Olympus DS-30

["David Martin" dlsbmartin11]

Some time ago Oriyoki suggested the Olympus DS-30 voice recorder 
might be suitable to record field notes and to document bird songs 
for identification.  I have one now, and I've used it a few times to 
record birds.   It's pretty good for a very small, inexpensive pocket 
recorder, and it would be very useful for identification.  It's not 
going to replace good gear.  I use it mainly for field notes.

I've posted a recording of a song sparrow, so if you are interested 
you can hear how the recorder sounds.

http://naturebits.org/New/DS300193.WMA

An unedited file (the recorder's native format is wma.)   Lots of 
handling and wind noise.  Tufted titmouse and red-winged blackbird in 
background.

The bird was facing away from me 8-10 m downwind and 3 m from the 
ground. Light wind; no wind shield. I tried to protect the mic with my body.

David