Portable recorder for 100 bucks or less (for unexpected foley)
 

Hi there,

I am having the need to purchase a portable recorder that I can use to instantly record sound. I need something I can have with me all the time and that will be ready to record almost instantly. I have a Tascam DR-100 I use with my 7D, but it is huge to carry on my pocket and takes some time to power and start up. I did some research and came down to these 2:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/599284-REG/Tascam_DR_07_DR_07_Portable_Digital_Audio.html
and

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/699403-REG/Zoom_H1_H1_Ultra_Portable_Digital_Audio.html
I really don't want to spend more than 100 bucks on this. Any recommendations? Either these 2 or any other?

Boot up time and sound quality will be crucial to me, since my need is to tape foley sound from natural indoor and outdoor environments.

I'll appreciate your advice,

Thank you very much!!

I have a DR-07 and I've been quite happy with the performance. I've seen a thorough review on another website, which seems to indicate that the audio quality is surprisingly good.

I just checked the boot-up time on mine, it's under ten seconds with a nearly empty 8GB SDHC card.

Last night I worked with the H1, H2 and H4n. Virtually indistinguishable in final recording IMO. I used the H1 for recording an orchestra from a mic stand and then as a recorder with NTG2 on a boom-pole for overhead vocal interviews with the same orchestra playing in the background.
I was extremely impressed with the H1 for the 100.00. It fit in my shirt pocket.
I used the momentary slider to turn it on and it said HI and gave the the volume levels. I hit the red record button and it recorded. Total time may have been 5 secs to start of recording.
I had earbuds plugged in to monitor the vocals.
I adjusted the levels when I placed it on the mic stand with the band.

This AM, I took the micro SD card out and offloaded. Placed the file under my raw video and am posting the vid on Youtube later if you want to hear it.
Here is one with the H1 sitting on a mic stand just out of frame center below:
YouTube - Charitybowl's Channel


I dont know what much else I could have asked for. $100.00. I'm no professional. I like automatic everything. Its simple, small and lets just say it, CHEAP.

IMHO

Is that link going to the correct videos? You said you posted this morning but the clip that comes up is dated last November. You also reference recording an orchestra in your post but the video that's the target of this link is an interview about the Chariitybowl with two of the players.

Sorry I didn't make it clear.

What I meant to say was, "here is this one, now", I'll post another after I upload it.

This one was shot/recorded last night. Uploaded this afternoon. The H1 was about 6' above the front right corner (from band point of view) of the stage. It was pointed slightly angled down at the singer. I think the levels were set to around 50. I just guessed on that as i had to set it quickly.
YouTube - KansasCity

I realize neither videos have foley sounds but it just shows the range of this little recorder. On last check it took 7seconds to actual record time. I was wrong on the 5sec mark.
I also own the H2. Small screen, but good sound. The H4n is too complicated for simple use IMO. Great if you want a whole studio in one unit and it has XLR, But its not worth me going 300 to get XLR, Its ON my list for that special use, but its way down when I get some free money.
All of the Zoom products are good IMO.

I wish they made a recorder with no on-board mics, I used the Zoom H1 in combination with a lav mic the other day and although the audio quality was awesome the on-board mics made the unit unnecessary big when hidden in a pocket.

They do. You want something like this;


I have 3 of these. Good for multiple speakers moving around.
With an adapter they will take 2 mics if you want. I use them often with a lapel and slip it into their pocket. Headphone monitor if you need it. They are usb so you just plug it in when you want to offload. This is an older model, so you want the latest.
Also have mics and small speakers built in to it for emergency recording.

GLB

YouTube - VideoServicesVB's Channel

On the 3rd segment I used two of those Olympus digital recorders I linked above, one for each speaker, and a couple $24.95 lapel mics.
First segment was the H1 on a boom pole, second,, well lets just say fubar. Forgot to turn it on. Good thing its volunteer work. :)

I'll throw in another vote for the Zoom H1. I've used it extensively on a project I've been working on for a couple of months; stand-alone recorder, wired to a sennheiser lav, wired to a sennheiser wireless transmitter, wired inline from the reciever to the camera, etc.

