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Re: Preliminary Report - Sharp MD-DR7

Subject: Re: Preliminary Report - Sharp MD-DR7
From: "Colin Trainor" <>
Date: Mon, 15 Sep 2003 07:38:01 -0000
Hi -

I am interested in buying a Sharp MD - DR7 for bird call recording -
but am ignorant on microphones. Does it have a built in microphone,
or could I use a Sennheiser shotgun mic with it??

Thanks,

Colin Trainor




--- In  "Martyn Stewart"
<> wrote:
> Back home again and a lot of e-mails to sift through again, I still
> never caught up after going to the UK, Yes I bought the Sharp MD-
DR7 as
> Doug and am thrilled with the little beauty, this is a must if
this is
> your budget the cheapest I found as Doug did at
> http://www.audiocubes.com <http://www.audiocubes.com/>
>=20
> The adjustable record level is one of the advantages with this and
> indeed with all Sharps, but as Doug says the Buffer (trace-back)
is a
> must, this little machine does it all, as in the Portadisk, this
has a
> variable buffer for that last minute surprise, bang! You've
recorded
> it!!! I like to set this at 10 seconds too and if you are like me,
once
> you hit the pause button, I'm stretching around and scratching me
bum!
> Of course you will record all of this if you have it set on
30seconds,
> plus other maybe embarrassing noises!!!!!
> There is no Day/Date marking, Sony automatically marks each
recording
> with the day and date of each track, but if you are used to
speaking as
> I do before every take, this wont be a problem. I don't like the
remote
> I'm afraid either, the buttons are all the same. One or two have a
tiny
> dot on them that are hard to feel unless you can read Braille!!!
The
> rest are undistinguishable. Too many buttons! You can't push a
button on
> one side without also pushing one on the other, with my fingers
anyway!
> You can't adjust the volume without adjusting bass at the same
time!
> It's impossible. There is only one way to hold it without pushing
any
> buttons.
> These are minor problems but one that would put the cream on top
of this
> great unit.
>=20
> If you want to take a portable recorder into the field without all
the
> weight, this is the chap for you with long battery life
>=20
> Martyn
>=20
>=20
> Martyn Stewart
>  <http://naturesound.org> http://naturesound.org=20=20
>=20
>=20
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Doug Von Gausig 
> Sent: Saturday, August 23, 2003 9:37 AM
> To: Nature Recordists
> Subject: [Nature Recordists] Preliminary Report - Sharp MD-DR7
>=20
> I've had my new Sharp MD-DR7 now for a week and have been able to
put it
>
> through it's menus, learned the titling procedures, edited lots of
> samples,
> etc. The recordings I've made with it seem at the outset to be
> comparable
> to recordings made with the Sony MZ-R30 and -R50 recorders - no
big
> surprises there. Self noise seems about comparable with the Sonys.
>
> Things I like about this recorder:
>
> 1. Adjustable record level while recording - like all Sharps
>
> 2. No need to be sure you've hit "End Search" before recording -
like
> all
> Sharps. New recordings are always started at the end of the last
track.
>
> 3. Recording and mode-setting are all done by default - I tell the
> recorder
> what the default settings are and every recording is started with
those
> settings upon the press of one button. With the Sonys you press
the
> "Record" slider and the "Pause" button at one time, hold
the "Record"
> slider in one position until the record mode changes to "Manual
Record",
>
> then press the "Mode" button to switch to Mono recording - you
have to
> do
> this every time you start recording! All these settings are set as
the
> default settings on the Sharp.
>
> 4. Track and disc naming utility is much easier with the Sharp -
no more
>
> wearing out the reed switches picking the letters in a track name.
>
> 5. The battery, although it is NiMH, not Lithium Ion, is tiny and
gives
> 10.5 hours of record time, 27 hours of playback on a 3-hour
recharge.
> The
> recorder also comes with a AA "outrigger" caddy that holds one AA
> battery -
> it will supply 13 hours of recording and more than 40 hours of
playback!
>
> This guy is energy efficient.
>
> 6. Finally, I LOVE the "Trace-Back Recording" feature. This allows
you
> to
> set (as default) a 5-second, 10-second, or 30-second pre-record.
No need
> to
> reset it each time you turn the unit on or start recording. I've
kept
> mine
> on 10-second trace back and it has worked flawlessly. This will
get me
> that
> Cooper's Hawk that suddenly flies into the tree just above my head
and
> calls while the recorder is in record-pause.
>
> This that I dislike:
>
> 1. There is no Day/Date marking of tracks. Sonys automatically
mark each
>
> recording with the day and date of each track. No such utility
with the
> Sharp.
>
> 2. This unit is still a Japan-only unit. The instruction manual,
except
> for
> a very condensed section, is in Japanese. The English manual is
> available,
> though, at MiniDisc.org, so I downloaded the .pdf file and printed
it.
> No
> biggy.
>
> All in all (and very preliminarily) I like this unit a lot. If
anyone
> would
> like a particular test, let me know.
>
> I know Martyn has one too, by now, so did I leave anything out,
Martyn?
>
> Doug
> Doug Von Gausig
> Clarkdale, Arizona, USA
> Moderator
> Nature Recordists e-mail group
> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/naturerecordists
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
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