On Sun, 20 Apr 2003 04:01:13 GMT, Doug Mikkelson
<INSERTMYLASTNAMEHERE@att.net> wrote:
>A lengthy sound question.
>
>After lurking here for awhile, I just purchased a Sony
TRV-18 from
>Wolf. I'm quite
happy with the video we've produced so far.
>
>However, when playing our tapes today, I noticed a very
faint, but
>annoying whirring noise on the playback audio. It was so faint, that
>my wife did not notice it - but now that I've noticed
it, it is
>driving me crazy!
>
>I sat down with the camera and determined that what I am
hearing is
>the servo motor for the auto-focus. I can hear it faintly from the
>front of the camera (where the built-in mic is). When I turn on the
>manual focus mode, the noise stops immediately.
>
>It surprises me that the camera is adjusting the focus
so frequently.
>Even when mounted to a tripod, simply having our baby
move her arm in
>the shot was enough to set off the auto-focus for a
second. When the
>baby wiggles and kicks, it is adjusting itself almost
constantly.
>Typical???
Yes. If you use a WA (at WA...), though, you can often
leave the AF locked without focus loss, even with some
camera motion...
>One temporary solution will be for me to allow the
camera to
>auto-focus, then change the setting to manual. As long as I don't use
>the zoom or attempt to pan, etc. this should be fine.
Yes.
>However, for a long term solution, I would like to get a
camera
>mounted mic. - preferably one that is compatible with
the Sony hot
>shoe. I am
hoping that a separate mic would definitely *NOT* pick up
>this faint whir.
True?
>Any and all recommendations appreciated.
The Sony 908c works well, and improves the stereo
omni-directional sound some over the camcorder's mic,
but it adds considerably to the size of the camera...
>I see in another thread, David Ruether has
recommended the Sennheiser
>MKE-300 "for cheaps". B&H carries this one for $169. Is this
>complete overkill for the TRV-18 and beginner family
shots - or should
>I consider it a decent intro-level investment?
It is mono and directional (maybe OK?) and it is also
large compared with the camera (both the 908c and
MKE-300 are light, though, and both require plugging
a cord into the mic input (and remembering to turn
them on/off...). Sony makes a hot-shoe connecting
mic, but I have not tried it (see Sony mics at
www.bhphotovideo.com).
>Is the el-cheapo Sony ECM-HS1 Gun Zoom Mic ($55) even
worth
>considering for this particular problem? I don't want to cheap out
>and end up completely frustrated.
It "zooms" with the lens, which would annoy me
with
the shifting audio character - and at the "WA"
end,
it is essentially the built-in camera mic, which is
mixed out progressively as the lens is zoomed in
favor of the HS1 mono shotgun mic (in other words,
there is no gain at the zoom WA - the sound will
be similar to what you have...).
>Regarding the two hours of film I've already shot - any
suggestions on
>filtering out that noise in post-production on my
PC?
Cool Edit (www.syntrillium.com) works well for
steady noises, but would probably not work well
for this. I would try the 908c...
>Thanks all. This
forum has been extremely helpful!