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Camcorder’s mic picks up tape or fan?
So I just picked up an HV30, and was blown away by the video quality, but slipping on my headphones, I noticed a distinct whirring in the background. I checked google to see what it could be, and it seems like the mic is picking up the sound of the tape or a fan, I’m not sure which… In any case, I’m not sure how to fix this, and I haven’t found any solutions on google, either, so I was hoping someone here would know.
Well, it was suggested that I get an external mic and mount it off of the camera. But…that makes it rather cumbersome, and so I was really hoping for a less bulky solution.Thanks,
Robert Storm -
4 Replies
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[Robert Storm] “and so I was really hoping for a less bulky solution. “
You probably won’t find one. You need an external mic that is isolated from the tape drive noise and that means a good isolator that mounts on the hot shoe. Everyone that’s serious about their audio quality uses some form of isolator.
Something like this:
https://www.lightwavesystems.com/products/minimount/default.asp
Or this:
https://www.ktekbooms.com/products.php?id=83
There’s lots of different isolator kits around made by lots of different companies. A little searching should find something that works for you that’s not too cumbersome.
– Don
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Ah, ok, I was hoping someone a noise filter or something, haha. You don’t think that would work?
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Remember, mikes don’t zoom. Good sound requires getting the mic within 3 feet of the subject. So use the mic input with a corded or cordless mike. If you want complete run and gun mobility, capturing ambient sounds/atmosphere sounds, then isolating the on-board mike can help eliminate tape drive noise. Another way to go is mount your cam on a tripod. You can get a very lightweight one that will allow good mobility. Once on a tripod you have all sorts of places to mount accessories. If you don’t care about the ambient sounds you can just set your shots to music in post. Adding music to the on-board mic’s pick up might mask the tape noise. It really depends on what your recording. Audio is a lot harder than visual these days.
OSX 10.4.11; Quicksilver Dual 1 gig; G5 dual 2.5 gig; FCP 4.5, 3.0.4; Sony camcorder vx2000/pd170;Canon xl2; Pana consumer cams; write professionally for a variety of media;teach video production in L.A.
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Right on-
Well, we’re almost done shooting a project, and I’ve been using a tripod the whole way through (but no mounted microphone). I guess you can turn down the sensitivity of the mic, so I just turned it down until dead silence was reading -40db and then had the subjects project more.But I’ll definitely look into getting a wireless mic…or 4.. I guess I can’t get away with cheap ones here, eh?
There’s gotta be kind of a generally acknowledged list of reputable dealers- anywhere in particular that I should look for these?
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