Zoom microphone on HDR-XR160

[madcary]

I am having difficulty figuring out how to use the 'zoom microphone' on the HDR-XR160 handycam. I understood this to mean that when the 'zoom mic' is switched to 'on' on the Menu, sound would be affected while using the 'zoom' facility in movie shooting mode, i.e. that the sound would increase as you zoomed in and decrease as you zoomed out.  This does not seem to be working on my camera.  Am I doing something wrong?  Am I misunderstanding the 'zoom mic' option?  What is the best way to get best sound while recording?

Many thanks. I am a novice and appreciate any help.

Message was edited by: madcary

[blaireau_photo]

Hello madcary - Welcome to the Sony Forums

The purpose of a zoom microphone, to quote the user manual directly for this camera, is to give the user more 'vivid' sound when zooming in or zooming out. It may be better to think of this as having better sound clarity after zooming i.e. depending upon the filming conditions, if you zoom in to someone talking the camera will attempt to pick up upon what the individual is saying as opposed to having an over bearing level of background noise.

However, like anything in this area it will be dependant upon the conditions/surroundings and as such I would advise you to experiment with your camera to see what works best. Usually, the best sound quality can be achieved by purchasing an external microphone (camera depending) but I wouldn't rule out experimenting with the built-in mic just yet.

Thanks,

Simon

[madcary]

Hello Simon. Thank you for your prompt response. What you describe as the intention of the zoom mic is what I had imagined it was supposed to do. I have already experimented under various conditions and find that there is no marked difference when in 'zoom mic' mode. Therefore, I've come to the sad conclusion that perhaps there is a fault in what is otherwise an excellent little camera. I guess I'll have to consider sending it in for repair. Now there's a subject: does anyone have experience of sending cameras for repair?

Best wishes......and, again, thank you.

[Mick2011]

The zoom mic functions as a directional, rather than amplified, enhancement to normal sound recording.

Basically, you should be able to 'focus' the sound recording based on the direction the camera is pointing, and record a more isolated audio track than normal, 'omnidirectional' mics.

Is it working this way? Try recording a localised source while panning the camera, in both zoom and normal modes. There should be a gradual volume increase/decrease in zoom mode as you pan past the sound source which isn't there in normal mode.

Cheers

Mick

[madcary]

Hello Mick. This is an extremely helpful explanation. I will get out there as soon as poss and do some experiments. I do think they should have put this kind of advice in the handbook for those of us not up to scratch with sound enhancement. Many thanks for taking the time to give such a comprehensive answer.