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|| SportsShooter.com: Member Message Board
Suggestions for voice recorders.
Eric Canha, Photographer
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Brockton | MA | United States | Posted: 3:25 PM on 09.04.09 |
->> Okay so as to not hijack a thread I figured that I's start a new one. I'm looking for suggestions for the purchase of a new voice recorder. I don't want to spend a grand, do sound recording for a major motion picture, or buy something that I have to sling over my shoulder. Small simple and under a couple of hundred bucks.
What do you use? What do you like/dis-like about it? I have done a search but like so many tech gadgets data becomes stale quick. I'm only looking to record quick interviews, and to gather background sound for slide shows. Expandability would be cool, I have no desire to carry a shotgun microphone, at least not now but then again I was pretty sure that I would never need more than my AT with the 40mb HD. |
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Kevin Seale, Photographer
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Crawfordsville | IN | United States | Posted: 3:52 PM on 09.04.09 |
->> I really like my Zoom H4. I think it does a great job recording background sounds as well as works nice for interviews. It's not tiny but no shoulder strap is required and not cheap but not a grand either.
The H2 I think is similar but not as many bells and whistles and a bit cheaper but have not used one myself.
I thought the world was all roses when we could get 5 1/4 drives for the TRS-80 and advanced past cassette tape storage. |
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Damian Mulinix, Photographer
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Long Beach | wa | usa | Posted: 3:58 PM on 09.04.09 |
->> Zoom H2 is awesome, great quality, doesn't suck AAs quite as fast as others, the mic is great and is adjustable (front, back and stereo). Is a perfect size to keep in your bag or in a small waist pack at games like the Think Tank Trim Changer...
cheers
-DKM |
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Mike Huffstatler, Photographer, Assistant
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Rancho Cucamonga | Ca | United States | Posted: 4:19 PM on 09.04.09 |
->> I also have a H2. It does a great job for sure. It ships with a microphone stand adapter that I use as a handle. I find that the mics are so sensitive that it's really easy to get excessive noise from handling. I'm going to look for an decent but inexpensive external mic at some point.
Mike |
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Dan Powers, Photographer
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Appleton | WI | USA | Posted: 4:32 PM on 09.04.09 |
| ->> Edirol R-09 HD |
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Juerg Schreiter, Photographer
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Fort Lauderdale | FL | USA | Posted: 4:40 PM on 09.04.09 |
->> I think quality wise the Zoom H4 does a great job, however
the buttons and menu's are somewhat annoying.
If you need to change settings on he go and there is no good light... difficult.
I'd love to have something with big buttons and a simple menu |
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Max Gersh, Photographer
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St. Louis | MO | USA | Posted: 5:24 PM on 09.04.09 |
->> M-Audio Microtrack 2.
http://www.m-audio.com/products/en_us/MicroTrackII.html
I love it. Very small. Multiple input sizes. Records to CF cards. Only drawback is the internal battery that is charged via USB. I haven't run into an issue with that though. It has 4-6 hrs of record time per charge.
It can record fully uncompressed WAV files or MP3s. It is also the smallest recorder to have full phantom power (which some mics require).
I usually pair mine with an AudioTechnica shotgun (ATR-55). |
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PJ Heller, Photographer
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Santa Barbara | CA | USA | Posted: 5:28 PM on 09.04.09 |
->> Should also add to have a look at the Transom Web site . . .
Here's the review of the LS-10 (others listed there as well):
http://transom.org/?p=80 |
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Jonathan Castner, Photographer, Assistant
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Longmont | CO | USA | Posted: 7:08 PM on 09.04.09 |
| ->> I'm diggin on my new Tascam DR-07. |
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Eric Canha, Photographer
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Brockton | MA | United States | Posted: 8:22 AM on 09.05.09 |
| ->> Thanks all. I think that I'm leaning towards the H4.... |
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Jim Colburn, Photo Editor, Photographer
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McAllen | TX | USA | Posted: 9:52 AM on 09.05.09 |
| ->> I like the Zoom H-4. Excellent quality and a decent size. One benefit to it is that it will accept XLR mic cables so you can easily plug in external mics or a wireless receiver. |
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David Stephenson, Photographer
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Lexington | Ky | USA | Posted: 10:47 PM on 09.05.09 |
->> I've owned/used the Zoom H2 and the LS-10. I'd recommend the LS-10 by FAR over the H2. I do not recommend the H2s. They don't have a solid build and don't play nice with external mics.
The LS-10 is rock-solid, great sound quality, it's small and easy to use. |
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Doug Holleman, Photographer
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Temple | TX | USA | Posted: 2:01 PM on 09.06.09 |
| ->> The new Zoom H4n has some nice improvements over the H4, but you can find the H4 really cheap if you shop around. I got a brand new one with warranty on eBay for around $200. B&H still carries both models. The newer n version is about $70 more. |
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David Harpe, Photographer
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Louisville | KY | USA | Posted: 6:15 PM on 09.06.09 |
->> LS-10
I've used one of these for a year or so and they work great. FYI Olympus just came out with the LS-11 (which looks pretty much exactly like the LS-10), so you might be able to find a few new/old stock LS-10's cheap... |
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Eric Canha, Photographer
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Brockton | MA | United States | Posted: 11:20 AM on 09.09.09 |
->> I came within seconds of pulling the trigger on the H4 but read a few more user comments and got cold feet. The issue is whether the XLR inputs provide a clean signal. Several users have complained that the inputs generate 'hissy' sound quality. One of the reasons that I am choosing to go with the H4 over the other units is the ability to maybe have the sound guys feed the audio from a show directly to the H4. So for those of you who may have used the H4's XLR inputs, what say you?
I also looked at the H4n but based on the videos that I saw the thing is just too big to be a daily user. Is it safe to say that the H4 is small enough to be a good general purpose recorder? |
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Luke Sharrett, Student/Intern
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Forest | VA | United States | Posted: 11:38 AM on 09.09.09 |
| ->> Along with PJ, David, and David i strongly recommend the Olympus LS-10. |
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Stanley Leary, Photographer
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Roswell | GA | USA | Posted: 12:02 PM on 09.09.09 |
->> M-Audio has phantom power and no hiss
I have worked on projects with people using a variety of recorders and I prefer the crispness of the M-Audio Microtrack. |
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Dave Londres, Photographer
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Utica | NY | USA | Posted: 12:12 PM on 09.09.09 |
| ->> I'll add a vote for the LS-10, small and built well |
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