Portable recorders

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damonw@photoinduced.com

Member
Trying to find a solution to a portable recorder problem.
Not going for TC as that part is out of budget. A paid gig will just hire a right sound person with proper gear.
But for one man traveling, looking to see if one unit can handle a few needs.
Interviews using built in mics if needed, capture FX , and perhaps add real mics for better sound if I incorporate a Canon 5D into the portable mix.
I have heard the ZoomH4n are a bit noisy, the Eiderol 9 comes recco'd by sound design folks, and considering a Marantz 661, just for the xlr, and hopefully less noise than a Zoom.
It is really a prosumer question but it's going to keep coming up alot. Writing an articleon the stills/vid collision.
Thanks in advance for your valued opinions.
 
Well for what it's worth. I don't know any film folks using Edirol for sound. I saw a demo the other day and they don't have pretty much any of the features that film folks would deem necessary. No record buffer, pitiful batt. life, file naming, and a slew of others. Plus the build doesn't inspire confidence. From what I have heard the H4n and the 661 are major improvements from their predecessors. Both (of the predecessors) were used by radio and film folks for gathering sounds doing interviews etc. and pretty well liked. Both had some noise issues, both supposedly have addressed the noise issues. Neither are really designed for what you want but both would work. For the price you would have been lucky to get a quality cass. recorder with Dolby B a few years back, ie they are both great bargains for the quality. On different models that I have used I found the Zoom to be more fragile.
 
I really like the Marantz 661s (great interface and solidly built), but since you said you're gonna hire a pro for paid gigs anyway, I would save some money and go for the H4n. It's smaller (you mentioned a one man crew), and might be better suited for the stuff you described. Just be sure to get a windscreen (the one that comes with it is useless). The pre-amps aren't the best, but I've been pretty happy with my h4n.
 
I had the Fostex FR2 LE for a week and liked it... I just didn't like it more than my older FR2. One of my main gripes was the fact that the line-in was on the XLR combo jack- that meant an extra cable to build because it only recognized the 1/4" TRS as line-in.

It had quiet preamps, XLR inputs, wasn't too big (relative to the older FR2) and had good battery options. Since the price is the same as the Marantz, I'd go with the Fostex mostly because of the physical layout- XLR inputs on the left rather than on the bottom like the Marantz... Makes it easier to use in a bag.
 
I agree that an H4n is probably going to give the right balance of cost vs. performance if you'll be hiring a pro for paid gigs. I use it and love it. Preamps are better than the H4, but I still wouldn't use it for footsteps or other very soft sounds.

If you do want to get some upscale gear though, I've heard some good things about the upgrades they do here...
http://www.oade.com/
 
The FR2LE is one of the best that I have tested, the Zoom H2 is legendary for its cheap price and reasonably good sound.
 
Interesting, I never even considered the FR2le because I really hated the FR2. Tiny display, bad battery life, you loose the display for 30 sec or so EVERY time you stop recording with a "please wait" message, open the batt. compartment and the AA's shoot out all over the room, to change the batteries you have to hold them in with one hand while trying to get the cover in place. And a very "plastic toy" feel. I heard they had good preamps but of the two people I know that had them one had to send two units back because of bad noise in the pres and the other returned hers because of the above mentioned items and because the gain on the pres was VERY low on the one she had.

As a poss balance, these were early units and they might have solved some of those issues in later runs.
 
I have used zoom recorders and for me I could not stand the menu system.
That alone made me get rid of them.

I have now been using the Olympus LS-10, and it is good enough for cheap sound.
It records for about 9 hours on 2 AA batteries.
It has a screw mount on the bottom.
Stereo mics, or mini stereo input.

Nine Inch nails uses this setup for in house recordings for their concerts.
Great for dynamics or low sounds as well, when matched with the right mic.
 
One of my sound design buddies loves his Olympus LS-10.
here is a, perhaps dumb, question on the H4n:
In a pinch, would I be able to use it on a boom rig, so the op can monitor w/headphones, and add a transmitter so it's wireless to another mixer?
Or am I asking one thing to do too many things. I can buy a SD MM1 for close to the same price. then add another a recorder to take care of the other needs.

