[Paul Kagawa]

Peter, for short runs the Tascam should be fine.

The other issue I had with it was a write fail to an SD card. I had set it up to write a new file every 1gb automatically, but the first time it tried to save the file it said something like “Write Error – Press Enter.” When I checked later there was a file name but no data, so I lost about an hour of the recording. (Details here: https://wp.me/p2gorK-17)

After that fiasco I would use a card that is certified by Tascam, and test it a lot. You can get a pdf of their Tested Media List here: https://tascam.com/product/dr-40/downloads/

I now routinely use XLR Y-cables and simultaneously record to the camera as a backup, even with the Zoom H4n.

Best of luck with your projects.

–Paul Kagawa

Website: http://www.paulkagawa.com
Blog: http://www.paulkagawa.com/blog
twitter: @paulkagawa

[Paul Kagawa]

I’ve used both and like some things about the Tascam, especially the the line/mic switch, the locking XLRs, and light weight. One problem with the Zoom is that the mic inputs are very sensitive, and I’ve had several occasions where the audio from a mixing board distorted because I couldn’t lower the input enough. I thought the Tascam would be a good solution because it has a mic/line input switch to attenuate the signal.

But I ran into a separate problem with sync drift on the Tascam after an hour of recording. You can see the details here: https://wp.me/p2gorK-1I

So I still use the Zoom, but run the signal through a Shure portable mixer first so I can get a real mic level output to the Zoom.

Hope that helps

–Paul Kagawa

Website: http://www.paulkagawa.com
Blog: http://www.paulkagawa.com/blog
twitter: @paulkagawa