Yet another audio problem...

[Timothy Carr]

*Sigh* I have seen a lot of bad audio threads... I hoped id never have to open one up.
Anyway, i have recorded a few shots for my feature, but it has a hum/buzz in it. It seems to be somehow connected with the fan speed, the faster it spins, the higher the pitch. At the time the camera was about 3-4 meters away from the mic, and was outside. We used a good shielded cable (never had a problem before with any of my equipment, nothing has changed). Mic was a NTG-2, running off of its own power (1AA) Battery was full, and have tried phantom power. I was using a XLR to 3.5mm cable.
Oh also tried reflashing the firmware, but this seems to be doing nothing. I also thought it would fix the problem when i change res the screen glitches for a sec. But thats another story ;)
So anyway, any suggestions?

[Mark Toia]

What seems so easy for other camera manufactures to get right, clean audio capture is so hard for RED to get right. I wonder why this is so..

I really hope they have this sorted soon. Im in need of clean audio for an up incoming project and I want clean audio attached to my R3d files.

Good luck Tim, dig deep.

[John Fairstein]

Mark T is correct, there have been a lot of audio challenges.

RED One
Bad audio cards. These were later replaced free of charge by RED, but I had to shoot a lot of footage with the original card.

EPIC-X
The puzzle of non-locking Ch 1/2 mini connectors.
Pre 3.2.8 - no phantom power, no in-camera audio playback. I heard rumors of problems with audio and HDrx.
Build 3.2.8 - phantom power but no playback. Loud hum in both channels. Major sync slip stuttering issue. I contacted Support and their recommendation was to upgrade to 3.2.13.
Build 3.3.3 - Phantom power disappeared. Then after connecting and disconnecting an external 48V phantom supply, the camera phantom power started working. No idea why.

When the EPIC is working properly I am getting good sound through my Oktavas connected to the Ch 1/2 inputs via Mogami mini-to-XLR cables. Cables can be wired as balanced or unbalanced, so that is something to check. After upgrading to 3.3.3, I have about another day of testing to make sure everything is OK. I realize these are EPIC alpha builds, but I am surprised by the audio issues. I hope they put a SWAT team on it with a full suite of QC tests.

What seems so easy for other camera manufactures to get right, clean audio capture is so hard for RED to get right. I wonder why this is so..

I really hope they have this sorted soon. Im in need of clean audio for an up incoming project and I want clean audio attached to my R3d files.

Good luck Tim, dig deep.

[Timothy Carr]

Thanks Mark, ill let you know what i find. I have a mate who has a scarlet, and he said its fine... Arh!

[Mark Phelan]

My experience has been very positive with the audio from both my R1 and Epic cameras. Never had an issue that wasn't easily resolved, so hope you're able to track down the buzz/hum. I would recommend trying different combinations to isolate where it's coming from and check the fan settings to see if it changes when you adjust them.

[Casper Warnich]

Did you try a different microphone? My MKH416 and ME66 sound nice on the Scarlet while my UMP V1 has clicking noises.

[Timothy Carr]

Did you try a different microphone? My MKH416 and ME66 sound nice on the Scarlet while my UMP V1 has clicking noises.

Have done. Tried 3 different shotgun mics. The humming is still there (but not as loud) without a mic connected...

[William Robinette]

Sorry to hear Tim. For what it's worth, I had buzzing when I was using an XLR to 3.5mm jack that seemed to come up when the Canon mount would focus. I bought an A-Box and the problem went away and audio has been fine since. Really do wish RED would get on top of this though. The audio world has already taken notice.

[Elsie N]

Using the (very expensive) Red 3.5 cables to XLR, my sound is clean. Don't know if that has anything to do with it.

[Timothy Carr]

Well maby but i doubt it since i can have nothing connected and still have that problem. Ilse i have tried 3.5mm mics, same result...