Pocket Recorder for Wired Lav

[Dan Brockett]

There are toys, then there is a way of doing it right...

"Audio is Time Code referenced, recorded and played back on a removable mini SD memory card via manual commands or remotely commanded from the IFB100 transmitter."

Zaxcom

Surprisingly affordable for probably some of the best quality available period.

Dan

[Jim Andrada]

I just did a side-by side. I clipped two Voice Technologies V500 lavs to my shirt almost touching each other and ran one into the Sony and one into the Microtrack and read a short passage.

I couldn't hear any difference whatsoever - at least on the little speakers on the PC.

Whatever difference there may be is certainly slight enough that I wouldn't worry about it

So it just comes down to preferring the MicroTrack for wired lav based on the weight and bulk of the Sony.

I sure like the Sony, though.

[Jim Andrada]

Hi Dan,

Funny, but I was thinking of you when reading this thread. I had the feeling you'd be chiming in sooner or later.

I have no particular aversion to spending gobs of money on good gear.

I don't use lavs much, though, and so far I'm sufficiently satisfied with the results I can get by using the MicroTracks instead of going wireless. I'm certainly not under any illusion that they're the best of breed, but so far they've been good enough for my needs.

I think it gets back to my earlier comment that the single spec that most defines "high quality" is price.

I think we're incredibly lucky that thanks to technology we can get reasonable results for not much $$$

[Dan Brockett]

Originally Posted by Jim Andrada

Hi Dan,

Funny, but I was thinking of you when reading this thread. I had the feeling you'd be chiming in sooner or later.

I have no particular aversion to spending gobs of money on good gear.

I don't use lavs much, though, and so far I'm sufficiently satisfied with the results I can get by using the MicroTracks instead of going wireless. I'm certainly not under any illusion that they're the best of breed, but so far they've been good enough for my needs.

I think it gets back to my earlier comment that the single spec that most defines "high quality" is price.

I think we're incredibly lucky that thanks to technology we can get reasonable results for not much $$$

Hi Jim:

I have used several of the recorders in this thread and to tell the truth, almost all of them sound leagues better than any camcorder does. Even the cheap ones like the Zoom H2 actually sound fairly good.

I was just intrigued that you can buy a Zaxcom transmitter that will record TC and signal to an SD card internally. This would be a great way for one to work their way into owning a Zaxcom wireless system, one of the best on the market. You could buy the transmitter with the 901 internal recording option, then when your tax return comes in next year, but a receiver and you would have the best of both worlds, a killer internal recording option to SD and probably one of the top two or three wireless systems available.

Best,

Dan

[Jim Andrada]

Dan,

Yes, I thought it was interesting also. I hunted around their web page a while, but not being sufficiently familiar with the product line I was having a hard time figuring out what they were really selling. I finally concluded that it was an add in for the transmitter, but then I started wondering why they wouldn't eliminate the transmitter and make the SD recorder available as a standalone product.

You;re right on re the little recorders being better than most (if not all) in camera recording.

My biggest beef with the small recorders is that it's really hard to set anything like consistent recording levels with the miserable metering they give you. The $1k version of the Sony seems to have a pair of readable meters, though

[Trey Vollmer]

There's some really good stuff in here that's a little over my head.

So by all means, carry on. I'm going to keep lurking for awhile, and I'll chime in when I know what to ask.

Thank you all for your participation in this thread.

Trey

[Jim Andrada]

Trey,

Sorry if we went too fast or got off topic. No need to lurk - just tell us straight out to get back to answering your question and stop confusing you. Seriously! We all have a tendency to drift off into side discussions.

As I understood your original question you were looking for a good wired pocket recorder to use with your lavs. I know you said "best" but "best" is really hard to define.

Maybe if you tell us more about what you want to record and what budget you're thinking of and what kind of lavs you have we can target our responses more toward what you want to know. We'll be more than happy to try.

[Dan Brockett]

One of the popular magazines, (was it EQ? or something?) did a really comprehensive write up on all of the pocket recorder available last month. It was really great if you can hunt it down.

Dan

[Chris Barcellos]

Sony Hi MD- MZ RH10 Records PCM level, with a mic input.

[Trey Vollmer]

Originally Posted by Jim Andrada

Trey,

Sorry if we went too fast or got off topic. No need to lurk - just tell us straight out to get back to answering your question and stop confusing you. Seriously! We all have a tendency to drift off into side discussions.

As I understood your original question you were looking for a good wired pocket recorder to use with your lavs. I know you said "best" but "best" is really hard to define.

Maybe if you tell us more about what you want to record and what budget you're thinking of and what kind of lavs you have we can target our responses more toward what you want to know. We'll be more than happy to try.

