HELP! What Portable Audio Recorder Should I Get? (Narrowed Down to 3)

B

bbPS3gamer

Member
Hey everyone! This is my first post on these forums.

I am looking into starting to do some Film-making for fun, you know just to upload to YouTube and Stuff. I am a YouTube partner so these videos will be seen by people so thats not an issue. I have a Canon ELPH 300HS, camera that shoots amazing 1080p HD for the price. I may upgrade to a better camera if this all works out good, keep in mind. So to say the least the audio on this camera SUCKS, and to do film-making it would not be enough for my perfectionism. The camera has no mic input or anything so I am looking into getting a portable audio recorder that records onto an SD card and can be synced up later in After Effects. I have narrowed my search down to 3 models: The Zoom H1, Zoom H2, and the Tascam DR-07 MKII. I really don't want to spend more than $150 on this and at bhphotovideo.com all of these recorders are on sale right now, so i am desperate to make up my mind soon. Below I have listed the thoughts I have on each one of these mics. after reading my thoughts please let me know what you think I should do. Thanks.

NOTE: I don't care about the size or weight for any of these recorders so that will not persuade my decision in one direction or another.

ZOOM H1:
This one is probably the most popular. I have seen many videos of this mic, and what I can tell from it is that when using it for film making it picks up a lot of static background noise, or hissing. I can't stand that. If I were to get this one I would get the accessory package as well that comes with a wind screen, that is a need for me. My concerns on the other hand are that from what I've heard this is made of really cheap material, and is very noisy when you move it around (on the recording i mean.) Also I noticed that this one is really only good when your source is 1-4 ft away, and after that is gets real quiet and doesn't pick it up well. I dont really plan on taking audio recordings from 20ft away but its just something to think about. In loud enviornments the H1 doesn't record that well if you ask me, too much distorting, and also this recorder hardly has any built in features.

ZOOM H2:
I am leaning towards this recorder the most. I play drums and other instruments, which this recorder picks up brillantly. I also work on voiceovers and things like that so this could aid me in everything I do. I really like that this mic can record from the front, back, and 360 degrees in up to 5.1 surround sound, and for only $20 more than the H1 this seems like the best way to go... BUT i am really concerned with the shape of this recorder. its more of a box than a directional recorder like the other two, you know how you can aim it at your subject. The H2 just kind of sits there akwardly standing up so you cant really get the direction that I am looking for. I would MAINLY be using this as an external camera mic, so is this a good option? Im worried that the it wont be able to pick up the subject from standing farther away due to its shape and not being able to aim. Also I heard this is made of cheap plastic too, but not as bad as the H1. This looks like the best option for me cause Its multipurpose, but I just want to know that it will pick stuff up 10-15 feet away clearly even if it may not be the loudest. I would be mounting this on a camera mount which will be kind of akward but it will work. Just really want to know, IS THIS A GOOD MIC TO USE FOR FILM-MAKING?

TASCAM DR-07 MKII:
The tascam is generrally the same thing as the H1 but it is $15 more. It has more features and is made of quality materials. Also its mics can be changed from the XY position to the AB position which i really like. The audio quality is slightly better in my opinion, but i have heard complaints that even on the highest setting, the mics are very very quiet. The Zoom H1 is a lot louder and could be a little more user friendly, but this mic is better in every other way. The thing that pisses me off is that There is no wind screen/dead cat that comes with it, as the others do. and since it is such an awkwardly shaped mic, you pretty much have to buy tascams official one which is really overpriced. And even with that one you have to use the XY position for it to fit on. Also does this one pick up the subject only if its 2 ft away or will I be happy with it 10ft away?

All of these mics have their own cons, but i am leaning towards the H2 the most, but I am concerned that for film-making it may not be the best option because thats not really what its made for. LET ME KNOW WHICH ONE YOU THINK I SHOULD GET. I have been driving myself nuts with researching all of these things and would really like somebody elses opinion. Thanks in advance! :)
 
As Barry's "Sound for Film and TV" DVD will tell you, the number one thing you need for quality sound is proximity (mic only a foot or two from the subject). Which means mounting any of these recorders on your camera will give you similar sound to the built in camera mic.

Best thing to do is upgrade our camera so you can plug in a Beachtek or similar box and run an xlr cable from a boomed mic- or get an external recorder with xlr jacks. No shortcuts to good sound, sorry!
 
Ok well If i can manage to get any of these recorders near the person, or subject what would be the best option among these 3? I cant really invest in anything better because I'm just a teen. I see what your saying about having to be close, but I just mentioned the camera mount as something that I would use occasionally not all the time.
 
