GH1 Clips Have No Sound

Ron Rodenmeyer

Ron Rodenmeyer

Well-known member
I'm suddenly experiencing a strange problem: the built-in stereo mic on the GH1 is not recording any sound whatsoever. I've shot hours of footage over several months with no problems, and all of a sudden there's no sound on my clips.

I think I've had a clip or two over the past several weeks with no sound, but now all clips are completely silent.

Is there a setting I don't know about that disables the internal microphone? BTW, I've never connected an external mic to the camera.

Thanks in advance,
Ron
 
I do believe there is a setting to enable/disable the microphone. I'm not sure where it is, but I recall seeing it in the manual.
 
Looking through the manual and all the menus, I have not been able to find any way to disable/enable the mic while recording video. You can enable the mic to record a 5 second memo with still photos. I tried to record a still with audio to see if the mic is working, but when I view the still on the camera it acts like a normal still with no sound. Very strange.

Update: I imported the still with sound into iPhoto, and clicking it opens the photo into Quicktime (to hear the memo), but no sound was recorded. It is absolutely silent. Like the internal mic on the camera has been disconnected.
 
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No moisture. It worked fine last Friday, rested peacefully in a zipped-up Tamrac bag inside all weekend, and yesterday it stopped recording sound. I have been extremely fond of this camera, but this --as you pointed out, Nitsuj-- is not cool.
 
Try doing a system reset in your camera. In the SETUP menu you will see it on screen 3.

I also looked at the pop up flash and you can see just inside that hinge next to the settings dial are two little black wires. One is thicker than the other. That really thin one I am assuming is the wire for audio. Look worn maybe? Could anything have gotten in there and tugged on that wire that you can remember? You might need to take it in for repairs if the reset doesn't work. I'd assume it is just a soldering job seeing how that wire is exposed a little. Maybe even flipping the flash open a lot could do it especially in cold weather since I assume that rubber coating on the wire is less flexible in really cold weather. Least that is my physics side talking. ;)
 
Nitsuj-

Thanks so much for all the tips, ideas and time spent on this weird problem. I did a reset but still no sound. I can't really tell if the wires are intact or not. It looks like one thick covered wire and one very tiny flat ribbon-like wire or cable. Tomorrow I will try to find an adapter to connect an external mic to the tiny input to see if that works. Then, either way, I'm calling Panasonic to find out where to send the camera for repair.

Ron
 
That sucks. Good luck. I'd like to hear what happened actually. My guess would have been the wire loose on that in-camera mic but if it has no sound when you plug into the jack then that is a mystery. I did try to look in the menu a bit for any way to cut the audio but wasn't able to. What about a firmware re-install?
And you might just contact Panasonic to see if there is in fact a way to cut audio.
 
Good ideas, but I've already packed it up and shipped it. The guy I talked to definitely had no tech knowledge, and he could only give me an address for the repair shop, no phone number. Just as well. It's under warranty (obviously), so I'd like them to go ahead and get inside and fix the problem while it's on their dime. Again, thank for all your advice and thoughts. This community is invaluable.
Ron
 
Will do, Phil.

Off topic, I gotta ask: Is that your real name? If so, I bet you get lots of ribbing in Chicago, because of a certain coach known for his (former) mustache and Zen practices!
 
Ron Rodenmeyer said:
Will do, Phil.

Off topic, I gotta ask: Is that your real name? If so, I bet you get lots of ribbing in Chicago, because of a certain coach known for his (former) mustache and Zen practices!
Click to expand...

My full name is Phillip but yep, granted I moved to Chicago for college so it's not as bad as if I grew up there during the hey day of Micheal Jordan.
 
Just rec'd a message from Panasonic about my camera. They say the main PC board is in the process of being replaced. I'll let y'all know when it returns and how it's working.
 
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