Cooling fans (or perhaps more accurately temperature regulating fans) are an unfortunate necessity on modern high resolution cameras. As we try to read more and more pixels, process them and then encode them at ever greater resolutions more and more heat is generated. Throw in higher frame rates and the need to do that processing even faster and heat becomes an issue, especially in smaller camera bodies. So forced air cooling becomes necessary if you wish to shoot uninterrupted for extended periods..
Many camcorder users complain about fan noise. Not just with the FX6 but with many modern cameras. But fans are something we need, so we need to learn to live with the noise they make. And the fan isn’t just cooling the electronics, it is carefully regulating the temperature of the camera trying to keep it within a narrow temperature range.
The fan regulates the temperature of the sensor by taking warm air from the processing electronics and passing it over fins attached to the back of the sensor. I am led to believe that at start up the fan runs for around 30 seconds to quickly warm up the sensor. From there the camera tries to hold the sensor and electronics at a constant warm temperature, not too cold, not too hot, so that the sensor noise levels and black levels remain constant. The sensor is calibrated for this slightly warm temperature.
As well as running in the default auto mode there are “minimum” and “off in record” modes for the fan in the technical section of the FX6’s main menu. Minimum forces the fan to run all the time at a low level so it doesn’t cycle on and off, possibly at higher levels. Off in record turns the fan off when recording – however the fan will still come on if there is a risk of damage due to overheating. Off in record can result in minor changes to noise as black levels during longer takes as the camera’s internal temperature rises, but you’ll likely only see this if you look carefully for it.
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Maybe the fx6 is different , but Ive never had any compliant from audio about the fx9 fan , I have it in auto mode , it seems to be very quiet ..
The FX6 is perhaps marginally noisier, but I’ve never had any real issues with it. I suspect some of this is users clamping mics in the mic holder so tightly that the suspension isn’t able to damp out the vibrations that pass through the body and using auto gain so that during quiet moments the gain level pumps up and any background noise will appear loud.
Have you or other users experienced audio recording completely cutting out on the FX6? This was a rented camera (not had the problem with our own), and while recording, audio stopped: level indicators for all 4 channels inc built in mic dead, no sound through headphones. Shutting down and re-booting the camera solved the issue. I ask because the hire company said they had heard of this and reported it to Sony (though didn’t tell us!). They speculate it’s to do with the handle connection, possibly happening when the front MI shoe is loaded. We were using a Sony 2-channel receiver in the front shoe.
**Apologies if this is the wrong place to post, but I thought other FX6 users might be interested. A fantastically useful site – thanks**
It is definitely not unheard of for the handle to come a little loose, that is why the screws have a slot for an allen key to make sure they are tight.