Why is my audio so low?
 

I recently did an interview with my 201. Put one line on auto and the other on manual. The mic was one meter ( 3 feet? away ) On the manual input I couldn`t get higher than about -18 dB. Auto hitting - 30dB. I was using my AKGC1000 mic which has worked fine for ten years. On my Panasonic HVX200 it hit - 6dB.

Any suggestions?

Svein Rune

I'll assume that you are in fact setting the Audio Input switches to Mic and not Line Level.

In the Menu: Under "Audio/Mic", try changing the "Input x Mic Ref." of the input you are using for your mic.

there is a setting for -50 or -60db in the audio menu. should be on -60. if you are on -50 that would be a -10db loss

other possibilities - phantom power off & dead battery ? or mic doesn't like phantom power from camera ? bad cable ? pad on mic turned on ?

realistically, that mic is a close up use mic. at 3ft I can't imagine getting anything useful. most mics wouldn't do well at that distance. get the mic closer.

Shaun. The camera is set to mic 48 phantom power.

Steve. I did try to set it to -60dB. That just added a lof of noise. And the mic does work at this distance. With my old Panasonic DVX100 and Canon XL 1 it worked fine. The sound would normally hit - 6 dB. The cable works fine with my other mics.

-50 is only for really loud environments. Switch it back to -60. Turn off any automatic gain controls. Using automatic gain raises the noise floor.

You want your dialogue to come in between -20 to -12. You don't need anything going to -6. You will be getting dangerously close to distortion.

And what is your limiter set at?

In a perfect world, you are sending your mics through a quality mixer and coming into the Camera at line level. I would NOT be happy with mic placement that is not under 18" in a interview setting... especially with a carioid pattern.

Regardless of preference in terms of proximity, one should be able to get over 0dBfs at 3' with a C1000. There is obviously a problem here that we aren't catching.

Not if the limiter is turned on.

Please list a detailed account of all your audio settings and switches.

Also, remove the battery from the C1000. Or if the battery is already removed...add the battery and turn "off" phantom power on the JVC 201.