I'm aware of the issue of zoom noise on the XL1s, which has come up a number of times on the forum. However, has anyone experienced noise - sounds very similar to the motor hum when zooming - audible on headphones when the camera is simply idling in Pause. Also audible when recording. Seems to happen only when there is a tape in the camera, and not when the tape compartment is empty.

Oddly enough, the noise is audible on phones, but doesn't seem to come out on the recorded tape. And it's only started recently......

I'm due to send the machine back for service shortly, but would be interested if anyone else has had this issue.

Using headphones can cause any noise picked up by the mic to sound louder because with typical headphones the sound is tightly coupled to your ears and ambient noise levels are reduced by the headphones. A proof of this is that you cannot hear the sound during normal playback where it is masked by ambient noise in the listening environment.

As has been noted in previouys posts, overtightening the on-board mic bracket screw can increase the mechanical coupling of vibration to the mic, which could be a source of the increased noise. Also, some tape brands/lots/cassettes might be louder than others, so try a different tape (maybe an older tape from before you noticed the noise level increase). If these do not address the issue, ask Canon to check it the next time you have the machine services.

If it is the 150 hertz hum like my XL1S gives off - it is motor noise. It is usually only a problem when shooting in very quiet environments or if you are compressing your audio in post. There are microphone isolaters that you can buy to minimize this problem. It is easy to remove the hum when editing, by using a band filter centred on 150 hertz. A parametric EQ adjusted to a narrow Q is best and least destructive to the rest of your audio.

Thanks both - sounds more like the motor hum to my unpractised ears, as I first noticed it on a recent shoot, very quiet and enclosed surroundings, using headphones which have pretty good isolation. So - ta. I'll ask Canon just to check it out on the service, but thanks for the response.