At the begining in quiet phases the on camera audio is truly awful – it seems to be tuned to pick up camera fan noise. External shotgun mike does the same. Even a separate shotgun mike on a tripod some distance away picks up the fan.
Now after 1 year can hear the noise of fan in different environments( church,conference in city hall.......) even if the settings of mic is auto or manual. I use always manual settings on 50% or less.
Is anyone else having the same problems with fan noise?
Every time i edit my video must to use noise canceling on audio track but in backgound still hear sound of fan
Camera has 200 hours function, firmware 2.08. I used many mic (sony ecm 673-674, audiotechnica, panasonic... but nothing good.

I have the same problem with the onboard mic, it's basically unusable. But I've never had a problem with hearing fan noise from the camera-mounted shotgun mic.

It's possible that there could be dust in the cooling system which is causing the fan to need to spin faster to maintain an adequate level of cooling.. It's a common problem with laptop computers.

Dust from the begining? Camera was new. The JVC salesman tell me al camcorders series HM600-650 has fan noise. Never i filmed in inadequate conditions.
Every day at my job i use Sony ex3, Sony ex1, Sony ex1r or PMW series (200) even Panasonic hpx171 but none of them have fan noise and all these camcordes are used in all kinds of environments even dust.
I don't even know what to say !!!

Dust was just a guess, don't take my word for it :)

Sorry Jody, it was more rhetorically !

Nothing is a known issue until there is a solution right? Had a client get two of these cameras to take on a safari and he returned both of them.

The same fan noise is the reason?

The on-camera mike is not very good in quiet environments, I would never use it except for back-up audio or audio reference. I always have better results from a directional mounted in the mike holder although in moderately loud conditions, a concert for example, the on-board mike is OK. Never noticed the camera fan on it although.

Problem is : the noise fan became so loud now that the external mic ( Sony, Panasonic, Rhode......) get the noise of fan very, very clear. Is not just "pushed air" is more like a" buzz". 2 weeks ago iI had the opportunity to see 2 JVC GY-HM 650 and compare with my HM600.. To hear the HM650 noise of fan must get near my ear.Is a big,big difference.
Now, wait a reply from JVC PRO Romania. 1 week ago i was at the JVC center, engineer there took a sample on his card and said he would send to JVC PRO Europe.There,they did not have in stock same camcorders series to see the difference.


Sorry for my english!

It certainly sounds like a software problem in the camera or a faulty heat sensor or an actual defect that's causing the camera to overheat. There might be a way to reset the camera to factory default. You should also check to see if your model has the most recent firmware. Good luck.

Hello David

Do I understand you correct when you say it's not (only) the sound of air forced thru heat sinks the microphones pick up?
But more of an electrical buzz, perhaps from some voltage control parts/pwm of the inner works of your HM600 unit?

If you connect an external shotgun microphone with a 30 foot cable and point it away from the JVC, can the buzzing noise still be heard when playing the recording on a computer or tv-system?


Problem is : the noise fan became so loud now that the external mic ( Sony, Panasonic, Rhode......) get the noise of fan very, very clear. Is not just "pushed air" is more like a" buzz". 2 weeks ago iI had the opportunity to see 2 JVC GY-HM 650 and compare with my HM600.. To hear the HM650 noise of fan must get near my ear.Is a big,big difference.
Now, wait a reply from JVC PRO Romania. 1 week ago i was at the JVC center, engineer there took a sample on his card and said he would send to JVC PRO Europe.There,they did not have in stock same camcorders series to see the difference.


Sorry for my english!

i don't know if is electrical buzz . External microphone take the noise from microphone holder even is extra isolated with rubber. Seems to be more like an defective fan or fan in contact with same interior part of cam. The noise still be heard on 2-3 meter step away from the camera and of course al noises is present on video recorded.
I tried to upload an example but i receive this:

"DV Info Net Message
Your submission could not be processed because a security token was missing.
If this occurred unexpectedly, please inform the administrator and describe the action you performed before you received this error."

Maybe JVC read this:
Monday i was at the JVC center, engineer there changed the fan of HM600 with new one.He made ​​several tests, before and after , but, there are still the same noise.He told me that is all he can do about the fan noise and there is no alternative.So, I'm stuck with a camcorder that I can't use in a quiet environments.
EX :Noise is disturbing persons around tripod with camera.The tripod is placed between seats(they are shooting conditions).
Seems to be all my jobs in a quiet environments is lost, as money, otherwise.

David - I guess the real question is, does your GY-HM600 behave different to others?

I have the same camera and I don't consider the fan noise to be a problem. I use a camera mounted NTG-1 shotgun microphone and can't say I've ever noticed fan noise on the recorded audio.

Does the fan run at high speed straight from cold switch on? It could be a problem with the temperature sensor (thinking the camera is too hot).

Do you have the audio gain on auto, so the sensitivity increases to max?

When you were at JVC did they have another 600 / 650 you could compare?

I think the first step is to determine if your camera is the same or different from others of the same model.