Al Bergstein
Forum Replies Created
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Brian, which model would you recommend? My G3 says it has a Freq. range of 526-558. So that means that theoretically I would only need the WSUB1G or the combo unit. Is there any real need for G3 to have the other 3G Combo?
Thanks for the tip. It hasn’t been a problem for me but could be in the future.
Al
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Just received my H5 today, after having looked at dozens of reviews on it. thanks Ty for a very comprehensive review. The menu systems on this unit are much more complex than, say the Tascam DR-60 or the Marantz PMD 661. So right you are, RTFM. Google it if you don’t know what that means.
The benefits to this H5 are:
- Very small form factor. Hand held in the palm of your hand. Smaller than my PMD 661
- Much better sound floor than the H4N which I had and died with no recourse for repair!.
- Needs only two AA batteries. Unfortunately doesn’t accept the new high capacity batteries
- Modular mics that are pretty damn good
- Gain control without zippers (Tascam DR-60 not good on this)
- Real 4 channel XLR recorder/mixer with the optional plug in module
- modular shotgun is actually pretty good!
- Sound quality overall is pretty good! Definitely better than the 4N
- If you need a recorder for both video shoots, and live concert situations, this is probably the best thing going without carrying a bunch of mics and a unit like the Tascam DR-60 or the Marantz PMD 661. A really good all around recorder. For the one recorder I’ll carry when I need to do the job, it will be the H5.
For live recordings where I’m close to home, I’ll bring the Marantz with it’s better pre amps. For overall use on video shoots, I’ll bring the H5n. For travel, it’s a no brainer, the H5n. For live field recordings, I’ll plug the Marantz into the board, and leave it be, attach the H5 to my video camera and do a dual recording with -12dB into the recorder, and then send it out to the camera. Will cover all bases that way. If, while shooting a concert, I get a chance to do an interview, will plug in a lav to the H5, and continue to spool out audio to the Marantz off the board while taping the interview on the H5. This will give me full coverage. Then when playing music with folks, can just set the H5 on a table top tripod and run it. Sort of a swiss army knife without tying up my cell phone recorder.
Both the Marantz and the H5 are excellent performers with a slight edge to the Marantz on sound quality. If you want the best quality, then go with the Marantz or a better quality Tascam, like the 680 or just go buy a SD. They are the best quality sound and build. But for those of us in small outfits with a lack of audio engineering in the field, a H5 will not be a bad buy.
The Tascam DR-60 is good, but you have to bring a mic, as it doesn’t have one on the first generation units. But for what it does it does it well.
Al
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I reformatted my new OWC drive and now Media Browser sees it. The only think I can say is that the new OWC drives are not being formatted properly for some reason, and be sure to reformat them with Disk Utility and check that media browser can see them before loading piles of stuff on them I had previously formatted the drive but not repartitioned it. I think that the OWC partitioning being done at the factory is somehow defective.
Al
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It’s not just a RAID 5 problem. I just purchased an OWC Guardian Maximus with a RAID 1 configuration (2 – 2TB drives). I also have an OWC RAID 5 box also, which *IS* seen by Premiere, but I think I reformatted that with Apple’s DIsk Utility when I bought it. And yes, I can see all the files in the finder but cannot see them in the media browser.
I am using an late model (2013) iMac i7 with 16 GBs of RAM. All the other drives I have attached work fine. The new drive is not seen regardless of whether I use eSata or USB 3.0.
When I copied my files over (I spent hours doing this!) and find that Pr CC 2014 will not see the drive! I then come to COW and find out it’s a known problem.
I just got off the phone with OWC tech support and they feel that since all my other OWC drives are working fine with this, that it must be a partition problem, and that they recommend reformatting.
I’m going to contact Adobe too on this tonight.
Al
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I don’t think that model will allow you to do (inexpensively) what you want. But check this post out it might answer your question…https://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/51138978
Have you looked into using Magic Lantern? It might enable audio monitoring in some fashion on that model https://www.magiclantern.fm/
Barring that, perhaps looking at getting the Tascam DR60 under camera recorder might be the next cheapest alternative? They are now under $200 for the slightly older model, and also record on the fly at two different levels. That would allow you to monitor and record three different tracks. I’ve been pretty happy with mine. There is even a newer model with four XLR inputs!
Al
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What you are describing is difficult for any amateur to pull off well. So ask for a bigger budget, because the pros say you need it. Then hire people that will make you successful at this in the early going. You can then maybe figure out what they are doing, fire them, and use the bigger budget to buy the gear you really need. While I might be cynical, it’s how the world works.
Al
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I don’t know about where you live, but one of the reasons I stopped using Zoom was for a similar problem. Mine broke (stopped working) and there was really no way to send it anywhere I could find to get it fixed. Maybe someone else has an idea. My take on it was that Zoom was a marketing company, and that the machines were made out of the country.
Have you tried their US Distributor?
UNITED STATES
ZOOM NORTH AMERICA
2120 Smithtown Avenue
Ronkonkoma, NY 11779 USA
Tel: (1) 631-542-5270 Fax: (1) 631-542-5271
https://www.zoom-na.com
E-mail: info@zoom-na.comAl
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Michael, the Mixpre can run a long time off two AA batteries. I have used it extensively and the power consumption is wonderfully low. You can also buy the power apdapter and run it from 120 or 220 if you need to. I’ve got no complaints.
Al
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For the price of a Tascam like that, you can buy a used Sound Devices, which is likely more rugged.That would of course depend on what kind of field work you anticipate. There’s nothing wrong with the Edirol 44s so I assume the 88 is just as good. I’ve used it myself as a friend has one. Great unit.
Here’s a decent review on Amazon on the Tascam unit.
https://www.amazon.com/HS-P82-Channel-Portable-Digital-Recorder/dp/B0036YR3X4#customerReviewsDo you really need 8 or 10 channels?
Al
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As I understand it, the Smartlav is made *only* for the iPhone (or similar device that needs a three ring 3.5 adapter. It *won’t* work on a standard DSLR camera jack. That requires the standard lav, It’s just a marketing situation that forces them to price into the $70 range for the iPhone market. Look for a one ring Lav for most situations for greatest flexibility, but buy the $70 one if your budget is tight and you want to stick the iPhone (or iPad) into a pocket or mount in a belt clip. you’ll at least dual sound, and can strip out your camera sound later.
Please correct me if I’m wrong here.
Al