I just bought a D600 with the ME-1 and am also experiencing a very noticeable hiss with the audio. What a disappointment, as I was explicitly purchasing this setup to get reasonable video and audio.

Is this a known defect with the mic or cameras?

I too bought the D800 to shoot video and capture audio. I shot my first interview this week and came home with the hiss. I have been testing assorted work around but why should I need a work around when I just paid 3,000 for a camera! Canon here I come.

Remi,

I totally understand your frustration with Nikon. It's unfortunate that we have to find a work around for this issue considering the caliber of the camera. My suggestion is by far the least expensive work around and has allowed me to shoot "hiss free" without having to capture audio separately. You're looking at a $125 fix. When I posed the issue to Nikon at PDN in New York their response was "It's a still camera first and foremost that also shoots great video. Any professional shooting knows the importance of always capturing audio separately." I wasn't too pleased with the response.

Let me know if you want me to send you some images of my set up, though I'm sure you're all good. Good luck.

The sound hiss is a big issue and I bought the camera at vast expense to avoid recording sound separately so I can do solo jobs. I feel cheated and misinformed by Nikon. Is there a less complicated way to eliminate the hiss from an otherwise great camera?

I've had the same issue with my D800 but found a work around which has delivered successful results. I have a Rodes directional mic plugged into an H1 audio recorder, then the H1 going out, into the D800. The gain on the Rodes mic is set to "0", the H1 is set to max input volume and the D800 is set to a volume lever of 3. I have a double cold-shoe splitter on top of the D800 which holds the mic and H1. The great thing is that not only does this solve the hiss problem COMPLETELY, i also have volume control on the H1 while shooting. A feature unavailable on the D800.

OK I screwed up and had my playback sound too low but the issue remains that the audio level meters disappear from the camera display when recording with a monitor attached to the HDMI.

I have used my D800 to record movies using either internal or external mics with no problem but I have a new project and just connected my SmallHD DSP6 monitor to the HDMI and all looked good - sound levels shown on D800 during set up but when I hit Record the level meters disappeared from my D800 display and no sound recorded on the movie file, Removed the HDMI connection and I could record movies with sound with no problem. Could not find any settings in menu ??

I think you'll be happy with it, gethinshaji. Share some photos on the photo-a-day thread if you feel so inclined. Good luck!

Hai guys :)... Its the VR ... Thanks :)...

Yes, I would guess VR turning off. Try switching off the VR on the lens and see if it disappears. Then switch the VR back on.

What is a "tuck" sound? Does the camera work properly? Is there a reference in the manual to this? Does it correlate to the information readout disappearing at the same time? Is there any change when viewing through the camera when this occurs?

Is this a soft sound or sharp? Muffled? Snapping? Scrapping?

Most likely, if the camera functions the way it should and the controls all work, the images are consistent with your settings, the sound is nothing to worry about.

OK, try this.... or see if this is what is happening. On my D4 w' 16-35mm f/4 VR, I press the shutter release half way, the lens starts humming as it focuses, and the VR is working, then a second or so after I release the button it makes a slightly louder muffled click and is silent. I believe this is the mechanical stuff simply shutting down. I had to put my ear up to the camera body to hear this, however.

Good luck, and thanks....never knew the thing made so much noise....

Most likely the aperture blades or VR shutting off.

Hi guys :)... Got D5100 :)... Got a query ... When i release the shutter release button i can hear a small "tuck" sound after some 2 to 3 seconds, (not the usual mirror movement sound)... I don't know what it is ... Should I be concerned about it ... Or is it usual ... Help me out ...

Walmart Online has the D5100 with the 18-55 lens for $699.

B & H has several used or refurbished D5100s with various lenses, from the $500 to $800 range. This may allow an extra lens or the kits they have with two lenses cover a lot of ground...

FWIW, I love my D5100. Purchased a Demo package through Cameta Camera. No regrets thus far.

What the hell? I'm paying three thousand dollars for a DSLR and Nikon makes a camera with reverse polarity thus causing audio hiss. I'm far from a troll, and love my Nikon camera; but these types of difficulties warrant the use of the D800 out in the field pretty useless. I am a photographer for my college's newspaper. We're expanding the multimedia department to include onsite interviews and the like. If the D800 has an audio hiss (given that we have Sennheiser wireless lavalier microphones already), and it will be difficult to receive a replacement with such high demand, what are we, as the consumer, supposed to do?

I'm having the same problem. I'm using a Pearstone lavalier plugged directly in to the cam, and have adjusted the gain up and down with the noise being an issue at all levels. I've had good luck using the Rode Video Mic Pro with the +20db setting. But would love to get a solution for using my lav directly into the D800 body.

Probably a good choice. I love my D5000 still. It is one my desk right now.

Yup, you are right :), I have missed lot of opportunities. I have decided to get one. Mostly D5100 :).

Thanks for that - I'll rig something up and see what happens. Might also pop into Nikon HQ to see if they all do it!

gethinshaji said:
Hi guys. Thanks for the replies. Will it be wise enough to wait for the announcements of new dslrs this year ?.

Do you need a camera now?

It's always wise to get the best you can, but if you're missing opportunities because you don't have a camera, it's not worth the wait.

Hi guys. Thanks for the replies. Will it be wise enough to wait for the announcements of new dslrs this year ?.

Hmm...could the polarity be reversed? Try swapping the wires and see if the hiss goes away. If it does, Nikon wired the socket backwards.

Hi there, just wondered if anyone else is having problems with their D800 audio?

The sound is fine using the built-in camera mic (although obviously poor quality) but as soon as I plug in any external mic I get really noticeable background hiss. I've tried the ME-1, a Sennheiser radio mic, a wired lavalier mic but they all behave the same - any sound monitored and recorded has a strong background noise that renders it unusable.

I've tried changing the input levels from auto to manual, from low to high, headphone levels from low to high, but the hiss is always there. Recording the same audio with my Zoom HN4 shows no problems at all.

Am I missing something obvious? Or has the D800 a really bad audio circuit with plug-in mics?

Cheers,

Paul