XH-A1 and Audio Technica AT875R at DVinfo.net

Andy Loos · May 10th, 2009, 10:58 AM

I am hoping someone can help me out with this one. I really like this mic, but when I have it connected up to my A1 I get a hum when I zoom, anyway to fix this? besides doing a boom stick. Hoping you all might have an idea for me to try.
thanks.

Allan Black · May 10th, 2009, 03:50 PM

Andy is it an acoustic or an electrically induced hum? Can't imagine it's acoustic so make sure your mic cable is earthed properly by checking pin 1 at both ends of it.

Cheers.

Brian David Melnyk · May 11th, 2009, 01:28 AM

i use this mic also, and get hum. i have it in a shockmount which is further isolated by a foam wrapped tube seated in the mic holder-and i still get hum that only disappears when i take the mic off camera. i think that this is just the reality, and not just with the AT mic, because i get it with other mics also... i see no way of further isolating the mic that is practical... like mounting a shockmount on the shockmounted shockmount???? hmmmmm...

Stuart Graham · May 11th, 2009, 03:14 AM

One possibility might be to make a DIY angled extension to attach to the mic bracket of your camera and move the mic further away from the camera. Might be tricky to make it sturdy enough though. Here's a very bad diagram of what I mean...

____
[
#
[-------]
[-------]

The camera is the block at the bottom and the mic is the horizontal line at the top. The # symbol is the existing bracket

Allan Black · May 11th, 2009, 06:29 AM

Andy and Brian, did you make your own short XLR > XLR mic cables, especially for the A1?

Cheers.

Andy Loos · May 11th, 2009, 01:00 PM

Thanks for the responses. I am actually using the xlr cord that is meant to go with this mic. Probably should try a longer one to see if there is a difference? Does anyone know of another mic that would work better and so I wont get a hum. I only get the hum when I am zooming in or out.

Brian David Melnyk · May 12th, 2009, 12:31 AM

Allan,
i am using a short cable (1 foot?). i am sure that it is the camera humming, and not the cable, as when i take the mic out of the shockmount and even slightly away from the camera, it stops. i think it is just difficult to get the vibrations eliminated from a sensitive mic... it is not overwhelming hum, mind you, but i'm an audio guy that likes 'perfection' (or seeking it, anyway!) and matching the on camera mic to the off camera mic is hard when minimizing the hum with EQ...

Andy Loos · May 12th, 2009, 08:13 AM

Anyone have any thoughts on another brand mic I can get so I wont have that hum?
thanks.

Allan Black · May 12th, 2009, 04:21 PM

Brian, I'd take your A1 to a camera shop, one with a good sound dept.

Andy, maybe you're not recording with enough level on your tape.

In other words, in post, when you turn the volume up to the correct level, up comes the residual noise of the A1?

Cheers.

Chris Soucy · May 12th, 2009, 09:26 PM

Just had a listen to my A1 and yes, the zoom motor does emit a faint hum when running, but it's not startlingly loud.

The reason I did was to figure out why I don't get the same hum pickup as you, and I think I have the answer.

I'm running a Sennheiser ME67/ K6 setup, which as you may know, is one loooooong mic.

It's mounted in a Rycote CCA adapter, which fits in the A1 mic holder and points rearwards, holding the mic a good couple of inches higher than the built in mics.

Rycote | Medium Hole Softie Mount & CCA | 037306 | B&H Photo

Even with the mount now about 3 inches behind the camera mic holder, the business end of the ME67 is still a good three inches out in front of the lens hood.

I think it's this "nose out in front" which keeps it from picking up any motor noise (plus the fact it's polar pattern pretty well means it doesn't pick up anything from the sides).

The short shotgun AT is less than 7 inches long, and, it's a "short" shotgun as opposed to the ME67's howitzer.

You might want to try a Rycote mount (or similar) but fit it facing forward, which would move the business end of the AT a good three inches forward of it's current position.

Better still, the CCA holder bar, the bit that actually fits in the camera mic holder, has a 3/8" threaded hole in it's base for mounting on a boom. With a bit of ingenuity you could fit an extender to this bar and get the mic even further forward, away from that motor.

I'll be interested to see it that fixes the problem.

CS

PS. The ME67 is a beautiful sounding mic and for "on camera", awesome.

Cole McDonald · May 12th, 2009, 10:11 PM

I'm assuming that the mic is physically attached to the camera in this situation, that is transmitting the sound from camera to microphone... I do remember seeing an isolator in the XL1 section of the watchdog portion of this site:

Something like this: The MM-XL1 Universal Mini-Mount from Light Wave Systems

Andy Loos · May 13th, 2009, 08:08 AM

wow, thanks for the tips guys. I will definately be trying them, i just have to get rid of this humm.
thanks you!

Chris Soucy · May 13th, 2009, 06:12 PM

I'd forgotten this was on DVinfo.

