Rode VideoMic Pro problems on 5DMkIV

I am very disappointed with the VideoMic Pro because I have several music recordings where there was no sound on the video I shot on a Canon 5D MkIV with the Rode mic plugged in and attached.

I finally discovered the problem. After experimenting, I discovered that the mic will work some of the time if you push hard and hold the plug into the camera. If you let go, sometimes it works and sometimes not.

At those unfortunate times when it did not work, even the built in mic in the camera did not work, thus I got no audio at all on some special songs.

It would appear to me, it might be the mini-plug is ever so slightly too short to made a good solid connection to the MKIV?? Is that possible?

Anybody else had this problem?? I emailed Rode customer support tonite, waiting for their response.

you might try a (short) extention cable, those plugs sometimes are a little less problematic.

i record my sound separately, (a pair of DPA 4011tl into Tascam 680mkii) @24/96 and reduce that in cool edit pro to 16/48 for video.

sinc on a clapper if possible, but sync on the audio track with a 2 camera setup works well.

just need a bit of practice.. and a lot of time. Just finished a video of a concert with r88, 5d2 video + photo, separate soundboard recording to tascam 680mkii.

Heard good things about the Sound Devices pix-pre 3/6/10 if you are looking for a (field) audio recorder.

I like the Tascam because it can run on 8 AA batteries, and the mix pre's weren't released when i bought my tascam, the 788T is just too expensive for what i do.

Normally i just do audio recording, but on special request did a video as well... steep learing curve..

It would appear to me, it might be the mini-plug is ever so slightly too short to made a good solid connection to the MKIV?? Is that possible?

Anybody else had this problem?? I emailed Rode customer support tonite, waiting for their response.

It is slightly too short! The plug does not go in all the way on my camera either. However, it sits snugly in place and does not shift when I provoked it. I'm sorry to hear about your problem. I think you should address Canon with this issue.

I am going to send the mic to Rode, it's covered under warranty.

I am very disappointed with the VideoMic Pro because I have several music recordings where there was no sound on the video I shot on a Canon 5D MkIV with the Rode mic plugged in and attached.

I finally discovered the problem. After experimenting, I discovered that the mic will work some of the time if you push hard and hold the plug into the camera. If you let go, sometimes it works and sometimes not.

At those unfortunate times when it did not work, even the built in mic in the camera did not work, thus I got no audio at all on some special songs.

It would appear to me, it might be the mini-plug is ever so slightly too short to made a good solid connection to the MKIV?? Is that possible?

Anybody else had this problem?? I emailed Rode customer support tonite, waiting for their response.

Well, I just responded without seeing your two responses, Mark and TriggerHappy. Thanks for the prompt replies.

So I just did a test with Rode mic and with a simple old cheap Labtec mic [for Skype calls] I had laying around.

It and the Rode both displayed the same results,

I plug the mic in firmly, and it doesn't work, I put pressure on the mic and hold, and only then does either mic work.

The plug length of both is exactly the same.

By the way, the simple headphones I used for testing, when I plugged in the mini plug to the MarkIV, it worked fine, no need to put pressure on it.

SO, it's not the plug being too short, it's the damn jack on the MKIV that is not functioning properly.

The MarkIV is about 8 months into its 1 year warranty, but I hate to give it up while they repair it. I don't really want to use my 6D's which are mostly just a back up at this point. I've got about 4 weeks before an important music gig, and I would also like to use the MarkIV for a concert coming up in 2 weeks.

Do you think Canon would get it back to me in that amount of time?

I agree, the camera mic is not bad, but the Rode has to be better, right? Especially for music, right? It was part of a pkg whre B&H threw it in for free, that's what pushed me over the edge to go ahead and get the MarkIV.

I will call Canon tech support tomorrow and get their take on it. Surely they can replace the mic jack easily, right? Or maybe they would just give me a new MarkIV, hehe. I can dream, can't I?

Thanks again for everybody's input. I am very thankful for forums like this.

Wade in Nashville

I agree with jd, try a little extension cable. I use a Zoom H4N and do off-camera audio recording. I also have a 5D MK IV, but I don't use a Rhode. My studio mic is an Electro-Voice RE20 and all the cabling plugs are XLR, so the MIC cables work well with my mixing board and/or the Zoom H4N. So I can't do a check, but it sounds like TriggerHappy confirmed the problem. I just let the camera use it's own mic, not the best, but it allows me to easily sync the Zoom audio file and the camera audio can be used as a back up if needed or can be mixed with the external audio recording if the audio is clean enough off camera.

I've got about 4 weeks before ... and ... 2 weeks.

Do you think Canon would get it back to me in that amount of time?

Sadly, audio is the weak link on DSLR's to the extent that many people use a separate recorder and accept the extra work in editing. A half way solution is to use an adapter

DXA-SLR - beachtek but at a price. It might be worth checking with Beachtek if there are any known issues with connection to 5D MK4.

Pro video cameras are equipped with XLR sockets and comprehensive monitoring, but problems can still occur. Sound recording is too often overlooked and is actually more challenging that the pictures in many situations.

