Removing Hissing Sound from Film Audio - Equipment Dependent?

AI Thread Summary
When filming with a camera's built-in or external microphone, the presence of a hissing sound in the audio can often be attributed to the quality of the microphone and the camera's analog-to-digital converter (ADC). Users with low-cost microphones frequently report persistent hissing, suggesting that equipment quality plays a significant role in audio clarity. Some experienced users have noted that they do not encounter this issue, indicating that better equipment may mitigate such noise. Troubleshooting methods, such as adjusting microphone placement and testing different recording environments, can help identify the source of the hiss. Additionally, issues like electrical grounding or ground loops may contribute to unwanted noise in recordings. Overall, while some users may manually remove hissing in post-production, others achieve clear audio without such interventions, highlighting the importance of equipment quality and setup.
leroyjenkens
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When you film something using the microphone on the camera or an external microphone, is there always that hissing sound that you have to remove by running the video through a high pass or low pass filter? Or does it depend on the quality of the microphone? I have a pretty cheap microphone, and I always have that hissing sound. Both the internal and external microphones for my camera make that sound that I have to have removed from the audio.
I've watched lots of videos taken by people and none of them have that hissing sound in them, so I was wondering if I'm just operating with really cheap equipment, or are all of those people manually having that hissing sound removed from their audio before uploading the videos.

Thanks.
 
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No hissing sounds on my videos, shot using at least 5 different cameras*, IMHO either your camera mike or your camera ADC is noisy.

*That is, there is a cracking sound on videos I shot with PowerShot D20, but I believe mike was killed by 60 ft of water. It is guaranteed to survive 33 ft.
 
leroyjenkens said:
Both the internal and external microphones for my camera make that sound that I have to have removed from the audio.

Does your external microphone have a cord with a decent length? You could try trouble-shooting the setup. Make different recordings with the external microphone 1) close to the camera, pointing towards the camera 2) further away from the camera, pointing away from it and e.g. 3) with the camera "soundproofed" (e.g. put a pillow over it, covering the camera). In this way, and if you compare the recordings, you should be able to determine where the hissing sound comes from.
 
leroyjenkens said:
When you film something using the microphone on the camera or an external microphone, is there always that hissing sound that you have to remove by running the video through a high pass or low pass filter? Or does it depend on the quality of the microphone? I have a pretty cheap microphone, and I always have that hissing sound. Both the internal and external microphones for my camera make that sound that I have to have removed from the audio.
I've watched lots of videos taken by people and none of them have that hissing sound in them, so I was wondering if I'm just operating with really cheap equipment, or are all of those people manually having that hissing sound removed from their audio before uploading the videos.

Thanks.

Semi-random guess- lack of an electrical ground, or ground 'loops' (multiple grounds).
 
I also think it's likely that the hiss comes from the electronics and/or power supply.
 
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