> I'm new to field recording and am shopping for a recorder and was hoping =
for some advice. I think I've narrowed it down to the Sony PCM-D50 and the =
PCM-M10.
=A0
Hi Gene.=A0 I'm also new to field recording and=A0have already benefited gr=
eatly from the advice of=A0several members of this group.=A0=A0And I=A0had =
the same questions you=A0asked.=A0
=A0
> Cons for both: lack of XLR inputs and phantom power
=A0
My own experience has been as follows.
=A0
I initially purchased=A0the PCM-D50 for the same reasons you mentioned.=A0 =
But practically=A0all of the applications in which I'm interested=A0will re=
quire external mics.
=A0
I considered coupling the D50 to a Sound Devices MixPre, which reportedly h=
as=A0excellent preamps and provides phantom power (although an ART Phantom =
II or the like will provide phantom power at a significantly=A0lower cost).=
=A0 But=A0I eventually came to the conclusion that it just didn't make sens=
e to spend=A0additional money for a more complex setup when I could=A0upgra=
de to a Sound Devices 700-series recorder.=A0 (The D50 costs around $445 an=
d the MixPre costs around=A0$665--already over $1,000.)=A0=A0I decided to r=
eturn the D50 (which I was fortunately still able to do) and shell out the =
extra=A0bucks for=A0a Sound Devices recorder.=A0 The=A0Sound Devices record=
er addresses=A0all of=A0my concerns and will make for a=A0far simpler and m=
ore convenient setup--and without the hassle of many connected devices and =
cables.=A0 And I can now focus=A0on microphone options, which are arguably =
more important anyway.
=A0
> when I feel ready to invest in a really good mic for quiet nature recordi=
ngs, I'd like to be able to use the same recorder.
=A0
That was also my thinking.=A0 But I realized=A0I would be=A0severely limite=
d with a recorder that does not have XLR inputs or=A0phantom power.=A0=A0To=
me it made=A0better sense=A0to invest more in a=A0good=A0recorder now rath=
er than keep buying=A0other pieces of equipment=A0later to make up for defi=
ciencies.
=A0
There are, of course, less expensive options out there for recorders, and o=
ther=A0members=A0may have different opinions.=A0 But I=A0thought I'd share =
my own experience in case you might=A0find it useful.
=A0
-Shirane
|