I was hoping someone could help with a sound issue on my Panasonic DVX100B.
When I play back my footage in VCR mode I can barely hear it. I am using the built-in mic, and have tried raising the input levels to the highest setting and it is still very low (the manual says that these levels should be fine set at the half-way point.)
Is there something I am missing?
I saw someone list this same problem on another website, and no one replied. This person even tried using a boom mic, and the playback was still too low.

Is it maybe because I am not listening on headphones?

I am a real novice, so any help would be appreciated.

-Thanks

I'm wondering if the inputs are where you want them to be. If you haven't already, try connecting the boom to the input 1 and setting "mic" for input 1. If you are getting good levels on your camera but the sound it still bad, it could be an issue with the speaker. In that case headphones should work fine. How does it sound when you digitize the footage on your computer?

Thanks for the response Dino.

I finally had a chance to check the input levels when I imported the footage to Final Cut Pro.
Even with the highest input levels set on the camera (for built-in mic), my sound levels are very low. When I view the sound waves on Final Cut, they are far below the 0 decibel default level line.
What also doesn't make sense to me is that the levels seem high on my camera's LCD screen (while I'm recording) and with headphones, it is quite loud.
I am only shooting about 3 feet away from my subject! Shooting the same with my old Sony DCR-TRV10 produces great sound. I'm wondering how that can be!

The waveform display in Final Cut Pro is linear, which means unless you really have a healthy signal there, it will probably LOOK low. (this is directed at you comment about looking at the levels). They could very well sound fine.

Now, if you are having problems hearing them, then there seems to be an issue. Double check you levels on camera, make sure the switches are set right (internal mic if thats what you're using), etc.

You say you're using the internal mic -- how far away from the sound source is the camera and what are you recording? If you are recording normal dialogue a good distance away from the camera with the internal mic, it could just be way too quiet (even if its not too quiet, the onboard mic isn't going to give you a good sound).

Are the "Mic Power" (+48V) switches set to 'on'?

That may be an issue?