Zoom noise
 

I recently switched to HD and bought 2 xh-a1. I also got a couple of audio technica shotgun mics to go on them. I have mounted these in the mic holder (not on the hotshoe with a shock mount) . I read a lot about people having issues with hearing the zoom noise. At first, I did hear this loud and clear but noticed something. I apologize if this is been brought up before , but in all my reading and research, I didn't run across it.

by adjusting the zoom speed, I get half of the speeds that minimize that zoom noise tremendously. 1, 8, 13 and 16 sound pretty bad, but most of the speeds around those take that noise away. This may be different on each camera but it's something to consider. It seems that the motor isn't as loud at certain speeds and with any ambient noise whatsoever, you won't even hear the motor. I was very pleased to find this out and just wanted to share.

Matt

Yes, I have found that when shooting in most conditions, the motor noise is almost impossible to hear, but if you are zooming at anything above 7 or 8 (in a quiet environment) the motor noise can be picked up. It usually isn't a problem for me, but mounting on a shock with a shotgun mic should certainly get rid of it altogether.