EOS R6 Mark II Audio Interference (but not on original R6?)

[OxbowFilm]

I was on a shoot with the r6 and r6mkii and had radio interference being recorded into the audio with the mkii. I've tested it multiple places and it always seems to happen with the mkii, but never with the original r6. My mkii is brand new, so Im thinking of returning it as their is no way to professionally capture audio without this happening. Wondering if anyone has had this happen before? Audio isn't from a lav, rather a boom mic and also a shotgun mic, fyi. Tested both, and both methods pick up radio interference, but the R6 doesn't at all in any of these same set ups...

[JoeySnaps]

What form does the radio interference take? Are you hearing taxi drivers talking to each other? Or broadcast radio? Or is this a 'buzz'?

Radio interference is usually a combination of a poor electrical connection somewhere acting like a diode, and a wire of a length that resonates with the interfering radio signal wavelength, acting as an aerial to inject the interference. Therefore I would double-check the mating surfaces of your audio connectors, and try a different length of mic cable.

I have an R6mkII myself and haven't experienced this problem, nor have I heard of others having such trouble.  I hope you get it solved!

[OxbowFilm]

Thanks yea it mostly seems to be radio, as its music playing and general static stuff. Happens in every location I've been to in multiple states, but yea only with the R6mkii. Im using balance cables too fyi, so I don't think this should be an issue.

[JoeySnaps]

Balanced cables? The audio input on the camera is not a balanced input. The only way I know of to make a balanced circuit to a microphone is using a third party audio interface such as the Tascam CA-XLR2D-C professional audio interface which connects to the multi-function shoe on the camera.

The 3.5mm jack audio input of the camera is unbalanced stereo TRS (tip-ring-sleeve). A proper balanced mic circuit should be immune to radio interference but you can't achieve that just by using a 'balanced' cable - which won't be balanced if not part of a balanced input circuit. A balanced cable is one where the audio signal is carried on a twisted pair of conductors which are surrounded by a braided or lapped shield conductor which is earthed at one end and not itself part of the signal circuit. The connectors are usually but not necessarily XLR.

An unbalanced cable has just one central conductor per channel, and the outer braid forms the return half of the audio circuit. It is therefore capable of picking up and injecting radio interference into the audio. The connectors are usually but not necessarily jack, either 1/4" or miniature 3.5 or 2.5mm.

The three connections of the camera 3.5mm jack audio input are Left live, Right live, and common return. There is no connection for an earthed external braid. If you're using a conventional 'balanced' cable, you need to connect the twisted pair of signal wires to Tip and Sleeve (for the left mic channel) or Ring and Sleeve (for the right mic channel). Leave the outer braid unconnected. This won't result in a real balanced circuit but might work, depending on the circuitry in the mic itself. If it doesn't work like that, try connecting the outer braid together with the signal return to the Sleeve.

I can't explain why you have this problem with the R6mkII but not with the R6. I have used both and not had the problem, but audio circuit differences might explain the mkII being less forgiving of inappropriate interconnection of microphones, perhaps?

[JoeySnaps]

I found this statement in the manual:

Sounds from Wi-Fi operations may be captured with built-in or external microphones. During sound recording, using the wireless communication function is not recommended.

[OxbowFilm]

Cool thanks. I have both, balanced and unbalanced, tried both, just though balanced ones would be helpful in this case. Either way its the same set up I've used to capture audio for interviews my whole career, 15 years +. Works great on everything except the mkii. If anyone else has input, I'd appreciate it.  

[JoeySnaps]

It's always possible your camera has a faulty mic input socket.

[OxbowFilm]

Yea I think its something like this maybe. Something faulty.

[Dboze092]

Did you ever find a cause or solution? I'm experiencing the same thing. Nothing in my setup changed except upgrade to the camera. Ran audio through a Zoom H4N Pro, recorded and passed through to the camera. Baked in audio clips while the recorded audio sounds great. Did I get a bad copy of the R6ii? 

[John_Q]

Hello Dboze092,

The update to the camera should not change the audio quality. I would suggest taking a look at JoeySnaps posts in this thread and checking things he's mentioned for starters. You may also want to check the sound recording level on the camera, as if this is set too high, it could produce unwanted interference.