Hi Bob--
You seem to be thinking ahead, which is very astute of you. Maybe the
right investment hinges on how hard the "bug" bites you? Its a very
safe move to buy a D50 and start recording the louder and quieter
settings you describe in order to learn how much you enjoy field
recording. The quality that you get will affect your interest though
and the internal mics have serious limitations. So, I also suggest
renting a pair of great mics, taking a weekend recording excursion to
a quiet place and generating some comparison recordings. (Use a
portable phantom power supply to run the condenser mics on the D50).
If using external mics turns you off, you'll learn this, but if the
bug bites hard and you become ready to jump up to a 702 (after
spending more on mics than you ever thought possible ;-)), you'll not
regret having the D50 as a great 2nd unit recorder. Mics and array
are the most important technical quality factors after mic placement.
Its always good to research options like you are because ads can and
do say anything. The reviews you list seem to address very different
applications from field recording, IMHO. The D50 has very "quiet"
mic inputs, the noise people complain about it is from the internal
mics. That's the case with all of the mics in the hand-held units.
Rob D.
At 3:48 PM +0000 3/28/10, ssislander wrote:
> I'm new to audio recording. Initially my intention is to record
>mostly water such as ocean surf, falls, rapids, rain, though I
>suspect I'll be trying to record quieter sounds at some point. For
>now I would be converting to mp3. I want good (CD?) quality sound. I
>assume the "noise" of the water allows me to get away with lesser
>quality.
>
>I've been reading and researching for the past couple of weeks. I'm
>considering the Sony PCM-D50. From the reviews and sound samples
>I've heard, it seems good, though I've read some complaints about
>the recorder noise level. Downsides I see are sensitivity to wind
>and no phantom power. I would try to get away with using the
>internal mics.
>
>Noise level complaints....
><http://www.dvinfo.net/forum/all-things-audio/236327-excessive-pcm-d50-noi=
se-level.html>http://www.dvinfo.net/forum/all-things-audio/236327-excessive=
-pcm-d50-noise-level.html
>
>Reviews and samples....
><http://www.wingfieldaudio.com/sony-pcm-d50-sound-samples.html>http://www.=
wingfieldaudio.com/sony-pcm-d50-sound-samples.html
><http://www.barryrudolph.com/mix/sonypcmd50.html>http://www.barryrudolph.c=
om/mix/sonypcmd50.html
><http://transom.org/tools/recording_interviewing/200703_recorder_reviews/>=
http://transom.org/tools/recording_interviewing/200703_recorder_reviews/
>
>Or I'm looking at the Sound Devices 702. Great sound, phantom power,
>more features/options. Downsides I see are bulk/weight of equipment,
>cost, more complicated, requires external mics, and battery limits
>in the field.
>
>I would probably go with the Sony PCM-D50 if I knew it was good
>enough. But I don't want to have buyer's regret after a couple of
>weeks. Any strong opinions either way?
>
>Thanks, Bob.
>
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