need a good mic for my xha1 at DVinfo.net

Andy Loos · February 24th, 2010, 11:26 AM

Any suggestions for a mic. the one I have on the camera right now, i get a hum whenever i zoom. I just cant have this happen any longer driving me crazy.
Any suggestions, would like to keep it under $200 if possible.

Annie Haycock · February 24th, 2010, 12:35 PM

The only way to stop that hum is to have the microphone as far from the camera as possible. I have a Rode NTG3, but it picks up the hum when attached to, or within a foot of, the camera. But on a long cable, the problem is solved.

Philip Younger · February 24th, 2010, 05:48 PM

I use the Sennheiser ME66 usually with a 'dead cat' and I use a shoe mounted shock mount (mainly because the ME66 is too thin for the camera mic mount). No hum comes my way!

Annie Haycock · February 25th, 2010, 01:28 AM

I should add that the easiest way to eliminate the hum is simply not to zoom while filming.

Allan Black · February 25th, 2010, 03:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andy Loos

Any suggestions for a mic. the one I have on the camera right now, i get a hum whenever i zoom. I just cant have this happen any longer driving me crazy.
Any suggestions, would like to keep it under $200 if possible.

Hi Andy .. which mic is giving you trouble?

Hi Annie, from memory you're recording distant wildlife sounds? .. and you're running the NTG-3 with the A1 gain wound right up ... it that right :) This would put the G3 out of its comfort zone and outside its specs so you would get hum and noise.

Cheers.

Annie Haycock · February 25th, 2010, 11:52 AM

Hi Allan

Yes, I'm recording wildlife, but not distant (yet). Actually the gain is turned way down because from my house I get either sounds from the farm across the fields (farmer calling cows in, milking machine pumps etc) or sounds from aircraft passing high overhead. Mostly I'm recording onto a CF card, and wait until the camera has gone into standby mode to eliminate camera noises. But it does pick up the zoom motor if I have the mic mounted on the camera. Admittedly, I haven't used the blimp yet - for the trip I'm on at present (basically a series of stills photography workshops) I didn't have room to pack the blimp as well as the XH A1 and mic.

Cheers from snowy Scotland - I'm supposed to be going home tomorrow, but it looks like I'll be snowed-in here.

Colin McDonald · February 25th, 2010, 11:59 AM

Just out of curiosity, Annie - where are you just now?

G. Scott Campbell · February 25th, 2010, 02:46 PM

Scotland! Although I live in the California, you can tell by my name where part of my heart lies. (To round the Scottish name out, the "G." stand for "Gregory".) Regarding hiss, it may also be the pre-amp (I realize the thread is about "hum."). My AT897 works fine with my XHA1, but hisses on my HV30.

Annie Haycock · February 25th, 2010, 04:01 PM

Colin - I'm in Glenfeshie with Northshots. Spent part of this afternoon wading through 2ft of snow, in drifts up to my waist at times. We were supposed to be up on Cairngorm somewhere looking for ptarmigan yesterday, but abandoned that after a couple of hours. Today we should have been out looking for mountain hare, but the best we could manage was the squirrel hides near to the steading. And lots of photos of trees covered with snow. Tomorrow's sunrise somewhere above Aviemore just ain't gonna happen - at least not for us!

Reed Hewitt · March 4th, 2010, 04:03 PM

Andy, I use an AT875r on my XH-A1 and it works great. It comes with some spacer rings to make it fit in the XH-A1 shockmount. It won't completely reject servo hum in a quiet environment with the levels cranked up (no on-camera mic will), but the price is right and it's a huge improvement over the built-in mic.

J. Chris Moore · March 4th, 2010, 11:07 PM

I use a Rode NTG-2 with the rode shock mount and have 0 hum issues. Even before the shock mount, I wrapped electrical tape around the mic so it would fit in the mic bracket on the A1 and didn't have any issues with hum.

