scorsesefan
Veteran
I was just at B & H and the Tascam rep happened to be there. He says the 60d mkii and 70D have the same preamps. Very interesting also was he said that both have the same preamps as the more expensive Tascam UH7000 mic preamp.
Tascam DR-70D - what do you think?
- Thread starter OldCorpse
- Start date
It is not possible for them to make a recorder that cheap for what you want it to do. They use machined aluminum parts, and that right there has you at a couple of hundred bucks...and that's before adding any electronics at all.
Darren Levine
Veteran
certainly looks like they're aiming for folks who dabble in both shooting and separate production audio
focuspulling
Active member
B&H is showing estimated availability already at November 10: http://focuspull.in/DR70D.
And here's their video overview:
Neurodancer
Well-known member
Here is a concept photo I shopped for a 302 with on-board recorder
Which would probably cost about $2.5K if Sound Devices actually sold something like this. ( the 302 mixer is now $1,650 all by itself )
Sol M.
Veteran
Batteries and SD card are accessed from the front (lens side) between the two mics. Not fun for anyone using this as a field mixer/recorder in a bag, but shouldn't be a problem when mounted under a camera.
Yes, but it's very disappointing how there is virtually no information on the 70D on B&H website - no tabs for "specifications", "in the box" etc., the way it is for everything else. Compare the amount of info for the 70D and the 60Dmkii:
Tascam DR-70D
Tascam DR-60Dmkii
It's great that the 70D is in stock and ready to ship from B&H, but it's disappointing there isn't more info.
Darren Levine
Veteran
im pretty close to taking the plunge on this little brick. if so i'll be sure to get it a thorough run through
scorsesefan
Veteran
Yeah, curious to get your thoughts, Darren. Would like to know how it holds up to the dr-680... If you go into BH there is an older gentleman salesman (thin with gray hair) in the audio department who is usually a treasure trove of great info -- if you have any questions you might want to find him...
Noiz2
Sound Ninja
Not sure why this would be an issue for bag work. Pretty much every device I know of for bag work has batteries at the bottom, or sometimes at the side, and the card access is also almost always at the side. Any bag built for it will have access openings to get to any of the things you need to get to.
If I had to replace my bag recorder today this would be very high on my list, assuming no major issues show up with the first users.
scorsesefan
Veteran
Scott, what do you think of the 70D's -120 EIN? On paper it doesn't seem that impressive (compared to -129 for the SD 702 and DR-680's -127) but I guess only real world tests will tell?
i would also like to know that too...my fostex fr2le is at -129 EIN, but i really want more channels, also probably way better headphone amp.
Darren Levine
Veteran
keep in mind people, this thing is only $300, i don't think there's been quite anything like it in that price range before, so i wouldn't expect the cutting edge from it, but that doesn't mean it won't be solid. i'm not technical enough in audio to chime in on EIN ratings and such, but being that it's on par with several other their other products which are overall well liked, it'll likely fill a lot of people's purposes.
GaryNattrass
Veteran
I agree $300 is a very good price for a useable location recorder and mixer, a noise rating of -120 is perfectly acceptable for most applications and there is too much spec talk rather than the reality of what can be achieved in practical terms.
Even a quiet room will have a noise floor of around 40-50 db and in practical terms most video will have a max dynamic range of around 20db.
Even a quiet room will have a noise floor of around 40-50 db and in practical terms most video will have a max dynamic range of around 20db.
Noiz2
Sound Ninja
Kind of like the others I wouldn't be worried.
The reasons are basically three fold.
EIN numbers are almost always measured at max gain. Max gain on cheaper equipment often gets a lot noisier than the pricey stuff. You should never be recording at that level anyway.
The dynamic range of really good human ears is about 120dB. That's loudest to quietest, so if you are recording at a decent level noise at -120dB is not going to be really audible. Anything below -60dB is generally inaudible IF there is anything else going on.
IF I was planning on recording super quiet sounds in a very quiet location then maybe this would be a worry. I'm mostly recording FX, dialog, or live music. All of those put out considerable level and in the mid gain range where I will have the inputs the EIN is going to a lot lower than the spec.
And lastly noise is not all the same. Some noise sticks out and some doesn't. In fact it's not unusual to add noise to a recording deliberately. That "dither" that you get told to use because it will make the sound smoother is just shaped noise you are adding deliberately.
Tascam has been at this for a long time and has a pretty good reputation. I would be surprised if the noise has not been tailored to be lass obvious.
And finally I don't put a lot of stock in "specs". If a number seems off I may pay a bit more attention when I test it out, but unless it's really bad and I have heard others I trust confirm it's bad I don't get too worked up about it.
I would be buying the 70D with the idea of being able to using the mic pres, but if I'm two or less tracks I'm going to be going in line from the MixPre so I'm even less concerned with possible noise at max gain.
The reasons are basically three fold.
EIN numbers are almost always measured at max gain. Max gain on cheaper equipment often gets a lot noisier than the pricey stuff. You should never be recording at that level anyway.
The dynamic range of really good human ears is about 120dB. That's loudest to quietest, so if you are recording at a decent level noise at -120dB is not going to be really audible. Anything below -60dB is generally inaudible IF there is anything else going on.
IF I was planning on recording super quiet sounds in a very quiet location then maybe this would be a worry. I'm mostly recording FX, dialog, or live music. All of those put out considerable level and in the mid gain range where I will have the inputs the EIN is going to a lot lower than the spec.
And lastly noise is not all the same. Some noise sticks out and some doesn't. In fact it's not unusual to add noise to a recording deliberately. That "dither" that you get told to use because it will make the sound smoother is just shaped noise you are adding deliberately.
Tascam has been at this for a long time and has a pretty good reputation. I would be surprised if the noise has not been tailored to be lass obvious.
And finally I don't put a lot of stock in "specs". If a number seems off I may pay a bit more attention when I test it out, but unless it's really bad and I have heard others I trust confirm it's bad I don't get too worked up about it.
I would be buying the 70D with the idea of being able to using the mic pres, but if I'm two or less tracks I'm going to be going in line from the MixPre so I'm even less concerned with possible noise at max gain.
Yes, I am curious to find out what the noise-floor is like when I do my normal "mixer" test.
With a little bit of noise-reduction I'm usually getting something in the range of 35+ dB dynamic range when I do a boardroom interview shoot.
I'm more concerned about a low noise-floor when trying to fix audio that was recorded 20 dB too low and I have to boost it by 20 dB or more in post.
Noiz2
Sound Ninja
Yes but you are not going to do that right?
That scenario doesn't worry me related to MY purchasing the unit because I know I'm not going to be recording low.
It might be a reason why you would want it out of the hands of some o it's target audience though.