Help with 70D / 7D MK II auto focus and audio

[MagnumJoe]

I recently bought a 7D MK II and need some help. Since the 70D has been out longer, maybe someone using it may be able to help. This is just something to capture video while my grandsons play, I’ve tried manual focus on my 5D MK III and it’s a bit fast pace and is one of the reasons I bought the 7D MK II.

I’m using a f/2.8 24-70 Tamron VC lens and with autofocus on I’m getting a lot of audio noise. I also tried a Zoom H1, but I still get the same results, unless the H1 it’s off camera. Would a Rode VideoMic Pro solve this issue, or should I buy the 18-135 STM kit lens.

 

[Ebrahim Saadawi]

Do you mean the lens AF mechanism sound?

if so, using any on-camera microphone (either a zoom or a rode) will pick up that noise, so your solution is a silent lens (STM). The other solution is to record sound separately off-camera and sync in post which is the best way, but really suitable for professional productions and doing it on fun/small family projects is a total pain.

So if you want to record good sound internally, and still use AF, use the zoom h1 on the hotshoe an STM lens. Works a treat. (the 18-135mm is my favourite video lens, the 10-18, 18-55, 55-250 are also very good, just avoid the 40mm STM as its the only STM lens my 70D picks noise from, not very loud but it is there)

 

[MagnumJoe]

Do you mean the lens AF mechanism sound?

if so, using any on-camera microphone (either a zoom or a rode) will pick up that noise, so your solution is a silent lens (STM). The other solution is to record sound separately off-camera and sync in post which is the best way, but really suitable for professional productions and doing it on fun/small family projects is a total pain.

So if you want to record good sound internally, and still use AF, use the zoom h1 on the hotshoe an STM lens. Works a treat. (the 18-135mm is my favourite video lens, the 10-18, 18-55, 55-250 are also very good, just avoid the 40mm STM as its the only STM lens my 70D picks noise from, not very loud but it is there)

That' makes sense and thank you for the suggestion. Maybe I should have bought the kit instead of body only. The good news is I can get the 18-135 from LA for 275.00 so I'm still in the plus.

 

[wyldeguy]

You could also try a Rode shotgun mic instead of the videomic. It's directional so it would have to be aimed where you want the sound from but it might ignore the cameras own sounds because of that.