J. Eric Chard wrote in message <679c64$349$3@usenet48.supernews.com>...

> What kind of amateur relies on the on-cam mic?

This one! ;-)
For much of what I'm interested in shooting, the VX-1000 mic
(wrapped in a few layers of air-conditioning filter material
to remove wind noise...) is excellent, producing a well-balanced
stereo sound field - and the camcorder size overall is kept
reasonable (for getting into those small places I like to poke
the camera on occasion...;-). Of course, for particular needs,
an *accessory* mic can be useful...;-) If someone made a really
good 3-chip *small* mini-DV camcorder with FireWire connector
and had sound as good as what the VX-1000 can do, I would buy
it and go with an even smaller rig... I am less interested in
increasing the effective size of the VX-1000 by adding a mic
unless there is a real need...
--
David Ruether
http://www.fcinet.com/ruether
ruether@fcinet.com