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In search of…
Love.
No just kidding….actually I am looking for a portable digital recorder that will accept two XLR mic inputs and then record those mics separately either in the same channel (stereo?) or as two individual tracks entirely. I am open to something that will plug into an ipod (ideal) or utilize an SD/CF card. Budget is about 200-400ish….does such a creature even exist?
The reason I am looking is because I have a job next month where the video will be captured via a Canon 5D mkII and from what I gather, the audio input for this camera is less than ideal.
I am used to shooting on an HVX-200, running separate mics (shotgun and LAV) into the supplied XLR connects and then pulling the best sounding channel from the stereo track in FCP. It’s isn’t pretty but it works for my needs. The ideal audio recorder would work much in the same fashion….If possible?I thought I had found what I was looking for in the Belkin Tune Studio but then I read it will take my two mics and lay them down on one (inseparable?) track. Then I saw the zoom H4n which looks like it would work but I don’t know what to look for to make sure.
Suggestions? Thoughts? Vocab words to learn so I don’t sound like an idiot? Thank you for reading.
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2 Replies
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None of the iPod-based solutions are very “professional”. None of them offer anything remotely resembling proper level metering and record level controls. IMHO, that is a show-stopper.
The Oade Brothers (https://www.oade.com) have rather a “short list” of the kinds of portable recorders you are looking for. The Fostex FR-2LE has been mentioned as the lowest-cost device that could be considered “professional” audio quality. Although it records cleanly, its monitoring facilities (headphone output) is pretty noisy. 🙁
If I were in the market to day I would strongly consider the FR2-LE. The Zoom H4N is also widely used for the application you mention. I’ve seen much more discussion of these various small portable recorders in other online forums.
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I hear you on the ipod devices.
Price point isn’t terrible for the FR-2LE even though it is a little more than what I was expecting (no surprise there!) but I do like the Zoom H4n’s ability to accept cards larger than 1GB. I will be taking a hard look at both of these items. Thank you for the great lead.
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