Sound recording anyone?

[Florian1234]

Conrad Electronic sells, if they still have it, audio recorders for around 90 euros. But there the Zoom H1 costs the same.

 

[user237428934]

I'm impressed how many know something about sound recording. I must admit that I didn't expect it in this forum but that's cool.

My photography is only hobby so I also don't have professional needs for sound recording. From all you suggestions I will take a closer look at the Zoom H-1 or H-2 at a large music equipment store (if available there).

Then the most difficult part starts, when I interpret your comments right. Recording on the fly might not work and it could be tricky not to produce my own distracting sound while recording. Sounds like a new challenge 🙂 Before posting this I thought the biggest challenge would be to combine the photos with the sound fragments.

Thank you all for you feedback so far.

 

[Paul T.]

This does make me laugh! What a bunch of addictive gear nerds we all are!

If you have an Ipod, look for a Belkin mic (depends on your model iPod of course). THey are great for recording voices, have worked well with things like acoustic guitar, and if you have an iPod anyway, are far less than $100, and could well be one less thing to carry.

No, the combination is not as hi fi as the other options, but I bet it's good enough. The last time I sold a recording was to the online webstie of a very high end hi fi and audio manufacturer, and no one complained about the sound quality.

 

[Richard G]

The Edirol R09 is great. Our national radio journalists use these for interviews. It comes with a tiny remote to allow pause, stop and resume without having to touch the main unit which puts noise on the recording. Will record linear PCM.

 

[JayGannon]

The Zoom H1 rocks. It's small and has great mics and is only around $100

Hwve you got any real world expamples of your H1 recordings, the only ones I can find are studio based that tell me nothing about hpw it works on the street/pressroom. And hows the durability?

 

[semilog]

If you're shooting with an M, it really has to be a Nagra.

 

[FrozenInTime]

If you're shooting with an M, it really has to be a Nagra.

I spent may years wishing I had a Nagra SNN, and almost bought one at a relatively good price.
But as beautiful as it was, I never really did enough recording to justify the cost.
I stuck to my Walkman D6C.

A couple of years ago, I though to start recording sound again to accompany a quicktime show and bought a Olympus LS-10 24bit 96Kb/s linear PCM recorder.

The audio quality seems to be outstanding.
But I've yet to work out how to shoot photos and record at the same time.
Using the inbuilt mics there's always been screaming kids or unwanted chatter in the capture area - a distracting stress :bang:

 

[keepright]

My photography is only hobby so I also don't have professional needs for sound recording. From all you suggestions I will take a closer look at the Zoom H-1 or H-2 at a large music equipment store (if available there).
Thank you all for you feedback so far.

There are two truths that I've learned:
- there is a quality floor below which you should never go. A recorder that costs 50% less but is infected with a background hum isn't worth 50% less than a good one: it's worth nothing.
- there is little to no upper limit to how much you can spend on sound gear.


Whatever you do get, find some quality wind protection for it.

 

[emraphoto]

This does make me laugh! What a bunch of addictive gear nerds we all are!

If you have an Ipod, look for a Belkin mic (depends on your model iPod of course). THey are great for recording voices, have worked well with things like acoustic guitar, and if you have an iPod anyway, are far less than $100, and could well be one less thing to carry.

No, the combination is not as hi fi as the other options, but I bet it's good enough. The last time I sold a recording was to the online webstie of a very high end hi fi and audio manufacturer, and no one complained about the sound quality.

tried it, drained the ipod battery in the blink of an eye.

go zoom!

 

[emraphoto]

Hwve you got any real world expamples of your H1 recordings, the only ones I can find are studio based that tell me nothing about hpw it works on the street/pressroom. And hows the durability?

the H2 (one i use) is pretty much all plastic. it has survived in my bag for many miles.

i will make some recordings tomorrow and send them over if you want. mixed environments... no studio. i will run them through audacity so they aren't huge files.

 

[emraphoto]

ambient is from h2 with me no knowing anything about it beyond upping the gain.

http://m.youtube.com/index?desktop_uri=/&gl=CA#/watch?xl=xl_blazer&v=4xVX0pKZsAo

 

[emraphoto]

ipod and belkin mic combo

http://m.youtube.com/index?desktop_uri=/&gl=CA#/watch?xl=xl_blazer&v=cgzlrDDIzx4

 

[Colin Corneau]

http://gizmodo.com/5552806/zoom-h1-studio+quality-audio-recording-on-a-stick

 

[user237428934]

If you're shooting with an M, it really has to be a Nagra.

Is this one of the rules that is not to be questioned? I use a not too old Zeiss Ikon, so am I allowed to use a more modern sound recording device? 😀

 

[user237428934]

ambient is from h2 with me no knowing anything about it beyond upping the gain.

http://m.youtube.com/index?desktop_uri=/&gl=CA#/watch?xl=xl_blazer&v=4xVX0pKZsAo

Link does not work. I get some overview page with obviously non relevant videos. Your other link leads to the same page.

 

[semilog]

I stuck to my Walkman D6C... The audio quality seems to be outstanding.

If you're going to go analog and portable, it's hard to do a lot better than one of those with good chrome tape. Usable dynamic range in a well-tuned D6C should exceed the specified DR of a typical CD player.

 

[semilog]

Is this one of the rules that is not to be questioned? I use a not too old Zeiss Ikon, so am I allowed to use a more modern sound recording device? 😀

See Diva, if you haven't, and then tell me I'm wrong. Sounds aside, it's one of the most beautifully photographed films ever made. 😎

 

[dof]

In my career as a sound designer I've had the good fortune to use a number of excellent recorders for extended periods. I truly enjoy using the Sound Devices 744T & to a lesser degree Sony's PCM-D1.

I've owned an M-Audio MicroTrack 24 96 and would say that it was the least reliable piece of gear I've ever owned. Even worse than the Nikon MD-12.

Yes. It was that bad.

Now in all fairness, at it's price I wasn't expecting sound quality that rivals that of the high-end gear I work with on a daily basis. However even for the price, I was surprised to discover that it was simply unreliable for casual use. Sometimes, you don't get what you pay for.

 

[Florian1234]

Which one did you get, btw. ?

 

[palec]

I have Edirol R1, made before R09, and today I would avoid it. It's more suitable for recording noisy bands than voice. Sound level indicators and input monitor do not match the recorded result (much quieter). Considering that I have also Edirol FA101 computer audio interface which also lacks the input gain to fully satisfy my needs, I would think twice about getting another product from this company.

Just a note, I have bought these products because at that time there was no alternative on the market.