You can find the DR-40 for around $150 if you look around (check B&H, by the way). As far as these little recorders go, that's going to give you a great device that has some forward-compatibility for an expanded system, starting with mics.

Now, about your plan... using the built-in mics for on-cam dialog is not a great idea. Dialog should be recorded in mono, not stereo, and using a stereo mic array creates problems in post if you try to ditch one channel or the other, or if you try to mix between the two. Plus, getting the mics close enough to do any good requires having the entire recorder out of reach, which means having the meters and controls out of sight/touch during recording. That's pretty much a bad idea.

You might find some benefit from picking up a copy of the Sound for Film and TV DVD offered through DVXUser (see the Audio 101 Sticky). It's worth every penny for the beginner to figure out what sound is about and how it works.

That said, something is better than nothing. You have a camera that cannot be rigged for better in-camera sound, so you have to go with external. The recorder gives you something to work with, even if that's a stretch. The next thing you need to consider is a good mic with cable, shockmount, wind protection, and fish pole (boom). Read through the yellow stickies at the fop of the Audio forum. Lots of good information there about all sorts of audio gear and techniques. You'll even find one that talks about all these little recorders...
 
I suppose you could hang one of these from a boom pole like a mic and adjust one channel for average sound level and the other a bit lower in case of peaking. Worth a try if you are going to get the recorder anyway and probably will sound a lot better than 10 feet away on the camera.
 
So you would recommend the dr40 over the rest? I'm not sure if ill ever really invest lots of money into professional quality cameras and mics, i just want something decent and cheap to aid me in beginner film making. If it turns out that I have an act for this and lots of people like what I do I may incest into something really nice, but for now that remains to be seen.
 
bbPS3gamer said:
So you would recommend the dr40 over the rest? I'm not sure if ill ever really invest lots of money into professional quality cameras and mics, i just want something decent and cheap to aid me in beginner film making. If it turns out that I have an act for this and lots of people like what I do I may incest into something really nice, but for now that remains to be seen.
Click to expand...

You mean "invest"?

Look... sound is half the picture. Whether it's a professional production or a student film, viewers will forgive exposure that's off or focus that's a little soft long before they'll forgive terrible sound. It doesn't matter that you're a beginner... sound should matter, period. We're talking about the same budget amount here for a recorder that has everything the others have and more. Mostly, you're adding XLR mic inputs and 1/4" line inputs. Why buy something not as capable and limit yourself even though you're looking at the possibility that this could become a pretty serious interest for you?

Read the stickies, like I said. There's a great link in Audio 101 to an article about getting "big movie sound" on a budget. And trust me: the one thing that can make your projects stand out above other similar high-school projects is killer sound.
 
I also recommend the DR-40 for recording vs the Zooms. I've been using it for the last 4 months with great results. The preamps are a touch better than the zooms and the features of the DR-40 allow for more advanced recording techniques using external mics. Its a great deal compared to the zooms and nearly as good as the much more expensive DR-100 mkII.
 
Alex H. said:
You mean "invest"?

Look... sound is half the picture. Whether it's a professional production or a student film, viewers will forgive exposure that's off or focus that's a little soft long before they'll forgive terrible sound. It doesn't matter that you're a beginner... sound should matter, period. We're talking about the same budget amount here for a recorder that has everything the others have and more. Mostly, you're adding XLR mic inputs and 1/4" line inputs. Why buy something not as capable and limit yourself even though you're looking at the possibility that this could become a pretty serious interest for you?

Read the stickies, like I said. There's a great link in Audio 101 to an article about getting "big movie sound" on a budget. And trust me: the one thing that can make your projects stand out above other similar high-school projects is killer sound.
Click to expand...

I will be getting the dr40 now. I wont be buying any external mics such as a boom, but i may in the future.
 
rickster66 said:
I also recommend the DR-40 for recording vs the Zooms. I've been using it for the last 4 months with great results. The preamps are a touch better than the zooms and the features of the DR-40 allow for more advanced recording techniques using external mics. Its a great deal compared to the zooms and nearly as good as the much more expensive DR-100 mkII.
Click to expand...

I will be getting this one!
 
Anything will be better than camera sound. But not by much unless you can get the mic up close to your subject. Otherwise you're going to be very disappointed since internal mics will also pick up handling noise, lens noise (especially non USM lenses), breathing noise. Most DSLR shooters attach recorders to their hot shoe, cage or tripod. Not sure how you'll mount the recorder on a point and shoot.

