HVX mechanical noise and purring

[Indywannabe]

When I turned on the HVX this morning I could hear noticable mechanical noises...seemed like very slight gear grinding and then eventually to something similar to tape motor idling. I could hear the noise without my ear to the camera. The noise eventually quieted down; however, when I put my ear to the camera I can hear what seems like a slight whirring motor sound and occasional purring. The headphones could really pick it up noticeably at midpoint pot before it quieted down...and still when gained up to max.

With camera at the ear, it sounds much louder on the tape door side; however, that could just be better sound access to the guts of the camera.

Set on P2 mode it makes the noise. When switched to MCR is goes quiet.

When switched to tape mode is sounds the same. When switched to VCR is goes quiet.

I turned all the auto focus etc. off.

Even if it is supposed to have some hum and whirring (autofocus included), for a while until the camera warmed up it was very noticeable in the camera mikes. It is still a background whirring if I gain up the mics.

Any wisdom???

[Indywannabe]

Has anyone else experienced this?

[THoff]

Does the noise disappear if you turn off the OIS?

[cheezweezl]

i think the gyro motor still spins even with ois off. that's the first thing i thought of too...

[Indywannabe]

Interesting. Turning off the OIS does stop the "mechanical adjustment" sound, which now seems to be back to normal.

The "motor running" sound is still there...but no where near as loud as this morning. I'm guessing that is normal for some reason or other.

Do you know what the motor sound happens to be? Whatever it is, it stops when switched to MCR or VCR mode.

Is there really a gyro?

[Indywannabe]

The sound is normal when I booted up the HVX this morning. No indication of the cause of the louder sounds yesterday.


I still have a question for Panasonic...what is making that normal slight whirring motor sound? ...and why?

[Arson]

Even with OIS off etc there should be a small mechanical sound as you turn the camera on. It should last for about 1/2 a second and not continue. I believe it is the mechanisms moving from their off/anti-shock positions into operating position. If you have auto-focus on and something constantly moving in the viewfinder then you may hear the focus changing. But auto focus is for shooting home movies and not actual film making.

[cheezweezl]

there is some kind of gyro like thing happening for the OIS. however i have never known it to make noise except when first powering up and shutting down. i suspect a problem.

and arson, autofocus is fine for a lot of situations. i have found that "actual filmmaking" involves many unconventional techniques as well as the textbook stuff. whatever gets the job done is fine. i found that comment to be pretentious and uncalled for.

[Indywannabe]

Thanks cheezweezl.

Nothing is on auto, Arson.

The very noticeable noises that caused my concern have not yet repeated, so I'm not about to send the HVX to the depot for a "no trouble found".

However, this episode makes me wonder what exactly is normal sound.

Is there supposed to be a muted whir when the camera is on? Not just startup, but all the time in camera mode...both P2 and tape. That sound could easily be a gyro...but should that be on if OIS is not? Mine is dead silent only when in MCR/VCR mode...or off.

[Barry_Green]

If I glue my ear to the side of the HVX I can detect a very faint whirr, but ... I mean, if your mic could pick this up, that'd be one sensitive mic! I don't know what it is -- is there a tiny fan inside that cools off the chips or something? It's really faint and I'd say basically a non-issue. If you could hear it any more than maybe a few inches away, I'd say yours is operating abnormally.