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why is my Canon xa40 doing this?

Started Jan 18, 2022 | Questions thread
CanonC100User
CanonC100User Regular Member • Posts: 245
Re: why is my Canon xa40 doing this?
2

An open audio input should not cause a noise issue.

Balanced audio wiring is used to reject noise pickup such as rf in audio cables. It consists of two signal cables inside an overall screen. In an XLR connector they are typically connected as Screen to pin 1, + to pin 2, and - to pin 3. The microphone that the OP is using most likely has a mono (tip and sleeve) jack plug on it. That adapter he is using is probably a mono jack socket connected to the XLR. It has likely been wired with the screen connected to pins 1 & 3 of the XLR to provide an unbalanced connection. One of the problems in doing this is the body of the jack socket, which is probably metal as is the XLR body are connected together, hence the capacitance issue.

The way around this is to use a jack to XLR adapter in which the jack socket is a stereo one. It is perfectly ok to then plug an unbalanced source, the mic with the mono jack plug, into the adapter and unbalance the input that way. The one thing you cannot do with jack connections is use phantom power.

The only real solution is to use a microphone that uses balanced XLR connectors such as the Rode NTG2 Short Shotgun.

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