Hey Folks
Newbie here
I have been hunting for some portable recording gear for myself that will be effective out in the field to record interviews and sound postcards.
I have seen the discussion about the IFP-799/899 IRiver and the M Audio, Edirol and Mirantz. The Irivers are discontinued and the semi pro gear above is ok but, I'd like other options. I mean when you all got started you all gravitated to the Iriver even though the product wasn't specifically made for Podcasting..it worked well. Do you know of any others small but highly effective recording devices?
Zen V plus?? maybe it doesn't have an amp mic? or Feq range is low?
I would love to hear your thoughts from those of you on the cutting edge.
Cheers,
Dave
Full Version: Portable Recording Gear
Until I could get more money, if my current recorder died, I would buy another iRiver. Though they are discontinued, they still work great for me. I bought mine in January and have been very pleased. I know it is not a high end recorder, but I am able to get better recordings using it than my previous set up. And, I can have it with me at all times to grab an interview.
If you have more money, I would look at any of the higher end devices. When I was needing to buy, I could only scrape together about $35 for my iRiver on eBay. I would definitely do it again until I could afford something else. (The Samson Zoom H4 is really appealing.)
If you have more money, I would look at any of the higher end devices. When I was needing to buy, I could only scrape together about $35 for my iRiver on eBay. I would definitely do it again until I could afford something else. (The Samson Zoom H4 is really appealing.)
QUOTE(dpeach @ Jul 3 2007, 09:39 PM) 
Until I could get more money, if my current recorder died, I would buy another iRiver. Though they are discontinued, they still work great for me. I bought mine in January and have been very pleased. I know it is not a high end recorder, but I am able to get better recordings using it than my previous set up. And, I can have it with me at all times to grab an interview.
If you have more money, I would look at any of the higher end devices. When I was needing to buy, I could only scrape together about $35 for my iRiver on eBay. I would definitely do it again until I could afford something else. (The Samson Zoom H4 is really appealing.)
If you have more money, I would look at any of the higher end devices. When I was needing to buy, I could only scrape together about $35 for my iRiver on eBay. I would definitely do it again until I could afford something else. (The Samson Zoom H4 is really appealing.)
peach got it bang on.
It's all dependent on your budget. If you've got the $k's of money and need pro gear, go ahead and spend it.
The iRiver, and a Giant Squid, combined for around $100 do an almost as good job.
For a few $100's a good mid-range device is the Zoom H4, and it's baby brother the H2. Both these products have been getting great reviews. ie: http://www.podholes.com/2007/04/27/podholes-18-zoom-zoom/
The reason so many people have the iRiver is that it provides release-quality sound (44.1/128) for a budget price, comes as a compact unit and it's capable of handling a variety of dynamic mics.
The Zoom products are a definite upgrade, but expect to pay more.
Kurt
I use the Olympus DS-2. Before I purchased a mixing board I used it with a microphone plugged directly into it, and got very good sound. It has a built-in stereo condenser mic for quick recording, which is nice. It records in .wmv format, which means I need to convert to .wav before editing, but that's no big deal. You can get it at Office Max or probably Wal-Mart or Target.
I have used the iRiver, Zen and the Olympus for portable recordings. While I can't recommend the Zen V Plus, it has a built in mic and doesn't accept an external mic, I've have good success with the iRivers and Olympus DS40.
I bought my two iRivers IFP-799 from Amazon as re-frub'ed for under 50 bucks. Currently there aren't any available but check back from time to time, you can usually find one. The iRiver work great once you get it set-up. The iRivers are a 4 out of 5 stars since the buttons and menus can be tricky.
The Olympus DS40 is great , easy to use and works well with an external mic, a Giant Squid Audio one. I really like the 3 different mic levels that you can set. The seperate Record, Play, Stop and Erase buttons are nice too. For $150 is it very well made and easy to use. I would put it up there with the Zoom H4 or MicroTrack except that it only records in .WMV!, not .WAV or .MP3. Olympus seriously dropped the ball with that one. I use an conversion program to create the .WAV, I use Switch, and I haven't had any problems converting the files but I don't like the extra step. Also, because it records as a .WMV you can't use it with a Mac. On a 5 star scale I get it a 4.
I bought my two iRivers IFP-799 from Amazon as re-frub'ed for under 50 bucks. Currently there aren't any available but check back from time to time, you can usually find one. The iRiver work great once you get it set-up. The iRivers are a 4 out of 5 stars since the buttons and menus can be tricky.
The Olympus DS40 is great , easy to use and works well with an external mic, a Giant Squid Audio one. I really like the 3 different mic levels that you can set. The seperate Record, Play, Stop and Erase buttons are nice too. For $150 is it very well made and easy to use. I would put it up there with the Zoom H4 or MicroTrack except that it only records in .WMV!, not .WAV or .MP3. Olympus seriously dropped the ball with that one. I use an conversion program to create the .WAV, I use Switch, and I haven't had any problems converting the files but I don't like the extra step. Also, because it records as a .WMV you can't use it with a Mac. On a 5 star scale I get it a 4.
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