Scroll down to the photo of me with my A1 and ME67 - you will see what I mean by "nose out in front" (no, not mine!).

Gives a good idea just how long a ME67/ K6 really is.

Vinten Vision 3 AS Tripod (3 of 4) DV Info Net

CS

David Gibson · May 19th, 2009, 07:33 PM

I borrowed a Rode (is that how you spell it) shotgun for a shoot this weekend. I noticed that when I zoomed I cold hear the gearing on the lens in the mic. I talked to the friend that I borrowed the mic from and she said it does do that but in most cases it doesn't show up so much on the final cut. I used the mic for crowd noise in XLR-1 and had a radio playing into XLR-2 for announcer coverage of a football game. When I went back to the audio, I wasn't able to hear any camera stuff in the audio track. But, with all the noise of a football game and radio, what would you expect? I'll know more for sure in a couple of days. I just ordered the AT897 from bh and will use it for a wedding shoot this weekend. Then I'll really know how much noise it brings to the video.

Cole McDonald · May 20th, 2009, 10:42 PM

The auto zoom uses gears and motors. Since the microphones are physically connected directly to the camera and/or, as super sensitive microphones, are in close proximity to it, I would expect that the only way to not have that sound would be to physically move the microphone away from the camera.

This is a common enough problem, that the run and gun setup of strapping a microphone directly to the camera is generally thought to be a bad idea and has solutions (see above) to be able to isolate the microphone from the camera. Even when the mic is on a boom pole, you want to isolate it from the pole to eliminate handling noise... and still want to wear gloves... and still want to strap the cables down to eliminate that noise. These are REALLY sensitive instruments. This problem is really to be expected under these circumstances and relatively easy to deal with. You could probably even build an offset mount with a suspension dealy out of PVC and rubberbands to get rid of the physically transmitted handling/ servo noise if not offsetting it enough to get rid of the proximity noise as well.

May 10th, 2009, 10:58 AM	#1
Andy Loos Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Minnesota Posts: 84	XH-A1 and Audio Technica AT875R I am hoping someone can help me out with this one. I really like this mic, but when I have it connected up to my A1 I get a hum when I zoom, anyway to fix this? besides doing a boom stick. Hoping you all might have an idea for me to try. thanks.

May 11th, 2009, 03:14 AM	#4
Stuart Graham Major Player Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Selby UK Posts: 274	One possibility might be to make a DIY angled extension to attach to the mic bracket of your camera and move the mic further away from the camera. Might be tricky to make it sturdy enough though. Here's a very bad diagram of what I mean... ____ [ # [-------] [-------] The camera is the block at the bottom and the mic is the horizontal line at the top. The # symbol is the existing bracket __________________ Stuart Graham www.magentapictures.com

May 12th, 2009, 09:26 PM	#10
Chris Soucy Inner Circle Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Fairfield, Dunedin, New Zealand Posts: 3,691 Images: 18	Hi Andy................ Just had a listen to my A1 and yes, the zoom motor does emit a faint hum when running, but it's not startlingly loud. The reason I did was to figure out why I don't get the same hum pickup as you, and I think I have the answer. I'm running a Sennheiser ME67/ K6 setup, which as you may know, is one loooooong mic. It's mounted in a Rycote CCA adapter, which fits in the A1 mic holder and points rearwards, holding the mic a good couple of inches higher than the built in mics. Rycote \| Medium Hole Softie Mount & CCA \| 037306 \| B&H Photo Even with the mount now about 3 inches behind the camera mic holder, the business end of the ME67 is still a good three inches out in front of the lens hood. I think it's this "nose out in front" which keeps it from picking up any motor noise (plus the fact it's polar pattern pretty well means it doesn't pick up anything from the sides). The short shotgun AT is less than 7 inches long, and, it's a "short" shotgun as opposed to the ME67's howitzer. You might want to try a Rycote mount (or similar) but fit it facing forward, which would move the business end of the AT a good three inches forward of it's current position. Better still, the CCA holder bar, the bit that actually fits in the camera mic holder, has a 3/8" threaded hole in it's base for mounting on a boom. With a bit of ingenuity you could fit an extender to this bar and get the mic even further forward, away from that motor. I'll be interested to see it that fixes the problem. CS PS. The ME67 is a beautiful sounding mic and for "on camera", awesome. Last edited by Chris Soucy; May 12th, 2009 at 11:44 PM. Reason: + Link

May 12th, 2009, 10:11 PM	#11
Cole McDonald Trustee Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Sauk Rapids, MN, USA Posts: 1,675	I'm assuming that the mic is physically attached to the camera in this situation, that is transmitting the sound from camera to microphone... I do remember seeing an isolator in the XL1 section of the watchdog portion of this site: Something like this: The MM-XL1 Universal Mini-Mount from Light Wave Systems __________________ Web Youtube Facebook

