For the last two years, I've been using a Fostex FR2 with a Rode NT4, fantastic sounding pre-amps for the price. More recently, I purchased a Sony PCM D-50 so I could always have something handy to capture a nearby sound. Pretty impressed with it so far, although it is susceptible to handling noise and you pretty much HAVE to use the windscreen unless you're indoors and not moving around much.
field recorders
For the last two years, I've
We have a Sony PCM-D50 that
We have a Sony PCM-D50 that we've been enjoying a lot. Just with the onboard mics and the windscreen it sounds great. We also have a Sound Devices boom kit for location sound, but we haven't used it much when recording ambiences and foley! We've only used it for interviews up to now.
the 5 second record buffer on the D50 is very nice in case you wanted to catch a unexpected sound.
For professional work
For professional work [you'll need timecode stamp, etc, etc.], almost everyone I've worked with uses the Sound Devices 744T. www.sounddevices.com. But you can't use it without a field mixer. I suggest the Sound Devices 442. Again, www.sounddevices.com.
Cheers.
Riley
I love God.
In 2008, It's the Sony D-50
In 2008, It's the Sony D-50 and Olympus LS-10 for me. The size of the LS-10 makes it better suited for everyday carry. Other pros include: responsive metering, good AA batt life, SD card capable, MP3 capable, decent mics/pres with WS, built in speakers etc. Also price as I shopped around and found a good deal. The Sony has better sounding mics that can swivel at an angle to vary the stereo sound field, a better WS avail at xtra cost, can power eyeglass mics, smoother lo cut filtering and has other competing features that have made it very field friendly for me also. Have recorded in the states as well as in Europe with both. Would hate to do without either.
Jon Oh
We use Fostex FR2s and
We use Fostex FR2s and FR2LEs. The FR2 is the higher end (and priced) choice because it has stellar mic pre-amps. The FR2LE runs @ $500-600 but still delivers great quality. We also have a Zoom H4, but we only use that in 'covert' recording scenarios, because the sound quality is definitely inferior to the Fostex gear.
HI
I had to choose between
HI
I had to choose between the edirol R44, Fostex fr2, and the DSD Korg MR-1000. I couldn't find the r44 in stock to test but i knew that the r4 was quite noisy. So my options were the Korg and the Fostex after testing i decided to go for the korg. Is one of the best portable recorders i have ever heard. Apart from Nagra and Sound Devices ;-)
It would be nice for all of as to post demos of our portable recorders with descriptions about the mics etc so to hear for ourselves .
www.movement.gr
Been using an Edirol R4 for
Been using an Edirol R4 for a couple of years, together with a Sennheiser K6/ME 66 shotgun mic.
You can probably grab the R4 for quite a cheap amount of cash nowadays. As far as sound quality goes, it records crystal clear sounds. It has 4 phantom powered XLR inputs and can record 40 GB of audio on its built in harddrive.
The negative aspects, for me, is that it's quite a large piece of gear to chuck around with. And its start-up time isn't that fast either (takes about 20 seconds after you press On, until it's in fact powered on).
I've decided to go for something dramatically smaller. And I've made up my mind, that I'm going to purchase a recently released Olympic LS-10. Check it out if you're more interested in something small, yet, very sturdy looking and lots of bang for the bucket.
Far as the shotgun mic goes... I'm keeping it! The Sennheiser K6/ME 66 is very allround and provides excellent sound quality (do I need to mention it? ...Sennheiser).
Owners of the H4 can get
Owners of the H4 can get firmware updates here:
http://www.zoom.co.jp/english/download/software/h4.php
The latest update 2.10 fixes a number of problems (eg ragged mp3s mentioned in the first post) and also adds a number of features including voice activation, abilty to use 4Gb cards and monomix AND a better display font. The upgrade is really worth the effort!
I've been using the H4 for about a year mainly for use with a boom mike. The built-in stereo mike is amazingly good though poppy when used for vocals.
Buying the H4 allowed me to retire my MiniDisc. The MD was great but I hated using Sony's SonicStage software and it was a drag downloading to the computer.
The H4 has its vices but all-in-all it's fantastic for the money - especially for those who haven't got a decent microphone.
For field recording, an external mic with a dead cat is a better option because the windshield can't handle much wind. An ext mic also solves the noise problem caused by handling the H4. I haven't tried gloves yet.... :)
Hi
I use the Zoom H4 also.
Hi
I use the Zoom H4 also. It is a great little machine. The features/quality for the price are exceptional. Ok its a bit of an ugly duckling and the gui is a little odd, but once you get used to those it is great. I have used it loads on my albums for found sounds which I then go on to re-process.
My favourite recording from it was the mechanism of a 1950's BDR Bristol mechanical fruit machine. I got the device right inside the unit for recording it. I havn't used it with any external mics yet, But I plan to get a new mic this year. The built in mic does sound very good though.
Steve
------------------------------------
Stephen Haunts aka Creature
http://www.hauntedhouserecords.co.uk
hey guys question for those that use field recorders.i bought a zoom
h4 for field recording earlier this year..im addicted to this stuff and
love going out with it and capturing sounds.my personal preference is to
capture any sounds of nature..i found the h4 to be a very good recorder
so far iv only used the built in mic..only issue i had was audio artefacts
when capturing straight to mp3 ( mainly with sounds that tend to have
rapid changes in level ) but capturing straight to wav has been fine.
just wondering what other recorders people are using out there and whats
reccomended and perhaps share any techniques for this kind of thing
peace out