As many have said before me...the best recorder is the one you have in your=
hand...so a small Olympus is certainly a worthwhile purchase and given it'=
s light weight, will no doubt accompany you all the time in good stead.
I don't tend to lug a lot of gear around, I carry my recorder in a Portabra=
ce bag which has a mixer bag on the front that I use for odds and ends, fla=
shlight, field guide, extra batteries, etc. I carry the mics on a tripod g=
enerally. Other than that, I might sometimes carry a small simple backpack=
with water, food, extra mics, a portable stool. My backpack is just one c=
ompartment where the items tend to get piled up together, but I imagine a b=
ag with lots of little pockets might be good to be able to access different=
items quickly without having to dig through everything. Up until now this=
hasn't been enough of an issue to cause me to buy a new backpack. But I a=
m of the opinion that carrying a lot of gear gets old pretty fast anyway.
As far as packing gear in the car, I do have a hard sided carry on sized su=
itcase that I have modded with foam on the inside that I can fit my whole r=
ig inside. I use this for air travel, really anywhere, and it holds all my=
gear. If it doesn't fit in there, I don't usually take it. I don't like =
putting gear in checked baggage. Sometimes you have to, but I try to avoid=
it.
I haven't tried an e-reader in the field, no reason it cannot work just fin=
e. I don't find that I generally need more than 1 field guide book at a ti=
me, but I am not an expert birder, so I can't say that it's not necessary f=
or others.
--- In Brian Burnett <> =
wrote:
>
> Hi, and thanks to those who responded to my request for advice about buyi=
ng a
> new audio-recorder a little while ago.
> After considering the advice, and looking up websites, etc., I bought the=
> Olympus LS11.=A0 I'm no expert, and can't judge the finer points of ultra=
> high-quality audio, but I've been really pleased so far, as the gadget is=
easy
> to=A0use, and has an impressive sensitivity.=A0=A0 I've recorded bird sou=
nds in the
> garden,=A0 the adjacent forest, and while out in=A0various nature reserve=
s I've
> visited in N.Wales.=A0 I also used it for recording an AGM of the local b=
ranch of
> the Wildlife Trust, as I am sec, and have to take minutes, so that was us=
eful.=A0=A0
> And, I have used it for note-taking, although haven't yet used it much fo=
r
> this.=A0=A0 The LS11 also fits comfortably in the top pocket of either of=
my
> 'wildlife jackets' - one, lightweight, the other for nasty
> weather.=A0=A0=A0Also,=A0speaking as one who's=A0reached the age when eye=
sight
> deterioration=A0is becoming a problem,=A0I find the visual displays mostl=
y easy to
> read, while the smaller, less obvious displays, are less important and I =
am
> getting to know what they are, without=A0needing to read them.=A0=A0=A0 I=
=A0have been
> weating specs for reading in the past year or so, but don't use them with=
the
> LS11.=A0 =A0=A0 Thanks to everyone for that.
>
> Hold-All; With regards to the recent enquiry about bags for gear, this se=
ems to
> be very much a personal matter.=A0 I carry too much gear, as I'm interest=
ed in all
> kinds of wildlife, and I need most of it where it's easily accessible - a=
nd not
> on my back (where I carry a small library).=A0=A0 In the 1960s and 70s, I=
used one
> of the old ex-WD gas-mask bags, which I found very good (and I still have=
it,
> stuffed in a shed outside), but now use a modern, padded Lowepro camera b=
ag,
> which carries most of my gear, without being too heavy or bulky.=A0=A0 Bu=
t, I don't
> really think there is an ideal bag. It's like houses, boats and cars; the=
y're
> all a compromise, and what's best for your depends on your own individual=
> needs.=A0=A0 Bascially, whatever you get, it's unlikely to be ideal, and =
will be
> half an inch too short for something or other.=A0
>
>
> Finally, with regard to wildlife gear, I mentioned my small library - mai=
nly
> plant field guides, as I don't ofen need a bird guide any more - but has =
anyone
> used an e-reader as a field guide?=A0 That is, have you tried downloading=
a book,
> or=A0files from a PC, of pages (perhaps scanned in from books, or written=
from
> personal notes) to help ID things in the field?=A0=A0=A0=A0 I've consider=
ed buying a
> Kindle, but wonder how easy it is to use for this kind of thing.=A0 Being=
> monochrome is restricting with respect to coloured illustrations of books=
and
> flowers, but diagrams and text could be useful.=A0=A0 No doubt, someone w=
ill
> recommend an i-pad, but now we're going into more expense.
>
> Brian (Wrexham, N.Wales)
>
>
"While a picture is worth a thousand words, a
sound is worth a thousand pictures." R. Murray Schafer via Bernie Krause.
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