Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Field Recorders - Pt 1

Nature recording is a very difficult pursuit. Weather conditions are always a consideration. Then the ever present noise from trains-planes-automobiles always tends to happen just when something interesting is going on. And to that list add wind and water sounds. Our brains filter out those extra sounds when we are in the environment but on a recording they are very noticeable.

I am frequently asked what equipment I would recommend. I am certainly no expert but I have used a variety of recorders and can share my thoughts. So I will post a series of 4 articles, each dealing with a different priced recorder. I will not do much of a review, as that material has been thoroughly covered by others and you can follow the provided links.

Field Recorders under $200.

On the lower end of the price range is the Samson - H2 - Handy Recorder.



The manufacturers websites:

H2 Handy Recorder

Samson Zoom H2

This website also has 3 videos describing its operation.

The user's manual can be found at:

Users Manual

Excellent reviews can be read at:

Ron's Tech Blog

O'Reilly digitalmedia

Brad Linder's blog

Forums discussing this recorder are:

Zoom Gear & Home Recording

The Taperssection Forums

There are several videos posted on YouTube:

Zoom H2 Digital recorder

Zoom H2 Tutorial

Quick guide to Zoom H2 MP3 recorder

Use Instructions for Zoom H2 Recorder

Recording media: SD card

I've been using a Transcend 16GB class 6 card (TS16GSDHC6) for some time now with my H2 and it works flawlessly.

Maximum recordable time - In any card not all of the stated capacity is available for data. Using this 16 gb card the record time in .wav at 44.1kHz 16bit CD quality mode is 23.5 hours.

Batteries

Using two Energizer L91BP-4 AA Lithium Batteries I was able to record for 14 hours 5 minutes.

Recordings:

I recorded this recently in the woods near my home in Central Illinois.

Sound Clip 1

Conclusion - I think this is a very good recorder and gets researchers into a nice, reasonably priced unit and away from the voice-only models so many purchase when they are just starting out.

Pros:
- reasonable price
- great sound
- easy to use
- built-in microphones

Cons:
- light weight plastic

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