GH5 Is there anything unusual about the GH5's 3.5mm audio input?

BobKo

BobKo

Well-known member
I received a cheap ($13) lav mic from a company called Aabsom. The mic is intended to work with virtually any device that has a 3.5mm mic-level input, but I couldn't get it to work with my current cell phone (an Android phone by Motorola) or my Tascam DR-05 external recorder. Yet the Aabsom mic works perfectly with the GH5. The Aabsom mic also works an old Samsung Galaxy SIII phone, although the level is so hot that the audio clips badly.

Does anyone know if the GH5 does anything unusual with its 3.5mm mic input jack? Does it have phantom power always applied? Any reason why a seemingly ordinary mic would work with the GH5 but not other devices with 3.5mm mic-level inputs?

If anyone is interested, here is a video I created that compares the sound of four lav mics (including the Aabsom) that I shot with the GH5. One of the mics is a Sony ECM-88 that costs $469: https://youtu.be/tKpZbAKHyTQ
 
NorBro said:
You probably need an adapter for the phone...

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1419592-REG/saramonic_sr_uc201_3_5mm_f_trs_cable.html

As far as the Tascam, obviously make sure it's going into the input and not the output. Should work.
Click to expand...

Actually, the Aabsom mic comes with the 4-conductor to 3-conductor adapter, and I have to use it for the mic to work with the GH5. And that's what's so odd about the Tascam recorder -- I use the same adapter and... nothing. I also have a Canon camcorder with a 3.5mm jack, and it gets nothing as well. Yet the GH5 works perfectly. And yes... I'm plugging into the correct jacks and using the correct adapter.
 
Based on that my guess is it sounds like it's a microphone meant for a phone and the GH5 is providing enough power for it to work through the adapter but the Tascam isn't. (Mic link?)

Not sure about the one phone...maybe power/adapter issues too?

It's usually 99% about the correct connection (or adapting to the correct connection) and the power. Some equipment doesn't have enough plug-in power or you can turn it on or off.

Or...for $13 the microphone is just faulty.

Maybe an audio pro will know more.
 
Do devices that only recognize a 2 prong connector even recognize when the mic is transferred on the 3rd prong? A 3 prong connector has headphone left and right on the first and second prong and the mic is only on the third prong. I cannot recall exactly the specifics of how all that works but I thought a device that only works with a 2 prong connection would have no way of detecting the mic on the 3rd prong.

The GH5 may be able to handle 2 or 3 prong connections which is why it works. Other cameras may only support the 2 prong connection.

I think this may be what is going on.

I used to have the reverse problem trying to use mics with only a 1 or 2 prong connector on an iPhone. It just wouldn't work because the iPhone only worked with a 3 prong connection where the mic was on prong 3. Eventually we got special mics that has the 3 prong connection to use with mobile phones. The 3 prong connection on phones is critical since it needs to support headsets where the user can have headphones and a mic for calls.

Kind of surprised the mic input on the GH5 actually supports 3 prong. Not sure why it would but hey its cool if it does.
 
Thomas Smet said:
The GH5 may be able to handle 2 or 3 prong connections which is why it works. Other cameras may only support the 2 prong connection.

Kind of surprised the mic input on the GH5 actually supports 3 prong. Not sure why it would but hey its cool if it does.
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For this particular microphone, its cord is tipped with a tip-ring-ring-sleeve (trrs) connector. It should work in my Android phone with the trrs connector, but it doesn't. And it doesn't work in the GH5 with the trrs connector -- no sound at all. I have to use the 4-conductor (trrs) to 3-conductor (trs) adapter that the company supplied for the mic to work with the GH5. Then it works perfectly. However, using the same adapter plugged into the input of my Tascam DR-05 (which has only a trs input), it makes no sound. And it also makes no sound if I attempt to use the mic with the DR-05 without the 4-to-3-conductor adapter. It just doesn't work with the DR-05. But it's perfectly happy working with the GH5. And that makes me think that the GH5 has phantom power or something different about its 3.5mm audio input. All my other mics work fine with both the GH5 and the DR-05 recorder. Just this one mic *only* works with the GH5.
 
Phantom power is usually via XLR. Did you see the comment above about turning on power in the DR-60D? Anything like that in the DR-05?
 
NorBro said:
Phantom power is usually via XLR. Did you see the comment above about turning on power in the DR-60D? Anything like that in the DR-05?
Click to expand...

I did see that comment, and I was sure that the Tascam DR-05 did not have a feature to send power to the mic jack (after all, it is a 3.5mm jack). However, for the sake of science, I checked the DR-05 and was surprised to find that there is a setting for mic power... and it was turned off. I turned it on, and now the mic works with the DR-05 -- thank you, DVXUSER/GH Camera forum!!

Again, this makes me wonder if the GH5 is sending power to its 3.5mm jack. I don't recall seeing a setting for that in the GH5... but I didn't recall seeing such a setting for the DR-05, either.
 
The GH5S has the option to turn its mic input power off, so maybe the GH5 does too.

It's ON by default like with most electronics. All DSLR/mirrorless cameras have mic input power and most of them don't have the option to turn it off. (You can turn off audio recording or bring the level all the way down, but you can't control the power besides in some more video-based models.)

The fact that it was off in the DR-05 is peculiar, but maybe it's just how those boxes operate.

Or maybe it should be that way and all hardware should have it off by default so nothing you plug into it gets damaged by any chance.
 
BobKo said:
I did see that comment, and I was sure that the Tascam DR-05 did not have a feature to send power to the mic jack (after all, it is a 3.5mm jack). However, for the sake of science, I checked the DR-05 and was surprised to find that there is a setting for mic power... and it was turned off. I turned it on, and now the mic works with the DR-05 -- thank you, DVXUSER/GH Camera forum!!

Again, this makes me wonder if the GH5 is sending power to its 3.5mm jack. I don't recall seeing a setting for that in the GH5... but I didn't recall seeing such a setting for the DR-05, either.
Click to expand...

That's what I was talking about when I mentioned the DR-60D. Glad you are up and running.
 
Following!this seems like a very interesting thread
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I have an external power supply for my GH5, which I use when I record long events (such as a conference). I happened to use it yesterday to record me doing a review of a microphone, and the resulting audio had strong hum. The mic is a new one from a company called FotoWelt, and it is actually a nice clip-on mic with some good features. Like many inexpensive mics, it has an external inline battery pack that powers the mic. I had used it with the GH5 with no problem -- when the GH5 was running from its battery. However, when I used the external power supply in the GH5, I got hum with this FoltoWelt mic. I also have a $35 Tascam lav mic with an inline battery pack, and that gave me even more hum when using the external power supply in the GH5. Weird! I also have a nice Sony ECM-88, which is a serious pro lav mic that costs nearly $500. It has a balanced output, so I use a transformer adapter cable to convert from balanced to unbalanced just before plugging into the GH5. Using the ECM-88 and the GH5 with the external power supply, there was no hum at all... none. I only get hum from the two modestly priced lavs that use an unbalanced cable. (FWIW, I have yet another clip-on mic that does *not* have an inline battery power supply, and it also makes no hum when using the external power supply in the GH5.)

I mention all this to caution you that there might be potential hum issues when using an external power supply in the GH5. The particular external power supply that I have is not the Panasonic OEM unit... the one I have is made by Gonine, and I got it on Amazon for 1/4 the price of the Panasonic unit. Yeah, I know... I may possibly have gotten what I paid for. That said, the Gonine power supply works perfectly except for causing hum with two of my lav mics. It's fantastic for animation projects, where the camera is mounted overhead and turned on for hours at a time.

Just wanted to mention this.
 
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