Admittedly, it's my first foray into this type of recording system, but I have been extremely impressed with it's ease of use and high quality audio in some fairly demanding environments. For $99. it does a FAR better job than I'd ever hoped for

I just checked my H4n. Running on battery power and with a half-full non-SDHC 2Gb card in place, it took about 12 seconds to boot up. Another second at least to see for sure it was ready and then hit record two times. Call it 14 seconds for the most part. It might be faster with an empty faster card.

If it's already running, the H4n can be set to have 2 seconds of pre-record buffer.

Back in the old days (2000!) my Deva had 10 seconds of pre-record buffer.

And if I remember correctly, the H1 has the same mics as the H4n. I am as impressed as Wayne. For the value..

Guitar center had the Tascam DR-07 on sale for $49 a couple weeks ago. Got mine last weekend and it works great with a lapel mic.

That's an outstanding price for that little recorder! If I didn't already have one, I would certainly grab one, for backup if nothing else.

Okay, I have both of these recorders. My use of them is a bit different than yours, but I can give you a bit of an idea.

I originally bought the DR-07 to work with my Sign ENG44 field mixer. I had decided that rather than buy an all in one field recorder, I would just use my field mixer which should have better controls and feed a simple recording unit like the DR-07. It has worked great under those circumstances.

This last year, I went ahead and bought the H1, with a gift card from BH photo.

When I first got the Zoom H1, I didn't really test it figuring that I would use it as back up to my DR-07.

This thread actually forced me to sit down and check the units out as stand alones.

The DR-07 has a lot of menu based controls, is larger, heavier, and feels in comparison to the H1 a lot for durable. The H1 has a kind of plastic feel. The H1 controls are mainly accomplished by slide switch. I like the larger SD cards in the DR-07 too, as the H1 use a micro card.

However, after doing some initial sound tests with the onboard mics today, I found the H1 seemed to have a wider response range, particularly in the lower ranges, as the on board mics seem to provide a better base level. Simply stated, my voice test seemed more pleasing on the H1. I do believe I had all filters off on both units

I am curious if others have had a similar experience.

Thanks Gary
 

Well Gary thanks very much for all of your answers. Very much appreciate them. 7 seconds isn't bad. Jay reported 14 seconds. Either way is a bit long for what I am trying to accomplish. I need a good quality recorder that will be able to tape in at least 5 seconds because most of these unexpected foley will be gone by the end on those 5 seconds. 5 seconds seems very little but unfortunately feels more like forever for this specific task. I remember the old tape recorders. Those where fast, just press the 'rec' button. And that is kind of speed I am needing, but on the digital sound. Would you guess the quality of the H1 compared to the DR-07 is the 96k range?

I am still considering these recorders, so this information is great and very valuable for me :)

THANK YOU!!

Thanks guys
 

Wonderful, that is great to know. I appreciate the information and will consider it as well.

Regards!!

Cool, good to know as well. Compared with the DR-07, I like the size, the same mics as the H4N (I believe) and the 96k bit range of recording. I do have a DR-100 and I might pick this little guy just to use a Zoom product (which I haven't done yet).

Thanks much Wayne!!

No buffer for the H1 or DR-07 right?

Thanks for the info!!

Well, this is fantastic information because you happen to own both the DR-07 and the H1. Do you see having the controls mainly accomplished by a slide switch to be a positive or a negative?

Would you say the H1 has better on board mics than the DR-07?

Did you test came better with the H1 because you used 96k bit rate?

Thank you Chris!!

I love my H1, only bad thing is the plastic feel... But the sound is good!
About the start up time, if you put a big card in it, you get 12h+ of recording time.... Just press rec and keep it in you pocket recording....

