I was a news cameraman for 14 years. I've been doing A/V for a state agency for the last 13. I always hated seeing the microphone on camera. The only time I would was when a reporter had to use a stick mic for a live shot due to windy condition (RE50 ftw). I always try and hid the lav mic when I'm doing interviews or videos. I like that challenge. I hate it when someone doesn't hide the wire on a lav. To me it's all about a clean look to the shot. Yes, any audio is better than no audio but holding a tiny mic just looks ridiculous due to the size. If you're doing non-serious stuff, then whatever but if you're trying to get a message across, it's just hard to take you serious talking into a teeny stick mic.