No personal experience + I am in a different part of the world. But they are Canon(!), who else if not them? - Ship swiftly to make the 2 weeks gig and don't worry about the 4 weeks one. Maybe ponder joining CPS?

So I called Canon again today. The rep said he had never heard of this problem with mic jack on a MkIV. He agreed to have me send it to Canon [i am 8 months into the 1 year warranty] He said I would first get an emal Canon describing the return process and a day or so later I would get an email from UPS with the free return mailing label. I was pleasantly surprised to get the Canon email within a few hours and the UPS email a short while later. So I plan to send it to Canon tomorrow. Yesterday the rep said they can take 5-7 days with the camera. So I think/hope I will get it back within 2 weeks. I will have to make do with 6D's for now. I really like the MkIV, wish I could afford/justify a second MkIV.

Found this thread on another board. Is the jack clicking twice when plugging in?

Link

Although I have not seen or had this issue with a camera--it is one encountered every so often with amateur radio gear. The RTS contacts on the inside of the jack are too far back--as something such as the jack being set too far behind the mounting or escutcheon plate. The answer is easier--make the plug a bit longer with your handy "PLUG STRETCHER."

This involves nothing more than taking an X-Acto or other sharp knife and removing about 1mm from the shoulder of the plastic molded on the plug sleeve portion. If this is not enough, take another millimeter off. This allows the plug to penetrate deeper into the jack. Oh, and removal of small amounts will not harm operation in jacks that are not mounted in a short fashion...

Found this thread on another board. Is the jack clicking twice when plugging in?

Link

Wade, the OP, did get back to me at let me know the link helped him, indeed pushing harder made the plug click a second time and the mic worked fine.

For some reason, he was unable to post that reply to this thread according to what he told me. I thought I should update the thread in case anyone else has this issue.

Cheers,

Mark

So I called Canon again today. The rep said he had never heard of this problem with mic jack on a MkIV. He agreed to have me send it to Canon [i am 8 months into the 1 year warranty] He said I would first get an emal Canon describing the return process and a day or so later I would get an email from UPS with the free return mailing label. I was pleasantly surprised to get the Canon email within a few hours and the UPS email a short while later. So I plan to send it to Canon tomorrow. Yesterday the rep said they can take 5-7 days with the camera. So I think/hope I will get it back within 2 weeks. I will have to make do with 6D's for now. I really like the MkIV, wish I could afford/justify a second MkIV.

The same issue happened on my new Mark IV. I tested my two Rodes. I believe this is Canon's problem. Can you tell me what's going on after you sent your camera to Canon? If there is an easy way to figure out that without sending it to Canon?

Thank you so much!

I have discovered a different problem with my Videomic Pro. I get a horrible interference when I switch on the camera's wi-fi. It sounds like crackling, popping, tapping and sometimes like a low-fi explosion from an old 8-bit games console (Atari, etc). Has anyone else experienced that and found a fix?

Do a search on Rode microphone issues. I see people complaining. Maybe the solution is to find a different Mic. I don't do much video work lately, some band stuff sometimes, but I have a Zoom H4N, and can do off camera audio recording and can simultaneously run it into the camera or not, my choice. My Zoom is a few years old, there is the new Zoom H4N Pro out that has an even better noise floor. It comes with two built in mics and has two XLR inputs and you can record up to 4 channels at once. Think about the potential, you could input cavalier mics, hook into a sound mixing board. These are around $199. You can recombine all your audio in post easy enough with a number of video editing software's.

I get a horrible interference when I switch on the camera's wi-fi.

This occurred to me, so I have to ask. I thought video mode is disabled on the 5D MK IV when Wi-Fi is enabled, thus no audio recording could take place.

Was there a fix in a firmware update? Or are you just wearing headphones shooting stills with Wi-Fi on and does audio still pass through to headphones when not in video mode?

Hello,

I've exactly the same issue. My Rode Videomic pro Stereo, won't connect correctly. With mit EOS 7D2 its working without any issue. In the 5D4 sometimes I only have the left channel.. sometimes it switches to the internal mic.. i played arround in the calibration settings. On that screen you lower the "input" (( in the first quarter) and change my rode to +20db.. with that setting you'll see every change between external and internaml mic cause the internal is not that loud than the external rode.

So, i'll sent my 5d to a CPS office. Lets see what happens now.. I'll update you as soon as I've it back.

cheers

spl1

Hi,

Afte rseveral days Igot my camera back from the Canon Servicepartner. They changed the parts: PCB ASSY and INTERFACE.

No everything is ok with my Rode Videomic Pro Stereo. No flicker and no connectionproblems anymore.

cheers

I am having the exact same problem with my 5dMKIV. The rode works just fine on the 5dMKIII. The first time it happened I assumed it was user error. I wish I had sent it back during warranty period for that problem, instead during that period they had to put in a new motherboard as it kept corrupting memory cards. SPL1 how much was the repair with the CPS discount?

Hi,

 

Afte rseveral days Igot my camera back from the Canon Servicepartner. They changed the parts: PCB ASSY and INTERFACE.

No everything is ok with my Rode Videomic Pro Stereo. No flicker and no connectionproblems anymore.

 

cheers