Last couple of shoot I've used the DR-07 on standby for about 5 hrs per 2 AA batts, will start recording within 2 seconds and you can always have it in record pause which will give you a few seconds of look-ahead, but shortens battery life to about 4hrs.

Thank you guys
 

Good to know Mark,

I just saw a product demo at B&H's website. Does your H1 have a standby more?

Thanks!!

Good thought Gerry,

Is your DR-07 plastic feel like the H1? Or is it rugged like let's say a DR-100 or any rugged device?

Thanks much again!!

hey Ben,

sounds like a recording buffer is kind of essential for what you are doing.
you might consider renting something to get the job done?

the H1 is great but suffer from at least two problems.
plastic case is cracking a lot if you need to manipulate during recording.
dismantling it and sealing any joint with silicone should help.
and it is over sensitive to wind, so forget about walking, running or recording outdoor without some wind protection. I purchased a $35 furs cover, but it is a pity to spend a third of the price of the recorder for such a simple piece of fabric. They should supply it from the start.

Re: Portable recorder for 100 bucks or less (for unexpected foley)
 

Hi Brian,

I appreciate the thought. What happens is this is a 'foley' compilation I am going to be recording over a period of time. From random unexpected sources. Indoor and outdoors. That is why renting wouldn't work for me. But thank you for the recommendation.

Best Regards!!

Hi Giroud,

Well, I also read about the H2 and even though is a but more expensive, it has the same plastic feel issue it seems.
Also reading about the H1, most people complained about the plastic built and that kind of if leading me towards the DR-07. I like the size on the H1 and that one big rec button in the middle to start and stop. But the sturdiness of the DR-07, its buffer feature, line out and AA batteries sold it to me.

Thank you very much to you and all for your very valuable input!!

Re: Portable recorder for 100 bucks or less (for unexpected foley)
 

I have an H1, been using the H2 but the H1 is a lot simpler to use, basically one button starts and stops your recording so no more trying to remember the postion of the two different buttons you have to use on the H2 (I had one sound guy get confused and had the H2 in standby during takes and recording in between takes...Sheesh!).

I, too, am amazed at the performance of the onboard mics but there is one area of concern. For outdoor use you better not have any breeze. Any air current going across those mics generate horrible noise, so I ordered a furry windmuff for it from thewindcutter.com.

The H1 was so new they didn't have anything so they made one up, filled my order, and due to the extreme sensitivity of the H1 mics it didn't really do the job. They took my feedback and began sending me prototypes to test (which I did gladly because I wanted a good solution). The fourth prototype led to the version being marketed now and the link below is my test in about 30MPH West Texas winds:


The "WindJacket" for the ZoomH1 is an improved version of what I had in the video, runs $69.95 (they've set up a "coupon" for me to post in these forums good through the end of Feb 2011. Enter "10OFFNOW" for a $10 off which brings it down to $59.95 with free shipping).

I have no financial interest, get no commissions, and even paid for the one I ordered. I just wanted something that worked and this works as well or better than anything short of a "blimp".

TheWindCutter.com, Professional Microphone Windscreens

Re: Portable recorder for 100 bucks or less (for unexpected foley)
 

i do not know about the tascam DR-08, but it seems to have the same form factor and features than the H1 for almost same price, so if the case is better, could be a nice upgrade.

Re: Portable recorder for 100 bucks or less (for unexpected foley)
 

Hi Bruce,

It's been a couple weeks but I just wanted to thank you for this very nice answer. It was very helpful for me and probably for everyone...

Thanks very much!!


Thanks for you thought Giroud!!

Re: Portable recorder for 100 bucks or less (for unexpected foley)
 

I LOVE my DR-07. In fact, after using it for so long, I turned a friend of mine onto it and he bought one too.

