Internal Mic - Scratchy Sounds Canon EOS 90D

[msaluga]

I took video footage with my Canon EOS 90D a week ago and the sound quality was perfectly fine! Then last night, after not using my camera all week, I took more video footage and suddenly these awful scratchy sounds have started. My wifi and bluetooth were both off at the time of recording, my audio compression is disabled, and I even tested it at home just now in a quiet room and it's still making this noise. I tested an external mic and there is no scratchy sound when I use that. Help! Any tricks or quick fixes? If not, is it a costly repair or should I just purchase a small external mic? (Any and all suggestions appreciated!) 

#canoneos90d #canon90d #90d #audio #internalmic

[BurnUnit]

The scratchiness in your video seems to be in the left channel only. Right or wrong, this leads me to think it might be a microphone issue. It reminds me of the random noises you get sometimes when a plug-in jack isn't making a good contact with its mating connector.

I would try a good contact cleaner like DeOxit 5 and give the microphone plug a good cleaning. Don't spray the cleaner directly into the camera connector. Spray the mic plug and while still wet plug it in and out the camera socket a few times to work it in.

[msaluga]

Thanks for your input! While that's helpful information, I don't have an issue with my external mic or the port. It's when I use the internal mic that this sound occurs.

[rs-eos]

Sounds like the camera developed a fault with the internal microphone.  Would definitely recommend getting an external microphone (or sound recorder) as that can provide much higher quality than built-in mics.  Can then avoid having to do a repair. Or use the internal mic only for scratch audio if supported and you need that.

One thing to research... depending upon how the external mic will be mounted to the camera, it may pick up camera sounds (e.g. lens focusing), so you'll likely need solutions to get the mic far enough away (or use boom mics, lapel mics on talent, etc.)

[msaluga]

Thank you for your feedback. I really appreciate it. I'm thinking an external mic might be a simple and budget-friendly fix. Much of the footage I take is centered around nature with music put over it or live acoustic shows, so a simple external mic might suffice because I don't often worry about the focusing sounds. The scratchiness of this video breaks my heart because it was an otherwise good video supporting this local artist. 

[Waddizzle]

The noise reminds me of a dirty/dusty microphone pickup in an old rotary dial telephone.  

[John_Q]

Hello msaluga,

This is likely not the cause but we want to ensure that you avoid covering the built-in microphone or brushing against it with your fingers or other objects during recording. You can try setting the sound recording level manually to see if that helps. In order to access all menu items, make sure that you set the camera to one of the Creative modes such as, P, Av, Tv, or M. I would suggest setting the camera to the P mode. Set the [Sound rec.] menu option to Manual. Select [Rec. level] and press the < or > keys while looking at the level meter to adjust the sound-recording level. Look at the peak hold indicator and adjust so that the level meter sometimes lights up on the right of the “12” (-12 dB) mark for the loudest sounds. If it exceeds “0”, the sound will be distorted. I hope this is helpful.

If the problem persists, then the camera may need to be evaluated at a service center. We are not able to provide an estimate without our factory service technicians seeing your product first. The FSC would provide that estimate to you once they have had a chance to look over the camera, and you have provided them with the problem description. Alternatively, you can use an external microphone instead if you'd like.

[Waddizzle]

John_Q raised a great point.  What lens are you using?  You could also be hearing noise from the lens AF or IS motors.  Try disabling one or both.