Really, the main reason why you want to run an external recorder is so you can use external mics. Since your budget is limited, maybe buy a cheap Audio Technica lav mic and just hide the recorder on your subject and run blind--meaning that you won't be able to monitor the sound and adjust when needed. If it's just dialogue with no surprises, you can set your levels beforehand and that will still sound better than standing ten feet away using internal recorder or camera mics. But that will only work with a single person. Maybe two if they're facing and very close to each other, don't move much and you're using an omni lav. Two recorders would work better. Or if your shot is tight, boom the mic itself over their heads, between them and just out of frame.

Also, cheap digital recorders tend to drift so syncing a point and shoot with a cheap digital recorder will be pretty challenging. You'll have to pay close attention when editing.
 
Last edited:
Chipgreen said:
Anything will be better than camera sound. But not by much unless you can get the mic up close to your subject. Otherwise you're going to be very disappointed since internal mics will also pick up handling noise, lens noise (especially non USM lenses), breathing noise. Most DSLR shooters attach recorders to their hot shoe, cage or tripod. Not sure how you'll mount the recorder on a point and shoot.

Really, the main reason why you want to run an external recorder is so you can use external mics. Since your budget is limited, maybe buy a cheap Audio Technica lav mic and just hide the recorder on your subject and run blind--meaning that you won't be able to monitor the sound and adjust when needed. If it's just dialogue with no surprises, you can set your levels beforehand and that will still sound better than standing ten feet away using internal recorder or camera mics. But that will only work with a single person. Maybe two if they're facing and very close to each other, don't move much and you're using an omni lav. Two recorders would work better. Or if your shot is tight, boom the mic itself over their heads, between them and just out of frame.

Also, cheap digital recorders tend to drift so syncing a point and shoot with a cheap digital recorder will be pretty challenging. You'll have to pay close attention when editing.
Click to expand...

About the mounting, I have a camera rig that I created (I'm handy that way) That will allow everything to be connected. I decided to not go with any of the recorders I have listed above, but instead with the Tascam DR-40, which has two xlr and 1/4" connections for other mics aswell. I'm planning on buying a boom mic of some sort in the future that can be plugged in to the DR-40, unless I can get just the recorder to do what I need. Also I may get a new camera in the coming year, but for now the 1080p at 24fps, will work fine for me. I was actually suprised by how good this camera's video looks. Make a quick search on YouTube to see what I'm talking about.

EDIT: This is not one of my videos, but it gives you a really good idea of the quality: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qfknqetpUOU
Not bad for $150
 
Last edited:
There are a number of hotshoe adapters you can use to mount the dr-40 to the camera. I use a small ballhead/hotshoe adapter to allow the dr-40 to pivot so the screen is viewable. There is also a audio splitter cable you can buy - sescom makes one that allows you to send a padded signal to the camera and also has a headphone monitoring port. BH has them for around $35.
 
The Tascam DR-40 and the Tascam WS-DR2 windscreen have been officially ordered. Thanks everyone for your help, and I can't wait to get film-making!
 
Check out the Audio-Technica ATR-3350 lav mic. It's about $21 bucks. It at least gives you another option to get the mic closer for passable sound and it has a power supply built in so you won't need phantom power. It also has a very long cord.
 
Chipgreen said:
Check out the Audio-Technica ATR-3350 lav mic. It's about $21 bucks. It at least gives you another option to get the mic closer for passable sound and it has a power supply built in so you won't need phantom power. It also has a very long cord.
Click to expand...

... and a 1/8" connector. This means there will be adapters necessary to connect to the DR-40, which is simply not a good way to go. There are other lower-cost lavs that are much wiser investments, but for $20 there's only so much you can expect.
 
Alex H. said:
... and a 1/8" connector. This means there will be adapters necessary to connect to the DR-40, which is simply not a good way to go. There are other lower-cost lavs that are much wiser investments, but for $20 there's only so much you can expect.
Click to expand...

OK what's a decent lav mic that will easily connect to the dr-40 that wont put a dent in my wallet?
 
bbPS3gamer said:
OK what's a decent lav mic that will easily connect to the dr-40 that wont put a dent in my wallet?
Click to expand...

Well, you get what you pay for.

On the lower end of the price spectrum, the Countryman EMW... but you're looking at $180. Oscar Sound Tech also has gotten favorable reviews around here as a low-cost but high-performing mic, though I have not worked with them. You can also find several threads about lavs in the Audio 101 sticky.

Whatever you get, make sure that it's terminated for XLR connection with phantom power.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top