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  • Hey all, just changed over the backend after 15 years I figured time to give it a bit of an update, its probably gonna be a bit weird for most of you and i am sure there is a few bugs to work out but it should kinda work the same as before... hopefully :)

Fan Noise

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Stewart Read

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Does the fan on the Epic and Scarlet operate in the same way ? Or is one quieter than the other in terms of the fan kicking in ?

Thanks for any help - newby question.
 
They operate the same... Although some say Scarlet runs a few degress cooler. It's still loud though (one of those things you have to test and become familar enough with to be able to work around it when necessary.)
 
What happens when recording interviews and the Epic fan kicks in ? Do you have to stop recording (for sound reasons) ?
 
I read that thread Pat. This is very worrying.
 
I have been able to get away with a setting of about 38 or 39 for the fan for long interviews but even that is contingent on room temperature.
 
I'm using about 35% fan power for dialog and that gets me by. 25% for close to camera close ups.
 
I did not realise that the fan was such an issue, this has rather spooked me. Especially when I read that people have been 'embarrassed' (their words not mine!) by their camera on jobs.

It's also disconcerting that some people claim to have never had a problem with fan noise whilst others say it's their number 1 issue with their camera.

Unsure of whether to proceed with my order/build now.

All advice received gratefully.
 
Stewart Read said:
I did not realise that the fan was such an issue, this has rather spooked me. Especially when I read that people have been 'embarrassed' (their words not mine!) by their camera on jobs.

It's also disconcerting that some people claim to have never had a problem with fan noise whilst others say it's their number 1 issue with their camera.

Unsure of whether to proceed with my order/build now.

All advice received gratefully.
Click to expand...

Don't be spooked, go ahead and order your camera. The camera has a fan, it keeps the camera from melting down. Is it a problem? No. Does it get loud from time to time? Yes. The "dialogue" you've been reading and fretting over is a collection of opinions by folks. Take everything you read on the internet with a grain of salt. (remember that State Farm commercial?) The fan has been designed to kick in whenever the camera reaches a predetermined level. You can adjust it if you like. Personally, I've never made changes to the settings and have shot many a long-take interview without it ever being an issue. But then again, I typically don't do interviews in saunas or place my camera two feet from my subject during said interview. My rule is, if I'm hot, the camera is too.

I'm in the older crowd here and as such, come from a different school of thought. I don't expect my camera to shoot without any illumination, so I feed it light. I don't expect the ISO to be grainless (noiseless) if I'm setting it at 6000 ISO/ASA. I've come to learn that cameras are not magic machines able to produce amazing images if I know squat about proper lighting, proper audio or good design. The Epic is an amazing system, but you still have to know what you're doing or it will simply record your shortcomings and ineptitude in glorious 5K splendor.
 
Mark is right. Sadly I can't match his elegant prose. I belong to the older crowd too :)

Putting all that electronics into a tiny metal box has a price. However, I have shot many long interviews with the camera for documentaries and also used it for drama without any real issues and I can tell you that I care about the sound that I capture. The fan settings are highly adjustable.
 
If fan noise were to cause you to consider using a closer micing technique and putting a longer lens on to move the camera back a few feet then your interviews et al. can only benefit. Your subjects will be more comfortable because they will not have a camera up their nose and may give you better material. They will look better, sound better and be more relaxed. It's a win/win scenario. ;-) embrace it.

EDIT: Sorry, my head was stuck in the context of some of the prior threads on the subject.
 
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Mark Phelan said:
Don't be spooked, go ahead and order your camera. The camera has a fan, it keeps the camera from melting down. Is it a problem? No. Does it get loud from time to time? Yes. The "dialogue" you've been reading and fretting over is a collection of opinions by folks. Take everything you read on the internet with a grain of salt. (remember that State Farm commercial?) The fan has been designed to kick in whenever the camera reaches a predetermined level. You can adjust it if you like. Personally, I've never made changes to the settings and have shot many a long-take interview without it ever being an issue. But then again, I typically don't do interviews in saunas or place my camera two feet from my subject during said interview. My rule is, if I'm hot, the camera is too.

I'm in the older crowd here and as such, come from a different school of thought. I don't expect my camera to shoot without any illumination, so I feed it light. I don't expect the ISO to be grainless (noiseless) if I'm setting it at 6000 ISO/ASA. I've come to learn that cameras are not magic machines able to produce amazing images if I know squat about proper lighting, proper audio or good design. The Epic is an amazing system, but you still have to know what you're doing or it will simply record your shortcomings and ineptitude in glorious 5K splendor.
Click to expand...

What a great post.

Unfortunately I only have a Scarlet. So I can only capture my ineptitude in glorious 4K and can't watch it back quite as slowly. However I hope to be able to upgrade to Dragon one day and then really see if I can't push the levels of my ineptitude capture to new highs :)
 
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