Hi,

I just received my new PD170 yesterday. Wow am I ever impressed.

One thing I can't figure out - when I play back a brief clip I shot, I can't hear anything. It might be no sound recorded or it might be that I'm not doing something right to hear it in play back mode.

I'm using regular DV tapes and have adjusted the camera to use those instead of DVCAM.

The mic that came with the camera is plugged into Input 1.

The settings for the mic are set as follows:

Input 1:
Record channel select: Ch 1
Input Level: Mic
+48V: off

Input 2:
Input level: Line (since I have nothing plugged into input 2 this shouldn't matter, right?)
+48V: Off

To record the video, I turned on the power switch to Camera and pressed the record start/stop button.

I can't wait to get this figured out.

Kenrick

You should have the phantom voltage (48v) switched to "on" if your using the suppled mic.....

I've tried that too, and I still hear nothing on playback.

Any other ideas?

Is the volume turned up on the 170's speaker (use the little buttons on the flip-out screen)?
Did you tape with the 48v switch set to on?
Were you physically close with the camera to what you taped and was the noise loud? It's possible the sound just wasn't loud enough for the on-cam mic to pick it up.
Doublecheck that you don't have the mic plugged into input 2 by mistake, and that the connection is firm.
Hope this helps.

Hi Allen,

Ok, looks like the switch was not fully on for the 48V setting.

I tried it again talking from behind the camera and it was not very loud. Trying it from in front of the camera sounded relatively normal.

Is there a better mic you or anyone out there would recommend?

It is not a great microphone but like many units preferred for camera use, it is a directional microphone so it should be louder for sounds in front of the microphone and much fainter for those in back.

There are much better microphones and you should expect to pay up to $400 for great products. Much more for really excellent products.

Thanks - could you point me to some good examples of what you are referring to?

For general audio recording, I really like the Audio Technica AT-825 stereo microphone for use with the PD-150/170.

http://www.audiotechnica.com/prodpro/profiles/AT825.html

John

I prefer the Shure SM81 for general use. I also use an AT835B shotgun but I like the 81 better for most situations.

I tend to buy middle-of-the-road microphones but one each for every purpose. So I have a reasonable collection of microphones, none world-beaters but more than good enough for commercial video work.

As mono mics go, the Shure SM-81 is a most excellent choice. I suggested the AT-825 because it's stereo, but if you need mono, the two elements are very well matched and you can just mix the two channels and it doesn't get wierd due to phase shift. Of course, like you said, it is good to have a variety of mics for different purposes.

John