A few quick questions on the XM2/GL2 at DVinfo.net

Paul Gallagher · November 7th, 2005, 10:40 AM

Hi all,

I have just bought an XM2 and I want to use it as my second camera as I already use an XL1s.

There is a loud whirring noise from the camera when a tape is in it, this is also very noticeable on play back, is this a common problem with them?
If yes what external microphone do you all find works best at keeping this noise to a minimum?

Also the 16:9 modes puts out some pretty good results, do many of you use it in this mode all of the time?

Any help would be great as this is a fantastic camera with first class picture quality, this camera has just as good picture as my XL1s.

Many thanks
Paul

Nathaniel McInnes · November 7th, 2005, 12:50 PM

No this isn't normal

Brendan Marnell · November 7th, 2005, 12:56 PM

I agree with Nat. I can hardly hear tape sound from XM2 except when on rewind. I use/re-use Canon DVM-E60 tapes, no problem. My sound settings are at default I think. Tell us more Paul.
Brendan

Paul Gallagher · November 8th, 2005, 04:08 AM

This is really worrying news, honestly when the tape is in the camera in either cam or vcr mode the whirring is as loud as if it was rewinding in my XL1s and I have a wee 1 chip sony I use for putting footage onto my pc and it is so much quieter as well.

On the XL1s if the tape gets noisy like this the heads need re-aligned or replaced. The camera is about 9 months old and the person I bought it of has done about 40 weddings with it as his main camera from new. The camera has been well cared for and has not as much as a scratch on it. I thought that a good external mic might cure this problem, do you have to buy an external mic with onboard power or can they be powered from the camera, I don't like the thought of having to worry about more batteries in the microphone as well.

What do you all use?

Alan Craven · November 8th, 2005, 05:56 AM

A Sennheiser MKE300D is a small step up from the on-board mike. It is mono, directional and is powered by a small mercury cell, which lasts a long time. The mike has a hot shoe fitting, but I find that it picks up motor noise when used directly on the camera. I normally use the mike mounted in a Beyer EA96 mount, using a short length of 20mm conduit made to be a tight fit on the rear of the Mike.

A far better solution is the Sennheiser K6/ME66 (or any other capsule in the range) and a Rycote softy. These come either self-powered or phantom powered - the XM2 has no means of powering a mike.

David Ennis · November 9th, 2005, 04:46 PM

I'd send it in for service, on the notion that a noisy transport may be close to failure. In the US, the cost would be about $250-300. Then you would have virtually a new camera--the electronics age hardly at all.

Any good, sensitive mic mounted on the camera is going to pick up the nearby noise. That's what mics do.

Paul Gallagher · November 15th, 2005, 12:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alan Craven

A Sennheiser MKE300D is a small step up from the on-board mike. It is mono, directional and is powered by a small mercury cell, which lasts a long time. The mike has a hot shoe fitting, but I find that it picks up motor noise when used directly on the camera. I normally use the mike mounted in a Beyer EA96 mount, using a short length of 20mm conduit made to be a tight fit on the rear of the Mike.

A far better solution is the Sennheiser K6/ME66 (or any other capsule in the range) and a Rycote softy. These come either self-powered or phantom powered - the XM2 has no means of powering a mike.

Thanks Alan,

I'l go down the route of the MKE300D with the adaptor. I'm not sure what the adpator and conduit set up looks like, could you send me a picture of it please to locktightalarms@hotmail.com.

Thanks to everyone for their help and I will have to send the camera in for a service as the playback noise is getting worse.

Paul

David Ennis · November 15th, 2005, 04:23 PM

A significant step up from the MKE300 is the Rode VideoMic, and it also costs less. It comes with with a built in shockmount and it will apply mono sound to both channels without an adapter, unlike the MKE300. If you listen to online samples, the Rode even sounds better than the ME66. It does use a 9V battery, but that's a small penalty in an outstanding mic for $150.

Paul Gallagher · November 16th, 2005, 05:40 AM

Fred does the mono mean it only records audio on one channel and the Stereo records on both like the on board mic.

This is bound to reduce the sound quality, I might look into the Rhode model, what site have you heard the sample sounds on?

