I been trying out some of my kit recently and dusted off my old AT822 and paired it up with a Zoom H2. No the best sounding chain of gear but I was struck by how good the AT822 sounds even considering the significant noise it produces when working with the H2 (I’m sure it wasn’t this noisy with a Hi-MD).
The H2 in-built mics are OK for Instamatic recording and the AT822 has good stereo field where the H2 mics do not at the expense of noise for which, in most urban and similar environments, is perceptibly lost thanks to my brain helping out. A plus side on the external mic is the low cut for windy situations and the fact that the mic units in their assemblies are much more tolerant to wind than the H2 in-builts.
So, as a workable set up for Instamatic sound recording, a little bulkier and a lot less stealthy but overall, worth the effort. I think that if Sony managed to get their act together on Hi-MD usability I’d still be using my units regularly and so would many others.