Hello Simon, isn't there some "lighter" variant of external microphone for handy camcoders? even if those provided by Sony are not compatible with my camcoder, maybe there are some third party manufacturers..
So conclusion is, that the only way how could I achieve better sound (without crackling) is to decrease sensitivity of mic, right? I am not technician but are there products with integrated small mics, which can handle even lauder sound? I guess, because of it's small size, there are missing some "features" thus I would like to ask you whether you know some products which have better mic and it's still handy camcoder 
Thank you for advice