Here's a boom rig I made for it. It's a Bogen monopod that I've modified to have 1/4" tripod bolts on both ends. I put the mic on one end, and I put an old Bogen video head at the other end so I could attached the recorder, which has a tripod socket on the back. Completely self-contained; just add headphones.

http://a8.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphot..._1339862_n.jpg

http://a2.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphot..._5170369_n.jpg

http://a5.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphot..._8254118_n.jpg

http://a3.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphot..._4268607_n.jpg

http://a1.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphot...2_879565_n.jpg

http://a7.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphot..._1947294_n.jpg

http://a6.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphot...4_390258_n.jpg

Re: Portable recorder for 100 bucks or less (for unexpected foley)
 

Hey Kent: Nice job!!

Yes, I will go with the DR-07 because if the sturdy built, the line out and the recording buffer.

Have a great weekend

Re: Portable recorder for 100 bucks or less (for unexpected foley)
 

Tascam DR-03 now selling for $60 at B&H.
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/734644-REG/Tascam_DR_03_DR_03_Portable_Digital_Audio.html

Re: Portable recorder for 100 bucks or less (for unexpected foley)
 

I get the ZOOM H1 (brand new sealed) on Ebay. The item is 120684936234. Actually 3 available. Send an offer of 85US$ and will be accepted with free shipping ;-).
I confirm the above reviews: absolutely great sound, cheap plastic and high handling noise. I think is not intended for ENG interview or similar.

Re: Portable recorder for 100 bucks or less (for unexpected foley)
 

Anybody tried out the new DR-05 yet?

Re: Portable recorder for 100 bucks or less (for unexpected foley)
 

Thanks Jay I had been looking at this post as I sold my sony D50 a few months ago and was looking for a lower cost unit just to have one in my camera bag. The DR-05 looks a very nice new machine and I will check it out once it is released as it looks more robust than the H1 but has better button layout than the DR-03. I also like the mic/line input on the top and the fact that there are minimal controls to be accidentaly knocked.

http://tascam.com/product/dr-05/specifications/

Re: Portable recorder for 100 bucks or less (for unexpected foley)
 

The H1 is great, but the battery life on it is terrible. It takes one AA battery, and in no time the H1 drains all the juice from it.

Re: Portable recorder for 100 bucks or less (for unexpected foley)
 

Well, I just ordered one. I don't know why, but I have a strange addiction to these little hand recorders.

I must say I find one thing rather humorous about the DR-03. It has a "stealth" recording mode whereby the backlight and "recording" LED are turned off. Yet the case has a bright orange band the whole way around, which makes it highly visible, lights or no! For true "stealth" use it should come with a can of flat black paint.

On a serious note, I regret to report that B&H has an arcane, confusing, and dysfunctional ordering process. I have a PO Box which I use for all mail, including my credit card accounts. But of course UPS can't deliver there, so I need to use a physical street address. B&H won't let me use separate addresses with my PayPal account. Whatever I enter as the PayPal shipping address shows up as shipping and billing address on B&H. But the card company won't confirm the payment because the physical address is not the mailing address on my credit card account. Every time I tried to change one of these addresses on the B&H site, it ported me back to PayPal. After logging into PayPal four times, changing things, and being ported back to B&H where the wrong field had been changed, I just gave up and specified USPS shipping to my PO Box (so now it will either be late or lost).

Re: Portable recorder for 100 bucks or less (for unexpected foley)
 

I just saw a picture of the DR-07MkII. It looks very similar to the new DR-05 but a little more advanced. Street price for pre-ordering was $150 versus the $100 for the already available DR-05.

Re: Portable recorder for 100 bucks or less (for unexpected foley)
 

Zoom just brought out the Q3HD that also records HD video!

Re: Portable recorder for 100 bucks or less (for unexpected foley)
 

That has been out here (USA) for at least a month. I got ripped to shreds for mentioning it in the audio forum on another website. Personally, I think it looks rather interesting... perhaps as a POV cam inside a wedding cake, or wherever.

Zoom's audio recorders aren't bad, so hopefully this has better audio than the Flip, Kodak, or other similar hand-size video cams.