Paul

Paul Gallagher · November 17th, 2005, 04:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fred Retread

A significant step up from the MKE300 is the Rode VideoMic, and it also costs less. It comes with with a built in shockmount and it will apply mono sound to both channels without an adapter, unlike the MKE300. If you listen to online samples, the Rode even sounds better than the ME66. It does use a 9V battery, but that's a small penalty in an outstanding mic for $150.

I have done some reading on the Rode mic and it also has an led to show you when the battery is getting low and Rode says it will give you 100 hours use with the standard 9V battery and as you said Fred its half the price. Is this the model you use on your own camera and if yes whay type of wid shield did you get for it?

Paul

November 7th, 2005, 10:40 AM	#1
Paul Gallagher Major Player Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Omagh Posts: 306	A few quick questions on the XM2/GL2 Hi all, I have just bought an XM2 and I want to use it as my second camera as I already use an XL1s. There is a loud whirring noise from the camera when a tape is in it, this is also very noticeable on play back, is this a common problem with them? If yes what external microphone do you all find works best at keeping this noise to a minimum? Also the 16:9 modes puts out some pretty good results, do many of you use it in this mode all of the time? Any help would be great as this is a fantastic camera with first class picture quality, this camera has just as good picture as my XL1s. Many thanks Paul

November 9th, 2005, 04:46 PM	#6
David Ennis Fred Retread Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Hartford, CT Posts: 1,227	I'd send it in for service, on the notion that a noisy transport may be close to failure. In the US, the cost would be about $250-300. Then you would have virtually a new camera--the electronics age hardly at all. Any good, sensitive mic mounted on the camera is going to pick up the nearby noise. That's what mics do. __________________ "Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence..." - Calvin Coolidge "My brain is wired to want to know how other things are wired." - Me

November 15th, 2005, 04:23 PM	#8
David Ennis Fred Retread Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Hartford, CT Posts: 1,227	A significant step up from the MKE300 is the Rode VideoMic, and it also costs less. It comes with with a built in shockmount and it will apply mono sound to both channels without an adapter, unlike the MKE300. If you listen to online samples, the Rode even sounds better than the ME66. It does use a 9V battery, but that's a small penalty in an outstanding mic for $150. __________________ "Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence..." - Calvin Coolidge "My brain is wired to want to know how other things are wired." - Me

November 7th, 2005, 12:50 PM	#2
Nathaniel McInnes Regular Crew Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Taffs well, Wales Posts: 190	No this isn't normal

November 7th, 2005, 12:56 PM	#3
Brendan Marnell Major Player Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Dublin, Ireland Posts: 938	I agree with Nat. I can hardly hear tape sound from XM2 except when on rewind. I use/re-use Canon DVM-E60 tapes, no problem. My sound settings are at default I think. Tell us more Paul. Brendan

November 8th, 2005, 04:08 AM	#4
Paul Gallagher Major Player Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Omagh Posts: 306	This is really worrying news, honestly when the tape is in the camera in either cam or vcr mode the whirring is as loud as if it was rewinding in my XL1s and I have a wee 1 chip sony I use for putting footage onto my pc and it is so much quieter as well. On the XL1s if the tape gets noisy like this the heads need re-aligned or replaced. The camera is about 9 months old and the person I bought it of has done about 40 weddings with it as his main camera from new. The camera has been well cared for and has not as much as a scratch on it. I thought that a good external mic might cure this problem, do you have to buy an external mic with onboard power or can they be powered from the camera, I don't like the thought of having to worry about more batteries in the microphone as well. What do you all use?

November 8th, 2005, 05:56 AM	#5
Alan Craven Major Player Join Date: May 2003 Location: York, England Posts: 518	A Sennheiser MKE300D is a small step up from the on-board mike. It is mono, directional and is powered by a small mercury cell, which lasts a long time. The mike has a hot shoe fitting, but I find that it picks up motor noise when used directly on the camera. I normally use the mike mounted in a Beyer EA96 mount, using a short length of 20mm conduit made to be a tight fit on the rear of the Mike. A far better solution is the Sennheiser K6/ME66 (or any other capsule in the range) and a Rycote softy. These come either self-powered or phantom powered - the XM2 has no means of powering a mike.

November 16th, 2005, 05:40 AM	#9
Paul Gallagher Major Player Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Omagh Posts: 306	Fred does the mono mean it only records audio on one channel and the Stereo records on both like the on board mic. This is bound to reduce the sound quality, I might look into the Rhode model, what site have you heard the sample sounds on? Paul