This way, the H4n can do double duty when not used for a quick interview.
Go ahead. call me crazy.
 
damonw@photoinduced.com said:
In a pinch, would I be able to use it on a boom rig, so the op can monitor w/headphones, and add a transmitter so it's wireless to another mixer?...


...nevermind. I think that there is only one output on this and headphones would be it.
Click to expand...

Not to mention the fact that you'd have spent at least $500 (per channel) adding a wireless hop to your hacked together boom rig...
 
yeah, seems like the SD mm1 and a reg portable recorder will be the deal.
But the MM1 is 350, plus cables for $50. The H4n is $400.
The transmitter is common to both solutions, so no savings there.
Any other phantom powered rigs with headphone monitors choices folks see out there?
Thanks in advance.
 
Quality - look at the Nagra LB or the Sound Devices 702 (around the £1,600 mark).

Going down from this is the Tascam HD-P2 and the original Fostex FR-2 (around the £800 mark).

At the low end is the Fostex FR-2LE which is absolutely superb for the price (about £400 I think).

I would be happy with any of these.

Personally I had the original Fostex FR-2 for several years and then upgraded to the Nagra VI last year (but the Nagra VI is likely to be over-budget, which is why I did not add it to the list above).

I hope this helps.
 
Is there any other solution to the boom op monitor with phantom power than the SD MM1 ?
A bit big and heavy for a belt but should pack would do. There is the xaxcom but budget precludes that system.

The small portable recorder will be the Sony PCM-10, coming in Oct. with an Olympus LS-10 used in it's stead, and the Fostex FR-2LE for the field.
 
I have used the Edirol R-4 Pro on a couple independent films, as well as audio for some plays I was shooting. It has 4 pretty clean preamps, but it's 2,000.00. It had an 80 gig hard drive and takes timecode. However the 900.00 R-44 records to SD cards, and is smaler, but has the same preamps/connectors.

Itherwise I like the looks of the Sony D-50, though I'm bummed it doesn't take XLR. There is an adapter but I think that is 500 bucks as well. I have a Zoom H4 but it does not sync well with video. I hear the H4n syncs well with only 1-3 frames off after an hour. IMO if you are buying smething to record video you may as well go for 4 channel, so you are able to really cover an area, be it wth 4 wireless mics, or in the case of a play: one stereo mic at the center front of the stage, and 2 other mics far left/right.

If budget is your main deciding factor (it should never be) then go for the Zoom H4n. It's a great recorder for the price. I think for 500.00 you can't beat the Sony D-50. If 4-Channels is something you would find useful then go for the Edirol R-44, which is the best bang/buck ratio (Though the real pros would use a Sound Devices recorder, but those are very expensive).
 
damonw@photoinduced.com said:
Is there any other solution to the boom op monitor with phantom power than the SD MM1 ?
A bit big and heavy for a belt but should pack would do. There is the xaxcom but budget precludes that system.

The small portable recorder will be the Sony PCM-10, coming in Oct. with an Olympus LS-10 used in it's stead, and the Fostex FR-2LE for the field.
Click to expand...

Don't forget the new Olympus LS-11 comes out in September. :)
 
get a Zoom H4

I use it for folley, on location recording as well as anything else that needs sound recording.
 
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I bought the Tascam HD-P2 form the Odea Brothers in Florida and love it. I put it up against the sound designer 702 using sennhiser mikes and a high quality pre amp.
My buddy owns the SD and we used four different mics and recorded vocals and ambient sounds and acoustic guitar. We recorded everything with and without the preamp. The HD-P2 has 24 bit at 196hz and we both like the recorders equally well. I have used it on many different situations from voice, narration, direct feed from a board and for ambient sounds. Oade Brothes change out the Pots with higher quality ones and it has a extra 6 db headroom. It also has time code syncing from an exteral source. I paid about half of what the Sound devices 702 was at the moment. SD units are built like tanks and are great units but cost led me to chose the Tascam unit.

Good Luck
 
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