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Hello everyone !

I was really exited today to test my new external microphone on my pentax K-01.
But then I was really disappointed when I noticed that there is a lot of sound noise even when I pluged my mic to the camera and turned my microphone off.

I even have a 6.35mm Female to 3.5mm Male converter like this one that I plugged in my camera with nothing at the other end.

The result is that I can hear a lot of sound noise when it's supposed to have no sound at all.
If someone wants to see a video, I could upload a video to show you the result.

So I was wondering : Is there something wrong with my camera or is it the same for all k-01 cameras ?
Is there anything I can do to fix that ?

I hope they can do something about that in the next firmware because this is really annoying

[Anvh]

Most likely the autogain, make sure it's off and you set the recording level yourself.

[RonHendriks1966]

I only did a few short shots with only internal mic in noisy places, so no idea about that at the time.

[Adam]

Definitely post a sample video. It might just be a bad mic.

Adam
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Most likely the autogain, make sure it's off and you set the recording level yourself.

Where do you desactivate the autogain ?

And yes I tried to set the recording level myself with different options (no sound, low, medium, high)
I could hear the noise for every settings exept when I set the sound to off.

My microphone is working just well, I've tested it on my computer and there is nothing wrong with it.
I even tried with my headset and the same thing occurs. (My headset is working just fine too on my computer)

I will post a video probably tomorow or Friday to show you the issue.

Can anyone try tell me if they tried an external microphone in a noiseless area and if they also get that sound noise ?
Thanks for your help

[Anvh]

No idea, thought you could have manual control over audio but maybe not, i don't have a k-01 but what you describe; no noise when there is sound but when it's quiet you have noise. That's the autogain 9 out of 10 because auto gain doesn't hear a sound so he bumps up the gain and that creates noise.
If you mic is a mono one there is a device that puts out a constant sound over the other channel tricking the auto-gain.

[ikehayden]

I plugged a wireless mic into my K-01. Mic sounded fine, but with a decent amount of background "hiss".....so, then I hooked up a wired lav mic.............same hiss.

Then, I disconnected the mic and recorded with the camera's mic........guess what.......same "hiss"
(it was a somewhat quiet room)

Not sure what the "audio level" controls are about, but they don't seem to do that much.

That leads me to believe that auto gain is always engaged. Disappointing.

[ScooterMaxi Jim]

I haven't done the quiet room test, only testing a cheap Nady stereo mic against the internal mics with a stereo playing. The internal mics were better! (I haven't taken video seriously until buying the K-01).

What I did notice, is that the sound isolation is quite poor; nothing can be done about that. Also, when you remove the external mic connection, the video automatically stops.

If auto-gain is causing the problem, I wonder if there is a firmware fix. It seems like you could add the option to the menu under audio controls. However, you might need to have a physical control that is missing from the camera design. Perhaps someone who knows the engineering side of audio has an answer.

JNR

[regor]

This is a $750 camera; I don't know much about video recording devices, but is that perhaps over expecting from such a minute "extra feature" of a still camera ? Certainly background hiss can be removed in any 1/2 decent sound editor. How other camera brands performing in that regard ? Any recording I ever do on my computer require some background noise removal, and I use good quality professional mics connected to a USB pre-amp.

[JinDesu]

No mention of audio controls with regards to automatic gain/leveling in the manual?

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This is a $750 camera; I don't know much about video recording devices, but is that perhaps over expecting from such a minute "extra feature" of a still camera ? Certainly background hiss can be removed in any 1/2 decent sound editor. How other camera brands performing in that regard ? Any recording I ever do on my computer require some background noise removal, and I use good quality professional mics connected to a USB pre-amp.

1) Well, when I will post a video about that issue, you will understand why I am disappointed.
1bis) And for adding a 1080p 24i - 720p 60/50/25/24i to that camera, I don't consider it to be just an bonus or an "extra feature"

2) Looks like I'm not the only one to have that hiss, at least that doesn't come from my camera but from all k-01 cameras

3) I got a K-01 especially for its video function (and the fact that you can change lenses - things that camcorders can't do - and film with a much better quality/depth of field than a regular camcorder)

[Anvh]

Many got excited about the video option of the K-01 but it's missing so many features its becoming quite useless...
I'll wait to see what the newer DSLR will bring to the table.

[ikehayden]

Audio disappointment aside......The K-01 is an amazing photographic AND video tool. Soooo glad I've got one, and as a professional video producer (PBS, corporate, commercials) I realize there is no perfect single camera for all needs....but plenty of work-arounds.

...and the fact that it is a $750 camera that also records full HD video in several frame rates.......incredible!

I think I want another!

[regor]

1) Well, when I will post a video about that issue, you will understand why I am disappointed.
1bis) And for adding a 1080p 24i - 720p 60/50/25/24i to that camera, I don't consider it to be just an bonus or an "extra feature"

Looking forward to the video and understanding your disappointment. Still a secondary feature in my book (read next comments).

2) Looks like I'm not the only one to have that hiss, at least that doesn't come from my camera but from all k-01 cameras

I am just asking the question, what should one expect.

3) I got a K-01 especially for its video function (and the fact that you can change lenses - things that camcorders can't do - and film with a much better quality/depth of field than a regular camcorder)

I am not arguing the fact that it is "disappointing", but one must keep in mind that the K-01 is first and foremost a Still Picture Camera and sound hardware especially, is extremely limited. If you want to shoot quality video, with the Odd Still Image, then a Video Cameras and separate high-fi stereo digital recorders are the tools of choice (e.g. Canon 4K Cinema EOS cameras). Video in a Still Picture Camera is nothing more than a convenience feature as far as I am concerned and the quality of the image has the "digital video" look, and the sound (which can only be low sampling, low quality) limits its usability to souvenir snapshots for the most part. Have you tried editing the sound in PP ?

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I am not arguing the fact that it is "disappointing", but one must keep in mind that the K-01 is first and foremost a Still Picture Camera and sound hardware especially, is extremely limited.

Yes I totally agree with you.
Sorry my answer was kind of rough since I was a bit angry.

It's just that I'll probably have to get a recorder and it will make things harder.
Instead of just having to edit the video, I'll have to import the different audio files as well, find the correct one, synchronize it to the video etc...
If I have just one single video, that would be ok. But when you do a montage with several videos it's a pain in the butt