Zoom 4n or Tascam dr100 for my GH2?

O

oxband

Well-known member
So, I'm going to be getting a Panasonic GH2 and I want to get a external sound recorder for it.

I'm thinking of the Zoom 4N or the Tascam DR 100.

Any thoughts/advice on this choice?
 
The Tascam DR-100 MK2 is a better recorder than the Zoom H4n:

- Tascam has better built-in mics
- Tascam has better MIC pre-amps
- Tascam has -82 dB RMS noise-floor vs. Zoom -66 dB RMS noise-floor
- Supplied Tascam lithium-ion battery will power the DR-100 MK2 for 6+ hours
- Tascam has aluminum metal shell

The only area where the Zoom comes out ahead is 4 channel recording, where the Tascam is a 2 channel recorder

Another recorder worth looking at is the new Olympus LS-100, which has better battery life ( 12 hours using built-in mics ), and may have better built-in mics ( I am putting together a big low cost recorder shoot-out around the end of June, and I hope to test the LS-100 against the DR-100 MK2 to see how they stack up )
 
almost every experienced user i know says the tascam is a better recorder.
but i think DSLR jockeys buy the zoom simply because it looks cooler : (
 
TheDingo said:
The only area where the Zoom comes out ahead is 4 channel recording, where the Tascam is a 2 channel recorder
Click to expand...

And that is where the DR-40 comes in at half the price and all of the important features of the H4N. I found it weird that the DR-40 has 4 channel recording and the DR-100 didn't. The DR-100 is a better recorder than the DR-40 in pure audio terms but even then the DR-40 beats the H4N.
 
RatLabProductions said:
I found it weird that the DR-40 has 4 channel recording and the DR-100 didn't.
Click to expand...

I hope to include the Tascam DR-40 in my recorder test at the end of June, and I will publish the difference I find in audio quality between the DR-40 and the DR-100 MK2.

My guess is that the mics are better in the DR-100 MK2, and the noise-floor could also be significantly better. ( I am more concerned about noise-floor than how many channels a recorder has, especially when there are only two XLR inputs on a 4 channel recorder )
 
What are the differences between the dr100 and the dr100 mkII?

Minor improvements? or any major differences between the two?
 
homestar_kevin said:
What are the differences between the dr100 and the dr100 mkII?
Click to expand...

I suspect they are minor, though I will do a comparison between these two models later on this summer. ( I own the MK2, and two of my friends own the MK1 model )

From what I've heard, the MK2 has improved mics and improved pre-amps. But how much of a difference does this make? ( especially with the mics, can you actually hear a difference? )
 
TheDingo said:
I hope to include the Tascam DR-40 in my recorder test at the end of June, and I will publish the difference I find in audio quality between the DR-40 and the DR-100 MK2.

My guess is that the mics are better in the DR-100 MK2, and the noise-floor could also be significantly better. ( I am more concerned about noise-floor than how many channels a recorder has, especially when there are only two XLR inputs on a 4 channel recorder )
Click to expand...

I use the built in mics for an 'on camera mic' sometimes but your right I almost never use 4 channels (I haven't had the DR-40 very long).

I live in Toronto and have a DR-40 if you are stuck trying to find one for your test if I don't have any work come up.
 
RatLabProductions said:
I use the built in mics for an 'on camera mic' sometimes but your right I almost never use 4 channels (I haven't had the DR-40 very long)
Click to expand...

The DR-40 looks like a lot of recorder for the price. I am very curious to see how different the DR-40 and DR-100 MK2 are.

RatLabProductions said:
I live in Toronto and have a DR-40 if you are stuck trying to find one for your test if I don't have any work come up.
Click to expand...

Hey cool. Thanks for the offer.

Right now I have the following recorders lined up for this audio shootout:

Olympus LS-7
Olympus LS-11
Sony PCM-M10
Tascam DR-100 MK2
Zoom H1
Zoom H4n

...And I want to add the Tascam DR-40 and Olympus LS-100 to the mix.

Sony has replacement for the PCM-D50 in the works, but I have no idea when it will be released. It should seriously kick-ass, but I wonder if it will have built-in XLRs or not. Hopefully they will follow Olympus with their LS-100 and add XLR inputs to their new recorder. ( PCM-D50 has the best mics of any recorder under $600 )
 
Sounds like a pretty solid test. What you can get for the money these days is insane.

I think the popularity of the Zoom products are due to being in early and getting established with a lot of DSLR shooters. When people ask their friends what they use the answer is often "Zoom Recorder" and most don't do their own research.
 
RatLabProductions said:
Sounds like a pretty solid test.
Click to expand...

I've already done 75 percent of the pre-amp / noise-floor tests on 5 of the units, and around the end of the month I want to do a live music test to see how the built-in mics compare. I know that the Olympus LS-11 and Tascam DR-100 MK2 have good mics, but I don't know which will do the best job with live music. I'm also curious to see what the DR-40 mics are like, and if the LS-100 has better mics than the LS-11.
 
Im think of the DR 40 but I read one review which said if you play with the levels of the internal mics while they are recording, it makes noise. Any word on this? I also see some people complaining of a problem with unbalanced mics, which seems like a problem given the fact ill want to use it for my lavaliers: www.gearslutz.com/board/post-production-forum/719809-tascam-dr-40-issues-unbalanced-mics.html

Thoughts? If it werent for these issues, this is what I'd want!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top