Just got an HMC155 - everything works so it seems - But it has a weird humming noise to it. Sort of like an electrical buzzing that could also sound like a tiny hard disc at work.

The sound is not loud in any way but it can be heard approx. 10 feet away in a completely quit room is present whether auto focus is on or not - but the it does seem like the sound has to do with the auto focus since when set to auto the noise stops once focus is locked. With the noise is a slight fine vibration.

I love the camera pr. se - and I could live with the sound sound if this is normal for the camera - but if yours are silent or at least not emitting this humming buzzing sound then I want to return it asap.

Thank you so much for listening - to me...and hopefully your HMC,

cheers Tom

Hi Thomas

Just for interest my HMC72's also have a soft noise in a quiet location and being shoulder-mount your ear is close to the housing. I suspect it might be, if not a servo motor, then a fan. The smaller Panasonics used to fan cool the CCD chips as they work quiet hard so the HMC series just might have one. Both my cams have the noise and have never given me any issues so I just figure it's a servo motor or a fan. Is your noise still there on record standby?? and also is it only in record mode or also playback ??? I have only noticed mine while filming but then again I wouldn't have my ear so close during playback!!

Chris

Hi Chris - thanks for your feedback. Very good point about whether noise is heard in stby mode. Checked it and it is not...cam is dead silent. Noise is not soft lie a fan or smooth servo, but more like an electrical hum ?

Hi Thomas

Mine too!! It only makes the noise in record mode not standby but I'm sure it's normal and something has to run during record that turns off in standby. Mine is very quiet..I can only hear the noise if my ear is right up against the cam body... if you are a few inches away it's inaudible!!!

I guess you could turn it into a positive and say that if you hear the noise at least you know you are recording..same as tape drive cameras where you can hear the tape transport running??

It would still be nice to know what is running and what the noise is???

Chris

Sony's OIS (especially the VAP variety as used on the PD170) is pretty noisy when you hold the camera up to your ear. Could it be that on the Panasonic?

Hi Tom

My OIS on both cameras has been turned off since the day I got them so those servos shouldn't be operating at all!!!

I'm sure someone will come to light with the reason for the noise!!

Chris

Chris,

I think I may be experiencing the same thing; I have the cause pinned down. The noise I get comes from the auto focus (when in rare situations I may use it). Shoot in a quiet room with some headphones attached. If you have an external mic, even the mic should pick up the noise. The noise seems loudest at the front of the camera, right near the lens. Zoom in all the way and give it some objects to focus on in several different locations. As the camera works to focus, you should hear a pretty audible noise/electrical feedback. Is this what you experience?

What have you done since discovering your noise?

Hi Thomas

Absolutely nothing...I can only hear the auto-focus motor when my ear is pressed up against the casing and it's a lot less noisy than say, a tape drive on an older camera. If you can still hear the motor at 10' away then you definately have a noisy focus motor. For me it's certainly not an issue and even switching both XLR channels off so the internal mic is on, the audio tracks have no recorded noise. I actually use Rode's on the camera cold shoe via XLR so I never even use the internal mic!!

If you built-in mic can pickup the focus motor noise then you probably need to let Panasonic look at it..It just might be a noisy motor or a mounting issue on the motor. I see that no-one else is reporting noise so I guess that everyone's camera is a lot quieter than yours??

If it worries you, send it in under warranty

Chris