February 24th, 2010, 11:26 AM	#1
Andy Loos Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Minnesota Posts: 84	need a good mic for my xha1 Any suggestions for a mic. the one I have on the camera right now, i get a hum whenever i zoom. I just cant have this happen any longer driving me crazy. Any suggestions, would like to keep it under $200 if possible.

February 24th, 2010, 12:35 PM	#2
Annie Haycock Major Player Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Pembrokeshire, Wales Posts: 734	The only way to stop that hum is to have the microphone as far from the camera as possible. I have a Rode NTG3, but it picks up the hum when attached to, or within a foot of, the camera. But on a long cable, the problem is solved. __________________ Canon XH A1; Canon XF100; Nikon D800

February 25th, 2010, 01:28 AM	#4
Annie Haycock Major Player Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Pembrokeshire, Wales Posts: 734	I should add that the easiest way to eliminate the hum is simply not to zoom while filming. __________________ Canon XH A1; Canon XF100; Nikon D800

February 25th, 2010, 11:52 AM	#6
Annie Haycock Major Player Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Pembrokeshire, Wales Posts: 734	Hi Allan Yes, I'm recording wildlife, but not distant (yet). Actually the gain is turned way down because from my house I get either sounds from the farm across the fields (farmer calling cows in, milking machine pumps etc) or sounds from aircraft passing high overhead. Mostly I'm recording onto a CF card, and wait until the camera has gone into standby mode to eliminate camera noises. But it does pick up the zoom motor if I have the mic mounted on the camera. Admittedly, I haven't used the blimp yet - for the trip I'm on at present (basically a series of stills photography workshops) I didn't have room to pack the blimp as well as the XH A1 and mic. Cheers from snowy Scotland - I'm supposed to be going home tomorrow, but it looks like I'll be snowed-in here. __________________ Canon XH A1; Canon XF100; Nikon D800

February 25th, 2010, 04:01 PM	#9
Annie Haycock Major Player Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Pembrokeshire, Wales Posts: 734	Colin - I'm in Glenfeshie with Northshots. Spent part of this afternoon wading through 2ft of snow, in drifts up to my waist at times. We were supposed to be up on Cairngorm somewhere looking for ptarmigan yesterday, but abandoned that after a couple of hours. Today we should have been out looking for mountain hare, but the best we could manage was the squirrel hides near to the steading. And lots of photos of trees covered with snow. Tomorrow's sunrise somewhere above Aviemore just ain't gonna happen - at least not for us! __________________ Canon XH A1; Canon XF100; Nikon D800

February 24th, 2010, 05:48 PM	#3
Philip Younger Major Player Join Date: May 2008 Location: Warwickshire Posts: 207	I use the Sennheiser ME66 usually with a 'dead cat' and I use a shoe mounted shock mount (mainly because the ME66 is too thin for the camera mic mount). No hum comes my way!

February 25th, 2010, 11:59 AM	#7
Colin McDonald Trustee Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Glasgow, Scotland Posts: 1,546	Just out of curiosity, Annie - where are you just now?

February 25th, 2010, 02:46 PM	#8
G. Scott Campbell Tourist Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Los Angeles, California Posts: 4	Scotland! Although I live in the California, you can tell by my name where part of my heart lies. (To round the Scottish name out, the "G." stand for "Gregory".) Regarding hiss, it may also be the pre-amp (I realize the thread is about "hum."). My AT897 works fine with my XHA1, but hisses on my HV30.

March 4th, 2010, 04:03 PM	#10
Reed Hewitt Regular Crew Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Florida Posts: 46	Andy, I use an AT875r on my XH-A1 and it works great. It comes with some spacer rings to make it fit in the XH-A1 shockmount. It won't completely reject servo hum in a quiet environment with the levels cranked up (no on-camera mic will), but the price is right and it's a huge improvement over the built-in mic.

March 4th, 2010, 11:07 PM	#11
J. Chris Moore Regular Crew Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Roanoke, VA Posts: 96	I use a Rode NTG-2 with the rode shock mount and have 0 hum issues. Even before the shock mount, I wrapped electrical tape around the mic so it would fit in the mic bracket on the A1 and didn't have any issues with hum.