No worries, Jim.

My biggest thing right now is that I'm torn between wired and wireless. If I was a rich man, I would just get both and be done with it.

I am predominately interested in short films first and weddings second. I am looking for two very small lavs. Like I said though, I don't know if I'm going wired or wireless. There are so many pros and cons for each of these - makes the decision very hard you know?

Today I'm leaning toward wireless; tomorrow who knows. With that being said, I would like to find a receiver that will attach to the hot shoe of my HV30. It would be especially great if that receiver could receive more than one signal at a time (both lavs). I mentioned earlier that I'm looking for something very small.

However, if I can be convinced that a lav under a shirt can still pick up the talent's voice in a satisfactory fashion, I'd be willing to go a little bigger.

My plan is to use the 2 lavs for dialogue and then use a H2, H4, or Olympus LS-10 for ambient.

I would like to keep this package at or less than $1,000.

Thank you for your help.

Trey

[Guy Cochran]

Azden and Audio Technica both have dual receiver packages. The Azden, I have not tested, but I do own the Audio Techncia 1800 and it is way too large to put on a small camera such as your HV30. Plus it's over $1k and I'll have to test more, but it sounded like the Sennheiser was cleaner (less noise). Back to the Azden, while it may look like a good deal, I'd perform quite a bit of due diligence before going that route. They don't have the best reputation for quality. Azden Corporation - Wireless Microphones For Working People - 325ULT Dual-Channel UHF twin Body-Pack Comb System

Myself, I use two Sennheiser Evolution G2's with either a Bracket1 mount or a Mic Mate. The Mic Mate you can find at Markertek.com. It can actually hold 3 receivers vertically.
You'll need a BeachTek or some kind of mixer or cable to input one mic to the Left channel and one mic to Right channel. You don't want to just mix them both down, the control of separate channels in post is essential.
If you're trying to keep it under $1k, we sometimes get in refurb Sennheiser G2 packages if you want to go that route, it'll keep you within budget.

One of the benefits of going with the wireless as opposed to a portable recorder is that you will have audio in sync with the video on tape. It's not a lot of fun hand syncing a bunch of files when you're in a hurry to get a project done. It takes the groove out of editing when you have to make one and two frame adjustments or find a file with some bizarre file name. Although some of the recorders will use time of day for the file name, it's still a nightmare that I'm sure you'd appreciate not having to contend with.

Hope this helps,

[Jim Andrada]

I guess there a pros and cons to everything!

Wireless has the advantage that Guy points out of being able to record in camera.

On the other hand, you have to watch out for interference from cell phones, police radios, electric dog collars, whatever, worry about what frequencies to use where, etc etc. A lot of people seem to say " wire when you can, wireless when you can't". And quality of in-camera recording may not be so great.

I think your idea of "do both" might not be so expensive if you get a lav with a connector that would work both with a wireless system or one of the small recorders. Then you could start with a pocket recorder and move to wireless with the same mics.

I know I don't need wireless, and so far haven't even needed to hide the lavs, although the day may come.

[Johan Bollen]

Originally Posted by Jim Andrada

Dan,

Yes, I thought it was interesting also. I hunted around their web page a while, but not being sufficiently familiar with the product line I was having a hard time figuring out what they were really selling. I finally concluded that it was an add in for the transmitter, but then I started wondering why they wouldn't eliminate the transmitter and make the SD recorder available as a standalone product.

You can get a Zaxcom ZFR100 timecode capable SD recorder for about 1000$ for the mono version and 1300 $ for the stereo version.

Zaxcom

[Trey Vollmer]

[QUOTE=
Myself, I use two Sennheiser Evolution G2's with either a Bracket1 mount or a Mic Mate. The Mic Mate you can find at Markertek.com. It can actually hold 3 receivers vertically.
You'll need a BeachTek or some kind of mixer or cable to input one mic to the Left channel and one mic to Right channel. You don't want to just mix them both down, the control of separate channels in post is essential.
If you're trying to keep it under $1k, we sometimes get in refurb Sennheiser G2 packages if you want to go that route, it'll keep you within budget.


Hope this helps,[/QUOTE]

Hello, Guy.

Do you have any pictures of the G2 on a bracket mount?

Also, it sounds like from your post that you might be a salesmen? Would I be correct in saying that?

If you are, I'd like to know a little more about the G2 set up (refurb).

Thanks for the helpful post.

Trey

[Trey Vollmer]

I was also wondering how useable is the bracket 1 for handheld situations?

Is it heavy?

Is it cumbersome?

Is it unbalanced?

Trey