Hi, wondering if anyone else has problems with "motor" noise in the pmw 200 even when using an external mic, to be specific, I am using the ext. mic that comes with the FS-700. Its pretty bad.
thanks

You talking about zoom motor noise or something internal?

If you put a microphone next to a motor, your going to hear it. The PMW-200 zoom servo is very quiet, but like any noise if you stick a mic next to it you will pick it up, especially if the audio gain is on auto and there is no other sound to make the gain decrease to sensible level. Mic's on cameras are for the capture ambient sound and atmos. If you want to do any serious audio you really want to use an off-board mic, with any camera. Even on a full size $30K camera with a $10k broadcast zoom, you'll hear the zoom servo if the audio is on auto and your in a quiet environment.

A good thing to do if you're on Auto AGC audio leveling is to set the AGC to the lowest level, so it only compresses/limits really loud sounds.

Nice thing about the 200 is that you can have manual audio control with a separate limiter and you can choose the limiter level.

I figured out what it is, its the auto focus, its quite loud both with external mic and without. I'm aware of acceptable camera noise, but this is a quite loud "grinding" noise.

I was monitoring this thread, as my first PMW 200 auto focus, also was extremley loud. I could hear it from eight feet away. BandH had me send it back for replacement. The second PMW 200 was ok. Now I can hear the auto focus from only a few inches and it compares to my EX1. I never use auto focus, but the point is, that the first camera wasn't right.

My PMW200 AF Motor is as silent as my Canon L lenses.
And that's Silent with Capital S.

Sara

When I put my ear about 6 inches away from the PMW200 body in autofocus mode I am able to hear slight bits of what sound like electronic noise -- static, almost. I take it that is normal, correct?

I own Canon L glass, and the PMW200 is certainly not as quiet as that.

Autofocus? On a camera like the PMW200? WTF? Never, ever use autofocus on a camera like this.

Just how many times do we have to hear people macho up about not using autofocus?

Yes. We. Get. It. Because it's been said a million times before.

But for those of us that **sometimes** use it, or **sometimes** use Push-AF when it's needed (because fortunately the union I belong to doesn't prohibit it) -- just how quiet is the motor noise of the PMW-200 in AF supposed to be? I am trying to diagnose whether or not the unit I have is faulty.

And don't forget the IS.

[QUOTE=John M. Kim;1768815]Just how many times do we have to hear people macho up about not using autofocus?

Yes. We. Get. It. Because it's been said a million times before.

If manual focusing is macho, then I must be a supersissie, because I trust on autofocus all of the time. On my DSLR for still shots, that is. On any professional videocamera it's a pain in the neck, because of hunting, unwanted focus on the wrong subject, lack of control in general and... noise. So. I'll. Keep. Pointing. This. Out. Macho. Or. Not.

Hanging out the window of a Land Rover during golden hour on a road made for animals, I am certain I was being quite macho yet neither LCD nor VF could be used for focus or exposure. I was very glad for FULL AUTO on my EX1r. I got the shot nicely exposed and in focus.

I have to say, if you've shot fast moving verité using various focal lengths for several hours at a time several days at a time (like I did on a bicycle project not long ago) you WILL use Manual Focus Assist and you will, occasionally -- resort to autofocus.

It has its place, guys. End of story.

The issue is about the auto focus motor noise. My first PMW 200 auto focus could be heard from over eight feet away and that is the honest truth. I don't hardly ever use auto focus, but I had the camera replaced. The replacement was totally acceptable.