Sony HXR-NX80 (PXW-Z90) camcorder audio fault (XLR handle white noise)

[@RVgeeks]

Well of all things. We just searched for an answer to the hiss we’re getting through the shotgun mic on our (several month old) Sony NX80 and low and behold, we found this incredibly informative video from our dear old friend.... on a channel we didn’t even know you had! How great to see you here providing yet more fantastic information, David. You truly are a Renaissance Man! Thank you for the explanation. We just tested, and our problem is the exact same one you experienced. So it’s great to know that Sony warranty service is so good, as we’re about to utilize it. Thanks so much, once again.

[@UKAirscape]

Hahahaha! Oh, how marvellous. Well, unfortunate about the camcorder not least because it implies my replacement might yet do it again :-( Hope they fix it quickly for you.

[@terrytk9398]

Glad you got the audio fixed on this model. Very good review of Sony AX 53 - so I bought one. Thanks for posting both clips. My only minor issue is that the date and time fall off if I don’t charge the power up the AX 53 on a regular basis. No big deal nevertheless! 😀👍

[@UKAirscape]

Ah, I use mine often enough that I've never had that issue but I can see how that would happen. Cheers

[@LANDSEAAIRCANADA]

This is not great news, we have heard the same story from others,, Thanks for this it will certainly help some folks out there.

[@UKAirscape]

Uh oh...

[@actthree34]

My Sony PXW-X70 has (I assume) the same 2 channel audio handle. Haven't had any problems with it so far but the info in your post is really worth being aware of.

[@UKAirscape]

Yes, same handle. Cheers

[@billmcparland4462]

My next camera .........the NX-80. Thank you for the video, I will be watching for this problem. Your sound effects were awesome. My AX-53 is still going strong and runs in full auto HD only. I have no software or interest in 4k as of yet.We are finally in the spring melt here in Northwestern Ontario, Canada. The snow banks have dropped 4 feet as a result😁. Enjoy your English spring and bye for now. B.McP.

[@UKAirscape]

Cheers Bill

[@DigitalCreations2012]

We have not experienced it at all, but will double check everything after seeing this vid. Thanks for pointing it out.

[@eatahfood]

Having the same issue with our PXW Z90. Hoping to get it sorted out by Sony.

[@UKAirscape]

You're not the only one, I'm hearing of others with it too - quite alarming!

[@justbellavista]

Hi David. Your lucky, we have a Sony AX53, which you also use. It went wrong when we were in Brazil last summer. First the tripod fixing plate pulled out of the bottom, then a few weeks later when we were in Tobago the thing just refused to work. We contacted Sony and they said send it back but we were sailing to Martinique at the time. So we could not get it sent till 23 December 2018. Sony received it after the Christmas break and informed us that as we had glued the tripod fixing plate back on we would have to pay for the whole repair. This we did and they dispatched it to our UK address were a friend posted it on to us, by which we were in Antigua and heading for St Martin. There was a delay and problem with the post caused by Sony fixing a sticker on the package indicating it contained a lithium battery, which it did not, we sent it back without the battery. It arrived eventually 10 days ago, nearly 2 months after it was sent from the UK. Well it worked for 10 days and decided to pack up again. So far we have sent 4 emails to Sony and not one has been answered. As a result our confidence in Sony is very low.

[@UKAirscape]

Wow, that's a really unfortunate tale. What's gone wrong with it this time around?

[@justbellavista]

As you know the lens unit is totally floating. This makes the stabilisation fantastic when filming. Unfortunately it does not lock when the camera is switched off and you can feel it moving all the time you are carrying the camera around. It's a really funny feeling at first when you get the camera. Well I can only think that the mechanism has developed a fault as the focus no longer works. You can in fact make it focus if you point the camera up or down. It looks as if the centre elements of the lens have come adrift. The camera has never been dropped by us but what happened to it in postage is anyone guess. As I said above it worked for 10days after we got it back. I have found a replacement lens on line, the cost is 280$US before fitting etc. Not sure how much Sony would want. We are really disappointed as the camera is great for our use, that is filming our travels. We looked at lots of reviews before we purchased it, including the one you did. If Sony had just made it slightly better, with a stronger tripod screw fitting and had some way of looking the floating lens it would be the perfect small video camera.. We looked at your review of the NX-80 and were very interested in this as something with more control and better sound inputs. In fact I was trying to decide wether to go for the NX80 or the Panasonic AG UX180 and could not make up my mind. I think I now know which one I will not purchaser!

