Hi Paul
Welcome to the group.
Of the devices you mention the Fostex FR2-LE would
seem to be the device of choice. It has had so many
'glowing' reports from various users of this unit on
this forum. It has a few 'quirks' but nothing to
really worry about. It is said to be, by some, the
next best thing to owning a Sound Devices recorder.
Which considering its cost is great praise indeed. As
regards the in-built microphones I think they are best
described as 'low quality'.
Microphone wise it all depends on what you want to do
and how you want to go about it.
Stereo would require two mic's either of the same
'polar diagram' or pick-up pattern' or an MS mic/rig,
where a figure of eight microphone is used in
conjunction with either a cardioid, hyper-cardioid,
omni, etc.
Then there are parabolic microphones that use a dish
to 'amplify' the sound before it reaches the
microphone. Or shotgun mics, sometimes called
hyper-cardioids.
I would suggest a good place to look would be Rob's
site:
http://www.uwm.edu/~type/audio-art-tech-gallery/
Have look around here as there are some examples to
listen to and lots of useful info.
Also take a look at the Telinga site:
http://www.telinga.com/
Also take a look at this site as well:
http://www.wildlife-sound.org/
Microphones in use by members of this group include
but not limited too.
Sennheiser: K6/ME62 Omni
Sennheiser: K6/ME66 Short shot-gun
Shure WL183 omni's - info on these on Rob's site.
Audio Technica AT3032 - again some info on Rob's site.
This is not an exhaustive list but some of the more
'modest' priced microphones around. It can pay to look
on ebay as often good mics turn up there at reasonable
prices.
There is a new mic due shortly from Telinga the EM23 I
think which has had good reviews, again have a look on
Rob's site as he has done a comparisson test using one
of these.
Try doing a search on any of the above on this site,
just go to:
http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/naturerecordists/messages
Type the model number of the microphone or recorder
and you will find a lot of info.
Like this, a search on Fostex FR2-LE:
http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/naturerecordists/msearch?query=Fostex+FR2-LE&submit=Search&charset=
Hope the above has been of some help, I am sure others
of the group will join in and offer advice as well to
you.
Phil
--- paulmcnelis <> wrote:
> Hello everyone!
>
> I am looking to get into recording nature sounds
> from buzzing bees and
> crickets to babbling brooks, rain and so much more!
> I want to put music
> to my recordings and many other ideas...
>
> My budget is preferrably $500 but $1000 is possible
> including recorder
> and microphone.
>
> What I would like to know first is if the Zoom H2 or
> FR2-LE is the way
> to go? Second, do the built-in microphones of these
> recorders do an
> excellent job or am I going to want to purchase a
> separate microphone?
> If so, which microphone(s) are a possibility?
>
> I would like to record in stereo I guess, i think
> it's possible with
> these 2 recorders right?
>
> I also own a Sony MDR-7506 foldable headphones - are
> they good for
> monitoring the above 2 recorders while I am
> recording?
>
> Any other advice you can offer I would greatly
> appreciate it, thank you!
>
> Paul
>
>
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