External Recorder advice

[deckitout]

I am shooting a family Christening soon and have been asked to shoot some stills and video of the day to produce a DVD for all the family and relatives.

 

I am looking to use an external Audio recorder for the service which will be a totally new venture for me.

I have been recommended a Zoom H1 as a reasonably priced Audio recorder.

 

Will this meet my needs or are there any other alternatives that won't break the bank?

 

Many thanks

 

Phil

[jonpais]

Is your budget capped at $100? Are you just using the recorder for this one occasion? I can highly recommend the excellent Sony PCM-M10, which I think is very reasonably priced and should give years of good service. 

[maxotics]

http://www.amazon.com/TASCAM-DR-05-Portable-Digital-Recorder/dp/B004OU2IQG/ref=sr_1_4?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1400598106&sr=1-4&keywords=audio+recorder+tascam

 

When I researched this I think the Tascam was the only one that has a phantom power supply to external mic if needed, not that I use it.  It has a tripod socket.  Haven't used mine much, but this is what I bought after all my research.  The most important thing to remember in using any of these recorders is to make sure it is recording when you hit the record.  At first press it only shows levels!  I've lost audio because of this (wasn't recording when I thought it was). 

[jonpais]

http://www.amazon.com/TASCAM-DR-05-Portable-Digital-Recorder/dp/B004OU2IQG/ref=sr_1_4?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1400598106&sr=1-4&keywords=audio+recorder+tascam

 

When I researched this I think the Tascam was the only one that has a phantom power supply to external mic if needed, not that I use it.  It has a tripod socket.  Haven't used mine much, but this is what I bought after all my research.  The most important thing to remember in using any of these recorders is to make sure it is recording when you hit the record.  At first press it only shows levels!  I've lost audio because of this (wasn't recording when I thought it was). 

Right. On the Sony, you've also got to hit record, then press play to begin recording. Not sure how important phantom power and a tripod socket are, since I've never found the need for either. Will you be using an external microphone, or just the recorder? I always use mine in conjunction with Rode microphones and a boompole. If you've never done this before, remember that inches count. Get that microphone as close to the source as is humanly possible and make sure that you set the recorder on manual, NOT auto. The level should be adjusted so that the green lights flash at -12 dB. Always monitor the sound with headphones. PluralEyes is an excellent solution to synching the audio and video, but Final Cut, and I'm guessing other editing software, will do the same.

 

Here is a sample from a sort-of mini-doc I'm currently working on, using the Sony PCM-M10 along with a Rode VideoMic Pro atop a Rode Mini Boompole. My assistant had never handled sound equipment before. Listening to it again, perhaps I should have used the low-pass filter to cut out some of the traffic noise. Sorry, it's in Vietnamese - a co-worker is in the process of translating it for me!

 

http://jonpais.wordpress.com/2014/05/13/impressions-of-saigon/

[noone]

I am shooting a family Christening soon and have been asked to shoot some stills and video of the day to produce a DVD for all the family and relatives.

 

I am looking to use an external Audio recorder for the service which will be a totally new venture for me.

I have been recommended a Zoom H1 as a reasonably priced Audio recorder.

 

Will this meet my needs or are there any other alternatives that won't break the bank?

 

Many thanks

 

Phil

I like the Zoom H1.     Tiny little thing and you can use it as a on camera mic and record into it at the same time.

 

If you don't hit record while plugged in as a mic it will still record into the camera but as Maxotics said, don't forget to hit record to have the choice..

 

I am sure there are better but for the price and size it is great.

[deckitout]

Thanks for the reply, it will not be a one off, it will be something I intend to use now and again, budget not in stone either.

 

Is your budget capped at $100? Are you just using the recorder for this one occasion? I can highly recommend the excellent Sony PCM-M10, which I think is very reasonably priced and should give years of good service. 

[deckitout]

Thanks for the feedback, I was planning on only using the recorder with a view to add the sound into a stills slide show.

Right. On the Sony, you've also got to hit record, then press play to begin recording. Not sure how important phantom power and a tripod socket are, since I've never found the need for either. Will you be using an external microphone, or just the recorder? I always use mine in conjunction with Rode microphones and a boompole. If you've never done this before, remember that inches count. Get that microphone as close to the source as is humanly possible and make sure that you set the recorder on manual, NOT auto. The level should be adjusted so that the green lights flash at -12 dB. Always monitor the sound with headphones. PluralEyes is an excellent solution to synching the audio and video, but Final Cut, and I'm guessing other editing software, will do the same.

 

Here is a sample from a sort-of mini-doc I'm currently working on, using the Sony PCM-M10 along with a Rode VideoMic Pro atop a Rode Mini Boompole. My assistant had never handled sound equipment before. Listening to it again, perhaps I should have used the low-pass filter to cut out some of the traffic noise. Sorry, it's in Vietnamese - a co-worker is in the process of translating it for me!

 

http://jonpais.wordpress.com/2014/05/13/impressions-of-saigon/

[maxotics]

jonpais, I really enjoyed your video 30/4 Park.  Why do a documentary in a language you don't understand when you can do films like that?  Of course, I have trouble taking my own advice too :)

 

 

BTW, one thing I really love about VIMEO is I can set the viewer to exact resolution within my screen.  With Youtube, it either takes up too much of my screen, or too little. It always seems to scale video, unless there's a trick I don't konw.  So I wasn't able to view your video in the best possible way, unfortunately.

[jonpais]

@maxotics Thank you so much. Just so other readers know, this isn't the same video linked to above - this one was shot with the Stereo VideoMic Pro on camera without any separate audio recorder. I'm working on a sort-of documentary about young people in and around the park, so I thought I'd round it out with some interviews. After all, I've got all this equipment just gathering dust in my closet! I have some friends and co-workers who should be able to help with the translation. Actually, some of the young people can speak English, but I thought it would be more authentic if they spoke their own language. 

 

Incidentally, we went out to the park to wrap up the interviews last weekend, but because of the protests (against China), police didn't allow taking any pictures.

 

I am a Vimeo member, but I've only uploaded one video there since they have such horribly small file size and time limits, and I don't want to pay any fees. I have thought about paying Wordpress to be able to host my own videos over at my blog, however.