[@justbellavista]

Just as a foot note. We were not able to have the camera sent back to us while we were in Martinique. Although Martinique is technically France and therefore part of the EU, they have a 24% tax on all goods entering the country, an "Island Tax". Which we would have to have paid on the purchase price of the camera! Some goods are duty free, but cameras and Wellington Boots are taxed. ????? So if any one is travelling through different countries just be aware to make sure you know all the Customs implication of having goods set back to you. In the Islands of Antigua and St Martin as long as the good are sent "Yacht in Transit" there is no duty to pay. This does not apply to us now we are in Puerto Rico!

[@TrailerYacht]

@@UKAirscape - The tripod attachment point has failed on my Sony FDR-AX53 too, worse luck. I've been very careful handling it and have never had any issues with my Nikon DSLRs using the same plate & tripod. This is the only REALLY disappointing part of my AX53 so far - other than minimal manual controls.

[@UKAirscape]

@Just Bella Vista I agree it would be much nicer if the lens would lock when the camera is off; it's very disconcerting. My only comment about the Panasonic UX180 is that it's a nice camera in many respects but much bulkier than the AX53 or NX80 and doesn't have very good low light abilities. What a convoluted process you have to deal with, with your postage!

[@CharlesChoMD]

Similar thing happened but slightly different. I had NTG2 mic attached with NX80 to power it. then, even if I turn down the gain to 0, I get significant white noise that made sound unusable. When I powered NTG2 with battery and not use preamp from NX80, noise went away. I didn't want to take battery in and out of NTG-2 and use camcorder preamp to make things simpler (didn't want to runinto situation where battery run out and I have no sound issue)... that is why I got NX80 instead of AX700. I couldn't fix it so I returned it. I'm wondering if all NX80 does it (if it does, that is shame for prosumer camcorder to have such poor sound quality... but for that price, I'm wondering if my unit had problem, not all NX80). So, I'm thinking about buying one again... Anyone had same issue as I did?

[@UKAirscape]

I maybe forgot to mention in my video that the issue only occurred if 48V phantom power was switched on, so it sounds as though you had exactly the same issue. I know of at least one other owner who's had the same problem so yes it sounds like a common glitch on this XLR handle. In all cases you're using the NX80 pre-amp, you just bypass the handle power when you use a mic with its own battery.

[@CharlesChoMD]

@@UKAirscape Thank you

[@MichaelWTurner]

I'm currently dealing with this issue. Has anyone had to send this in for repair while they were no longer under warranty? i'm just wondering what the outcome was - did you have to pay for a new handle? If so, how much was it?

[@UKAirscape]

I'd be curious to know that too, with a slightly different angle to it, as my camcorder as a whole is about to go out of warranty but presumably the repair they already did should have its own warranty.

[@MichaelWTurner]

@@UKAirscape Yeah it's a crazy story. I bought the nx80 used about 6 months ago, and I've used it for business numerous times. The problem is, when I used it, I always had my phantom powered mic plugged into channel 2. Channel 1 was always set to mic, so I didn't notice. I sold the camera and the buyer happened to turn on phantom for channel 1 and discovered the problem. Now i'm trying to figure out if I should have him send it in for repair and cover the cost or simply return his money and sell it again and mention the defect. I don't know which will be more cost effective. This is very frustrating.

[@UKAirscape]

Yeah, that's an awkward situtation :-(

[@user-rb7tq6rx7k]

I’m having the same issue with mine and my camera is no longer under warranty. I don’t know what to do.

[@jjfourie902]

Hi David, What are your thoughts on the NX 80 vs the AX53. Im asking because I have the canon xf400 an find it a bit bulky for every day use. Im looking into getting an Ax53. Would that be overkill if I already have the xf400?

