Ok now I am sure. The GH5's audio sucks balls (both with and without a mic)

[fuzzynormal]

On 7/21/2017 at 9:22 AM, jonpais said:

I believe I'm hearing distortion.

I run it hot, actually.

However, on my next interview with the ew100 receiver, I dialed the output db down -3 more and did like that audio better. 

The internal GH5 input is set at -12.

I've had trouble in the past with hybrid-camera pre-amps being noisy/hissy if the signal is too thin. 

FWIW, if the audio clips a little bit (emphasis on little) in places I tend to correct that in post with iZotope's audio Rx.

Granted, this is far from an ideal solution, but I've decided running slightly hot on the input is preferable to the alternative, which is too much noise on voices that can go quiet during emotional moments.

Anyway, this is a similar issue I've delt with across brands/cameras. 

When I'm doing mission critical work I use an external recorder anyway...or hire a sound guy.

moral of the story: just use better stuff when you need a better result. 

Right now I'm dabbling in a no-budget personal project, so it's not demanding. 

[buggz]

I use an XLR Audio Technica selectable pad with an Azden SGN-250 XLR mic on my GH5, works good.