to use with the H2? Best shotgun for dialogue to use with the H2? Best external mic for environmental ambient sounds?