[@UKAirscape]

They're very different beasts. The NX80 is a semi-pro, fully manually-controllable camcorder, the AX53 is more a consumer-grade unit that's best (usually) left in fully Automatic mode. The AX53 is more compact and has superb stabilisation, the NX80 has lots more controllable features and a slightly shallower depth of field (though neither are anything like a DSLR/mirrorless for that kind of thing). But if you find the XF400 too bulky, then the NX80 is going to be way too bulky for you as well.

[@goal7779]

@@UKAirscape Hi David thank you for the reply. I'm not looking to get an NX80, but an AX53. What is your opinion in terms of size if you compare your NX80 to the AX53? Would you say the AX53 is much easier to handle as an everyday carry around or is it more or less the same? Would it be an overkill for me to get the AX53 as an everyday camera if I already have something like the XF400 or would you just stick with the bigger camera... I thought to ask because I see you have both. I would like to know if you prefer one over the other and why.

[@UKAirscape]

The AX53 is much smaller than an NX80 and much more portable.

[@robiulahmed]

That's a damn shame for an otherwise good camcorder. I was seriously thinking about one of these, but I may get a Canon instead.

[@Borszczuk]

What H/W you use to record the audio for your vids (like this one)?

[@UKAirscape]

I think I recorded this onto a Sony AX53 camcorder using the Rode Filmmaker kit radio microphone.

[@wengisimmons5312]

What is your opinion of the Panasonic UX90 vs Sony NX80?

[@UKAirscape]

You can see my thoughts on the Panasonic here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/iWGypqB-nryCjZo Any comparison would have to be given a context.

[@claytonmoore2091]

Were you able to ever get your hands on a Panasonic HC-X1 ?

[@UKAirscape]

No.

[@PhilWare1]

Out of interest, why don't you use the camera more often? Is it because your other/cheaper cameras are just as good - even at 4K?

[@UKAirscape]

It's definitely a better camcorder but I don't use it much largely because I live and film aboard my boat and I'm paranoid about dropping it overboard so I keep it ashore for paid jobs while filming my boat videos with the AX53 which also has better stabilisation for the shots on the move.

[@TrailerYacht]

@@UKAirscape - That's interesting - I bought my AX53 to shoot sailing videos and I'm paranoid about exposure to salt air & sea-spray. I've been seriously thinking of acquiring the Z90 but didn't realise the stabilisation was not as good as the AX53 !

[@UKAirscape]

The AX53 has "BOSS" where the entire lens and sensor are gimballed inside the camcorder; the bigger camcorders have conventional stabilisation presumably because to gimbal those bigger lenses and sensors would be complex or expensive etc

[@SteveBurk]

i use the sony stereo mic with this camera, and there is annoying hum, only way to stop it is by holding the zoom/focus ring! How stupid

[@BalticRailfan]

Do You mean Sony ECM-MS2?

[@donovanw.2943]

Happening with my HXR-NX80 as well.

[@UKAirscape]

:-( Damn, that's annoying

[@edmundsmickus]

Havr the same problems with my Z90

[@bellaye925]

Are you interested in reviewing our microphone? Can I know your email contact details?

[@Parky427]

No noise on mine at all. A truly great camera. Sounds to me like a Canon fanboy..

[@UKAirscape]

Oh please, what trolling nonsense. I have no Canon gear at all (used to have some though). The noise on the camcorder is genuine and has repeated since they fixed it first time around. Just because you don't have a fault doesn't mean anyone else won't.

[@Parky427]

Then why make this post then mate? All it achieves is running down a really good camera?

[@UKAirscape]

What on earth?! I'm not "running it down" that really is absurd; as if I have some agenda to deneigrate the camcorder. I posted because it is an issue which affected me - and I do know other folk with this camera who have also experienced it - and it is worth mentioning because it took me a long while to figure out what triggered the issue, so it could be useful info to anyone else with the camcorder. Clearly you love yours, that's fine, but I feel this is an issue that warranted mentioning.

[@vlcheish]

@@UKAirscape lmao

[@adrianfiddy2161]

What did you use for filming this segment?

[@UKAirscape]

A Sony AX53

[@adrianfiddy2161]

@@UKAirscape many thanks.