Help! How can I get rid of wind noise in SR11.
 

I have the SR11 and really like it except for windy days. The mic picks up wind noise (distortions) very easily, and it is loud. On a windy day, there doesn't seem to be any way to eliminate the damn wind from ruining your shot.

I have tried a wrist band wrapped around the front quarter of the cam covering the mics, but all that does is eliminate some the higher frequency sounds. It does nothing for reducing the sound of the wind disturbances in the mic; they are just as loud and frequent as without the wrist band.

Suggestions? I would like to know if anyone has tried to tackle this problem and found a real, workable solution.

Thanks.

Mike

Mike, typically a wind filter on cams like this do exactly what you noted. They will reduce the noise somewhat, but with it go the higher frequencies.

Mike, maybe there's a do-it-yourself solution. Maybe you could get some acoustic foam from Radio Shack, like the type used to make wind noise reducers for normal microphones, cut out an appropriate sized piece, then judiciously apply a few very small pieces of velcro (the hook side) to the camera at a few points around the microphone area and apply the filter. Unlike the wristband, the acoustic mic foam should help reduce wind noise without appreciably attenuating the normal high frequency sounds.

I have no idea if this would work well, but it seems like something that would be cheap to try. You might even be able to test the idea out first using masking tape before attaching pieces of velcro to the camera.

Like Ken said, though, it's unlikely you'll be able to eliminate all the noise on windy days.

Dave, how would you attach the velcro strips? Glue? It seems like I would have to apply the velcro completely around the microphone, lest wind works it way under the foam, making the whole thing unusable.

It is something to think about, thanks.
Whatever I do, I don't want to screw up, or mar up the cam and then possibly having to remove the material due to it not working very well.

Ken. Yes, the higher frequencies reduced, I can understand. I could even live with that if the wind noise were even somewhat reduced. But that was not the case. The wind seemed pretty much just as annoying as without the wrist band.

Any one else who has tried things, or who have any inexpensive ideas, please chime in.

Thanks.

Mike

Hi Mike -
Haven't tried it, but I may have to experiment - shot some in wind and didn't notice a problem, but wasn't watching the audio enough to notice. Around here a breeze is where the birds fly backwards, wind is when the jackrabbits fly backwards...

They have sticky back velcro - most hardware stores, fabric stores, and probably any general merchandise place ending in "mart" should have something in strips or squares and perhaps varying grades of sticky stuff on the backing. MOST of the sticky stuff can be peeled later, and while it might take a bit of cleanup, it shouldn't mar the camera. The surfaces involved are pretty smooth, but there may be some risk to the printing on removal...

Looks to me like there's plenty of room to put a strip all around, but the AiShoe door is right there, so you'll need a movable section I'd suppose. Probably go with the "hook" side on the camera, then perhaps some fabric backed fur might just attach with the backing acting as the "loop" - you could try various fashionable lengths, colors and materials, foam backing or not, etc, etc.

That's my take on it, may even have to fiddle with it now the question has come up - I know the CX7 mic was notoriously noisy in certain high wind conditions, like falling out of a moving aircraft, so the noise here is no doubt a potential issue. I'm guessing the trick is to create a "dead air" space atop the mic area without blocking too much sound transmission. Sounds like a fun bit of engineering!

What I was originally thinking was that since the top of the camera is curved, that you might only need velcro on the sides, and then when you attach the foam (which presumably is flat), the curvature of the camera would hold it against the mic pretty well, but it would require some experimentation. Maybe you would need it all around to prevent air from blowing in under the foam.

As was said, you can get velcro that is sticky-backed and cut small strips of the hook side to attach, but depending on the brand, etc., it might stick pretty well. That's why I was suggesting to see if it's possible to first attach the foam with painter's masking tape, which by design is easy to remove without leaving any stickiness behind. Of course you would have to get the masking tape on in such a way that it blocks air from getting in under the foam.

It's kind of a shame the camera manufacturers don't provide something like this, they could sell it as an option that clips on nicely. I guess they just assume everyone will want to carry around an external mic (that they'd be happy to sell you ;-) )

The windscreen option on my HG10 doesn't suffice.

The only options are Auto or Off.

It is really bad on 10+ mph days.

Guess I'll have to try some foam and velcro it as suggested here.

Thanks to all who responded. Later this week I will try the velcro and foam solution, and report back as to how it performs.

Respectfully,
Mike

Did anyione try
 

Did anyone try the velcro and foam trick for the wind noise?

thanks
Tom

Yes, I put a velcro base around the microphone area and attachted a cover of velcro attachtment type material plus a layer of fabric above it. Works fairly well; eliminates I would guess about 60-75% of the wind noise.

Mike

Thanks
 

Thanks Mike, I'll have to give that a try on my SR11.

Does anybody have any experience with other external microphones which could be used in windy situations to eliminate or greatly reduce the wind noise? I have the same issue with my two Canon HD camcorders, both of which allow external mic connections.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

Larry

I've had the Rode SVM for about 2 years now, it came with a "Deadcat" wind muff which helps tremendously. In most cases it completely eliminated wind noise and even in high gusty winds (one night doing a short film while a "blue norther" rolled in, only the strongest gusts caused much of a wind acraping across the mic noise while the rest just registered as the kind of wind you might add in foley.

The best solution of course is a blimp and several issues back Videomaker magazine had a DIY blimp article that looked workable.

Some have made their own "fur" windmuffs with fake fur from fabric shops. What works best is long hair "fur" and it usually needs to be combed and fluffed up before each use.

I recently got in a Rode VideoMic (the monaural shotgun type) and ordered a "Deadcat" with that one also. The Deadcat for the Rode SVM fits right over the metal screen of the mic where the Deadcat for the monaural shotgun Rode fits over the foam screen. The foam screen you see in pictures does no good outdoors. Seems good only for air conditioning "breeze" indoors.

Bruce i have a rode stereo mic and find the stereo sound lovely, i use it on all my cams including my SR-12 and FX-7,how do you find the rode videomic in comparison, i know the videomic is mono but it reputedly is better for directional sound from farther away.

Martyn, I haven't had a chance to "wring" it out yet. Initial impressions are it isn't as "bright" and clear as the Rode SVM. Like you, I love the rich clean sound of the SVM and have had a client or two request I use my "good" mike on their projects.

I ordered the Videomic to have something with a bit of directional quality for working dialog in short films where I would need to have the dialog come in stronger than environmental sounds while still keeping some of the environmental "atmosphere". I understand that the Videomic works best close in and plan on stand and boom mounting it.

I've had good luck with the Rode SVM and a 16' extension cable and initial tests with the Videomic seem to indicate I'll be able to use it the same way. I think this Rode Videomic is way too huge to use on the size of camcorder I use (Canon HF100) and I plan to never use it mounted on the cam. For that kind of situation where I need to keep it light and simple, I have the Canon DM-100 and am very pleased with the way that worked on the first two projects using it.

Sorry I don't have a better answer to your question.