EOS RP (video) sound problems

Has anyone noticed clicking and pops in the audio when recording video with a mic attached to the microphone port of the camera?

You have to listen very closely to actually hear the issue, because as far as I can tell the clicking sounds do not happen over silence or ambient sound, only when I'm talking (and I'm not clipping, I'm nowhere near clipping). The clicks are visible in the spectral view but not waveform view of an audio editor, even more noticeable (and audible) after normalizing and/or adjust dynamic compression.

I'm still trying to narrow down to whether it is a settings issue, or (hopefully) just my own defecting hardware that I can send to Canon... but in the meantime, here's what I'm finding out:

• setting the attenuator function on or off doesn't affect the issue
• using MF and switching IS off doesn't affect the issue
• the audio compression setting in the C.Fn menu doesn't affect the issue
• using a mono mic (i.e. only the left side has audio) seems to accentuate the issue and make the clicks more frequent and periodic in nature
• formatting the SD card with SD Formatter doesn't affect the issue, though I need to get another card to test if the card might be causing the problem

Also, if anyone has any links to YouTube reviews where it is clear that they are using an external microphone plugged into the camera's microphone port for their audio, I'll appreciate a link so that I can go and see if their camera is also exhibiting this problem.

Thanks in advance!

Are you using auto gain or using manual? If using auto, switch to manual and set the slider almost all the way down. The preamps might me doing this. Also, if using the RF 35 f1.8, the focus mechanism is rather noisy, marring an otherwise great lens.

Steven Blackwood said:

Are you using auto gain or using manual? If using auto, switch to manual and set the slider almost all the way down. The preamps might me doing this. Also, if using the RF 35 f1.8, the focus mechanism is rather noisy, marring an otherwise great lens.

Click to expand...

No, I've only been using manual. Auto is way too aggressive/hot.

Okay, so turns out the clicks and pops aren't related to the camera, but the totally crappy internal onboard audio of my laptop. When I use a higher quality USB audio interface (which I should have been using for editing, just being a lazy S.O.B. lol), the clicks and pops are non-existent.

About the clicks being "visible" in the spectral view of the audio editor, well, I think they're something else. When listening to the offending mono source (a lavalier microphone with TRS jack) I still hear what seems like either a compression artifact or channel crosstalk noise, I don't know exactly, on the right channel so I think that's what the spectral view is showing.

Hi Adrian,

I'm glad you sorted out your problems with sound pops and distortion on the RP.

I just bought the R and have a similar problem but mine is definitely in the camera. Your thread was the only mention I found online so I assume that it is a rare hardware issue and the camera will need to go back to canon. I wanted to post a description of the behaviour I'm seeing or rather hearing to see if anyone else has experienced this and may or may not have a solution.

Not sure if what you were experiencing was the same but mine seems to be very specifically to do with turning the camera on with the power switch or waking it from sleep and recording video very soon after. About six seconds into every recording I'm getting a clear spike on the soundbars which is also very loud. It jumps from nothing up into the red for a frame or two. Sometimes it also happens later in the same movie file but it is always repeatable, just after the camera powers up.

It's always only on the left channel and doesn't bleed into the right channel at all and happens in every permutation of internal sound recording regardless of frame rate, resolution, sound setting - auto or manual, lens combination, wifi on or off, bluetooth on or off. I thought perhaps it might be the card not being fast enough but I've encountered the same behaviour bypassing the card and recording straight to an atoms ninja as well.

The only thing that prevents it happening is using an external mic, like a rode video mic. This is fine for my uses but I can't believe it's meant to sound like this.

I do a lot of sound recording and it sounds like when a mic lead gets pulled or inserted while recording. I'm guessing that a connector is loose on the left internal mic but I'm not sure why it would only tend to do it five or six seconds after recording starts...strange, perhaps there's a power increase or temperature rise as the video gets going.

Anyway, if someone has experienced the same thing let me know. The poor things only a day old and its already looking like its going to be returned!

As a stills camera I love it by the way, after years of Sony use its like coming home...albeit with broken audio though!

thanks Paul

It does sound like a hardware issue considering everything you've done to diagnose it. Hope Canon will help you sort it out!

Hi Alan,

Yes I think so too. I'll let you know how I get on at Wex, hopefully they will just swap it for a new one!

many thanks Paul

sorry Adrian, I meant to say!

Johnvoigtlander said:

sorry Adrian, I meant to say!

Click to expand...

johnvoigtlander did you get this resolved completely? Looks like it's an issue with R6/R5 too. Here's the thread I am on currently on Canon support: