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Why does my Rode Stereo Video Mic produce a static?

When I hook up my Rode SVM to my Canon 550D and start recording, there is a static which is about as loud as the normal sound on the video. Here is a link to a video of mine where you can hear it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fBUKdmjAV7s It's for the first 43 seconds of the video, the rest i did with the internal mic of the cam. Anyone know how i can fix this? Or is it the camera's fault?

Public Comments

1. Noisy pre-amps. A flaw of DSLRs. The camera is pumping the gain when its quiet, the gain adds signal noise. There are two ways around it: Record audio seperately on something like a zoom H4n. Synch the audio in editing with a hand clap or similar distinct noise. Input your audio through something like a juiced link or beachtek DXA-DSLR or DXA-5Da which has an auto-gain control over-ride. This pugs in between the mic and the camera body. The Canon 5D2 had manual audio level and auto-gain off controls added as a firmware upgrade, as a 7D owner I'm hopeful they'll do the same for that. They may also do the same for 550D but nobody really knows for sure.
2. Sorry, I couldn't open the link. But in general, the plug might be loose in the socket on the camera, or the pin connections might be wrong, or the battery in the mic might be flat, or the mic might not have been switched on. Try a few experiments, wiggling the plug gently. Try the mic also on a friend's camcorder, if you can.