May 13th, 2009, 06:12 PM	#13
Chris Soucy Inner Circle Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Fairfield, Dunedin, New Zealand Posts: 3,691 Images: 18	Hi again...... I'd forgotten this was on DVinfo. Scroll down to the photo of me with my A1 and ME67 - you will see what I mean by "nose out in front" (no, not mine!). Gives a good idea just how long a ME67/ K6 really is. Vinten Vision 3 AS Tripod (3 of 4) DV Info Net CS

May 10th, 2009, 03:50 PM	#2
Allan Black Inner Circle Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Sydney. Posts: 2,931	Andy is it an acoustic or an electrically induced hum? Can't imagine it's acoustic so make sure your mic cable is earthed properly by checking pin 1 at both ends of it. Cheers.

May 11th, 2009, 01:28 AM	#3
Brian David Melnyk Major Player Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Winnipeg Canada Posts: 532	i use this mic also, and get hum. i have it in a shockmount which is further isolated by a foam wrapped tube seated in the mic holder-and i still get hum that only disappears when i take the mic off camera. i think that this is just the reality, and not just with the AT mic, because i get it with other mics also... i see no way of further isolating the mic that is practical... like mounting a shockmount on the shockmounted shockmount???? hmmmmm...

May 11th, 2009, 06:29 AM	#5
Allan Black Inner Circle Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Sydney. Posts: 2,931	Andy and Brian, did you make your own short XLR > XLR mic cables, especially for the A1? Cheers.

May 11th, 2009, 01:00 PM	#6
Andy Loos Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Minnesota Posts: 84	Thanks for the responses. I am actually using the xlr cord that is meant to go with this mic. Probably should try a longer one to see if there is a difference? Does anyone know of another mic that would work better and so I wont get a hum. I only get the hum when I am zooming in or out.

May 12th, 2009, 12:31 AM	#7
Brian David Melnyk Major Player Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Winnipeg Canada Posts: 532	Allan, i am using a short cable (1 foot?). i am sure that it is the camera humming, and not the cable, as when i take the mic out of the shockmount and even slightly away from the camera, it stops. i think it is just difficult to get the vibrations eliminated from a sensitive mic... it is not overwhelming hum, mind you, but i'm an audio guy that likes 'perfection' (or seeking it, anyway!) and matching the on camera mic to the off camera mic is hard when minimizing the hum with EQ...

May 12th, 2009, 08:13 AM	#8
Andy Loos Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Minnesota Posts: 84	Anyone have any thoughts on another brand mic I can get so I wont have that hum? thanks.

May 12th, 2009, 04:21 PM	#9
Allan Black Inner Circle Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Sydney. Posts: 2,931	Brian, I'd take your A1 to a camera shop, one with a good sound dept. Andy, maybe you're not recording with enough level on your tape. In other words, in post, when you turn the volume up to the correct level, up comes the residual noise of the A1? Cheers.

May 13th, 2009, 08:08 AM	#12
Andy Loos Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Minnesota Posts: 84	wow, thanks for the tips guys. I will definately be trying them, i just have to get rid of this humm. thanks you!

May 19th, 2009, 07:33 PM	#14
David Gibson Regular Crew Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Abilene, Texas Posts: 42	I borrowed a Rode (is that how you spell it) shotgun for a shoot this weekend. I noticed that when I zoomed I cold hear the gearing on the lens in the mic. I talked to the friend that I borrowed the mic from and she said it does do that but in most cases it doesn't show up so much on the final cut. I used the mic for crowd noise in XLR-1 and had a radio playing into XLR-2 for announcer coverage of a football game. When I went back to the audio, I wasn't able to hear any camera stuff in the audio track. But, with all the noise of a football game and radio, what would you expect? I'll know more for sure in a couple of days. I just ordered the AT897 from bh and will use it for a wedding shoot this weekend. Then I'll really know how much noise it brings to the video. __________________ http://dakvideo.com

May 20th, 2009, 10:42 PM	#15
Cole McDonald Trustee Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Sauk Rapids, MN, USA Posts: 1,675	The auto zoom uses gears and motors. Since the microphones are physically connected directly to the camera and/or, as super sensitive microphones, are in close proximity to it, I would expect that the only way to not have that sound would be to physically move the microphone away from the camera. This is a common enough problem, that the run and gun setup of strapping a microphone directly to the camera is generally thought to be a bad idea and has solutions (see above) to be able to isolate the microphone from the camera. Even when the mic is on a boom pole, you want to isolate it from the pole to eliminate handling noise... and still want to wear gloves... and still want to strap the cables down to eliminate that noise. These are REALLY sensitive instruments. This problem is really to be expected under these circumstances and relatively easy to deal with. You could probably even build an offset mount with a suspension dealy out of PVC and rubberbands to get rid of the physically transmitted handling/ servo noise if not offsetting it enough to get rid of the proximity noise as well. __________________ Web Youtube Facebook