Sony HDR-AS30V Audio: Fake Fur FTW!

A scrap of fake fur cut to fit the outline of the Sony HDR-AS30V helmet camera and stuck in place with a square of double-stick foam centered above (or below, in the normal orientation) the lens:

Sony HDR-AS30V - fake fur installed
Sony HDR-AS30V – fake fur installed

Snippy remarks about what that looks like will not be tolerated, m’kay?

It reduces wind noise to an occasional rumble from strong gusts and even those don’t crush the AGC. My side of our radio conversations became clearly audible, as did shifters clicking and gravel crunching. There’s still plenty of noise, but now it comes from actual sound sources that don’t overwhelm the amp.

A layer of ordinary adhesive tape still covers the mic pores and the fur’s fabric backing extends over the tape, so the combination must muffle the sound at least a little bit. Given the source material and my hearing, it’s Good Enough; Golden Eared Audiophiles need not apply.

I also cannot detect any difference between the left and right audio channels, so the stereo separation at 15 mm isn’t worth much. I don’t know if the camera swaps the audio channels in video flip mode; that would be a nice touch.

The hairs extending outward beside the lens occasionally blew into view, so a haircut is in order:

mah00242-075 - Fake Fur in view
mah00242-075 – Fake Fur in view

Perhaps a clip that snaps over the skeleton frame to hold a neat patch of fur in place without adhesive on the camera body would be even better?

4 thoughts on “Sony HDR-AS30V Audio: Fake Fur FTW!

  1. You could print a 3D frame to hold it, but if it wasn’t tight, it might rattle, which would be ironic at best. You could put foam pads on the frame to keep it from rattling. Then velcro to hold the fur on? It’s amusing when apparently simple problems end up with a bunch of engineering.

    1. > It’s amusing when apparently simple problems end up with a bunch of engineering.

      Isn’t it though? Maybe that was how “over-engineered” began? Or was it creeping-featurism? As my old boss used to say, “time to shoot the engineer so the project can be completed”.

    2. The obvious endpoint: a custom 3D printed fur-bearing helmet camera mount!

      Hmmm

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