eos 550d audio problem.Help needed!!!

[colin C]

Re: eos 550d audio problem.Help needed!!!

Because consumer camcorders use a small sensor which is fine for video but not great for still images. DSLR cameras, on the other hand, have large sensors which are great for still images and video. It is this large sensor, together with interchangeable lenses, which is attracting the attention of professional film makers.

Hmmm new Avatar Robert?

Front cover of the new EOS magazine perhaps? Can't wait!

Colin

[Robert Scott]

Re: eos 550d audio problem.Help needed!!!

Hmmm new Avatar Robert?

Front cover of the new EOS magazine perhaps? Can't wait! Colin

Yes, the April-June 2010 issue of EOS magazine has just been published and was mailed to subscribers yesterday.

[colin C]

Re: eos 550d audio problem.Help needed!!!

Well done Robert.

One of the very few magazines I look forward to and read the print off ....................... at least twice!

You must be doing something right.

Colin

[damoirish]

Re: eos 550d audio problem.Help needed!!!

A lot of replies here but no one has offered any suggestion

[briansquibb]

Re: eos 550d audio problem.Help needed!!!

I think the suggestion was to call Canon

Brian

[damoirish]

Re: eos 550d audio problem.Help needed!!!

Its only a week old and they told me it had to be sent to a service centre.I think the consumer law states 28 day replacement warranty and on top of that,there may not be any fault with the unit.All I want is an eos 550 owner to please record something with a loud noise in the background and zoom in and out while recording and could they tell me if the audio playback dipped eveytime the camera zoomed in and out.Thats all!

[Andrew Gibson]

Re: eos 550d audio problem.Help needed!!!

Its only a week old and they told me it had to be sent to a service centre.I think the consumer law states 28 day replacement warranty and on top of that,there may not be any fault with the unit.All I want is an eos 550 owner to please record something with a loud noise in the background and zoom in and out while recording and could they tell me if the audio playback dipped eveytime the camera zoomed in and out.Thats all!

Hi Damoirish,

The members of this forum are very friendly and helpful but please remember that they are on here in their free time and as much as they want to help, the EOS 550D is a new camera and not only will most members not have one, but even if someone does they may not use the movie mode or have time to test their cameras to answer your query.

We have a 550D in the office and I've just tested it with a 28-105mm zoom lens and I didn't experience the change in sound levels that you did. I suspect that it may be something to do with the camera's auto gain control. The sound recording unit in the camera tries to 'equalise' sound input so that all sounds record at roughly the same level. If the noise levels change, the sound unit lags behind. The waterfall in your video was very noisy, and the high noise levels may have affected the sound recording in some way as you were panning and zooming.

This is just a guess - I suggest you film some other, less noisy, scenes with the same camera and zoom lens to see if the problem reoccurs. If it does, try it with another zoom lens (if you have one). If you get the same issue with more than one lens, in more than one place, it suggests that the 'fault' is in the camera, and you can send it back to Canon to see if it is indeed faulty.

The camera's built-in sound recorder is low quality - if Canon included a high quality sound recorder the camera would be much more expensive and people wouldn't buy it. The professionals get around this by recording sound with separate, dedicated sound recording units. You don't need to go this far, but buying a separate microphone that is mounted in the camera's hotshoe will give you a better result than the built-in microphone.

Hope that helps,
Andrew

[colin C]

Re: eos 550d audio problem.Help needed!!!

The members of this forum are very friendly and helpful ..............

Hah!! That's us, "Very friendly and helpful" it's official ...................... as stated by "Du Management".

Colin

[Nathaniel]

Re: eos 550d audio problem.Help needed!!!

Hello Nathaniel

Although I am often at the forefront of embracing new technology, I was very much in your camp regarding the cross-over technology in cameras. I wanted my camera to take stills, my mobile phone to make telephone calls and if I ever wanted video, I would buy a video camera. I even considered "Live View" as a sop to entice the point and shoot brigade into using real cameras. Try using live view with a 500mm hand held!!!

However, I have used live view for macro and for micro-adjusting my lenses, where the magnification settings are very useful, but I still didn't see the need for video. Until a recent trip on the Norfolk Broads where my friend decided to shoot some video of our boat cruising around with some of the wildlife in the scene. I obviously took the mickey and strongly suggested he wasn't a proper photographer etc., but he carried on shooting.

Later that evening I was eating pie ............... of the humble variety, as we reviewed his video on the laptop! It really did capture the essence of our trip, much more than a series of individual photographs could ever do and I was astounded at the quality. Whilst I am not yet in missionary mode, intent on converting the whole world to video, I am at least open to giving video a go when the right opportunity presents itself.

Colin

Colin, I agree. However, I consider Still photography as a form of "painting"- painting with light, and a good still photo is really a very nice thing to have- just like a good oild painting.Movies are nice as well for the purpose they serve- gives the atmosphere, the noises etc. I filmed a Zulu dance group when I was last in South Africa and this brings vivid memories of the dance and the dancers- ah, also my better half dancing with a bare bodied Zulu Prince, with his spear and all!!!

Just like you I am happy to give the movie mode a try when I finally get one of these two in one DSLR's either a 7d or 550d.

[damoirish]

Re: eos 550d audio problem.Help needed!!!

hi damoirish,

the members of this forum are very friendly and helpful but please remember that they are on here in their free time and as much as they want to help, the eos 550d is a new camera and not only will most members not have one, but even if someone does they may not use the movie mode or have time to test their cameras to answer your query.

We have a 550d in the office and i've just tested it with a 28-105mm zoom lens and i didn't experience the change in sound levels that you did. I suspect that it may be something to do with the camera's auto gain control. The sound recording unit in the camera tries to 'equalise' sound input so that all sounds record at roughly the same level. If the noise levels change, the sound unit lags behind. The waterfall in your video was very noisy, and the high noise levels may have affected the sound recording in some way as you were panning and zooming.

This is just a guess - i suggest you film some other, less noisy, scenes with the same camera and zoom lens to see if the problem reoccurs. If it does, try it with another zoom lens (if you have one). If you get the same issue with more than one lens, in more than one place, it suggests that the 'fault' is in the camera, and you can send it back to canon to see if it is indeed faulty.

The camera's built-in sound recorder is low quality - if canon included a high quality sound recorder the camera would be much more expensive and people wouldn't buy it. The professionals get around this by recording sound with separate, dedicated sound recording units. You don't need to go this far, but buying a separate microphone that is mounted in the camera's hotshoe will give you a better result than the built-in microphone.

Hope that helps,
andrew

thanks andrew.i do appreciate the reply.ill test it with another lens.much appreciated guys for the comments.damien

[Ian_rw]

Re: eos 550d audio problem.Help needed!!!

A lot of replies here but no one has offered any suggestion

I think I suggested on page 1 that you try an external mike! The improvement over the built in mike is incredible...

Ian

[damoirish]

Re: eos 550d audio problem.Help needed!!!

Thanks Ian.Much appreciated

[Ian_rw]

Re: eos 550d audio problem.Help needed!!!

Damoirish, if you are serious about taking video on your EOS the you need an external mike. Take a look and listen to this video from Philip Bloom. Taken on an EOS 7D using a Rode video mike..

http://www.vimeo.com/7412515

Ian

[TheGFB]

Re: eos 550d audio problem.Help needed!!!

I think Dan's suggestion sounds very likely, and I can confirm that an external stereo microphone can be attached to the 550D

[Illy]

Re: eos 550d audio problem.Help needed!!!

Another external mic worth investigating is the Sennheiser 400.