6k Pro Fan Noise

Hey everyone,

I got my hands on a 6k Pro, first thing that strikes me as I turn it on is the fan noise. It's really audible, to the point of making the camera unusable for interviews.

I have two sample clips I recorded, these are BRAW but it's the same in pro res at every res and frame rate. Using the internal mics - obviously thats not how I'd be recording an interview, but it just shows how loud they are.

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/ ... sp=sharing

Yet to have a response back from BMD support as I imagine that must have a lot of Qs coming in.

Is anyone else having this issue?

Same here. I also own the original 6k, which is barely audible in comparison. As no one else is complaining, maybe there are only a view outliers with loud fans?

The fan noise on those clips seems similar to mine. I've not got the original Pocket 6k so nothing to compare it with.

I was only planning on recording scratch audio to the camera so I'd not really thought about it as an issue but I presume this fan noise isn't loud enough to be picked up by a lavalier mic on the subject or a directional mic pointed at the subject?

Yup. Just got mine. Testing it now.

Definitely a loud and distinct fan noise. Saving grace is that after an initial ramp up, the pitch settles on a consistent frequency, which makes it much easier to notch out with NR in post if needed. But yeah, I just turned it on in a quiet room and took ten steps back from the cam. Can definitely hear it.

We use subject mounted lavaliers and shotgun mics mounted out of frame.
6K Pro "fan noise" is no issue whatsoever.

If you're using internal cam mic audio it could be an issue but I would not know as that is not a very good way to record audio.

Guy, there aren’t many situations in which recording from the internal camera mics will give you good results for a professional interview.

The suggestion to use lavalier mic(s) is very good and get a good quality lavaliere (not the cheapest), such as Sennheiser MKE2. You can also use modest mics like the Audio Design CM-4 XLR mics or others if you can place mics fairly close to the subjects.

And then you can improve upon the actual quality of the sound using off-camera recorders like the Sound Devices MixPre-6 II.

If interviews are important to you, augment the camera with additional quality gear my suggestions are all budget-minded, but I like to feel I’m getting good value rather than the least expensive cost. There are many options that are superior to what I can manage.

Guy, there aren’t many situations in which recording from the internal camera mics will give you good results for a professional interview.

The suggestion to use lavalier mic(s) is very good and get a good quality lavaliere (not the cheapest), such as Sennheiser MKE2. You can also use modest mics like the Audio Design CM-4 XLR mics or others if you can place mics fairly close to the subjects.

And then you can improve upon the actual quality of the sound using off-camera recorders like the Sound Devices MixPre-6 II.

If interviews are important to you, augment the camera with additional quality gear my suggestions are all budget-minded, but I like to feel I’m getting good value rather than the least expensive cost. There are many options that are superior to what I can manage.

Rick, as mentioned the sound is noticeable by ear when standing a good distance from the camera. I haven't had time yet to do the same test with a hyper pointing down over talent, but I can very easily hear it with my ears when standing 10 feet away from the camera. It isn't just air moving, it has a very distinct pitch...which does make it easier to apply NR in post. Still, nothing like my P4k. I don't own the 6k, so I can't compare there, but others have chimed in saying that the pro is noticeably louder than the 6k. I mean that screen is no joke, so I guess I can't be completely surprised.

I'm actually fine just using my pair of p4k cams for sit down interviews. The main purpose of the 6k pro is being able to move around with ND, bright monitor, and VF. So all good. Different tools.

But people should know what they're getting. The fan on this thing is pretty loud compared to a lot of cameras.

Ouch! That’s going to interfere with some shotgun mics even. The lavalier mics are designed to pickup good audio over a very short distance so if they were pinned on your subject and 10’ away, chances are you wouldn’t hear the camera. I use wireless Sennheiser AVX and the Sennheiser G4.

Here's a quick video testing the fan noise on the Pocket 6k Pro. His conclusion is that it's not really much of a problem unless you're relying on the internal mic:

I got my replacement unit today (had sent it back for another issue). Did some quick tests of the fan noise on my new unit.

Personally, I think it's ok (at least for my purposes) but anyone interested can listen to the test and judge for themselves:
https://vimeo.com/529095364/7c69587425

Apologies if it's not great, I'm not really a sound guy.

I purposefully filmed it in a small room so the camera was quite close to the subject. Sound recorded externally via Rode NTG2 to a Tascam DR-701D.

I also got a replacement unit and the fan runs nearly silent - I am glad to report that fan noise is a non-issue on normal units.

Got my second replacement unit from B&H today. Noise is still there. Sigh. Come on BM!

daisermac, when you say your unit runs completely silent, does it have an audible pitch? My P4K makes fan noise, but is almost completely silent when compared to the 6Kpro.

Yea I completely agree with above comments. I returned my unit to CVP in the UK because of the fan noise. As soon as turned the unit on I noticed it. I expect there to be a soft whirring fan noise but this also had a tinny,slight high pitched buzz layered on top of normal fan noise. Having good scratch can be beneficial sometimes. The replacement unit arrived Friday and that noise is still there. Have Ursa's and the soft whirring sound you would expect is there but not an issue.

It's August 2022 and I've had my 6K Pro for a few days. The fan is so loud that it reaches -30db from 6 feet away. Even using the Sennheiser 416, an interview would be impossible without distorting the voice considerably in post production.

Sometimes the fan does not come on immediately, or it seems to be at a slower speed and is much quieter (normal camera levels), but when it ramps up (which is 90% of the time) it draws in and pumps out a vast volume of air causing the unworkable noise.

I'm guessing I should send it back for a replacement?

Thanks for any help.

I have now received a replacement and having had it a few days I am pleased to report that this unit has a quiet fan. Very pleased a normal 6k Pro does not have a hoover built in

I have to say that yes the fan is noiser than my Canon C100 Mark II but they do have very quiet noise floors. Perhaps I'm lucky looking at the other posters that the fan on my BMCC 6K Pro has never been a problem, and I never use the camera's internal mics other than for scratch, or where I am filming outside where there is already a high amount of noise. If it's that then I mount a Rode mic on my cage and the audio from that has always been very usable.

Anyone that was able to fix this issue? I have Pockets 6k pro and after a few years of use one started being very loud this evening. Tried factory reset but it didn't help, neither did software update...

I would guess that your fan noise problem is the fan itself and not any software issue. It could be due to a faulty fan, or parts of the fan about to fail.

Not sure if you can find someone to replace the fan ?

Thanks Salopfilms. Yes that would probably be best idea. I texted support and waiting for answer. I am thinking that it could be failure of what reads temperature of camera and then forces fan to work really hard.

Here is how it sounds...
I wish I can post link but too few posts so far. Maybe this works.

youtube /watch?v=34MNrhf2okY