Digital Audio Recorder « Videomaker Community Forums

shippocaio
Member

Hey guys, its me again!

I am going to do a documentary about bullyng for my ELA class as the school starts, and i have everything that i need : A HD camera, a green screen, a tripod,a good pc with a nle program and etc... but one thing must be solved:

I am going to shoot some scenes where i appear far away from the camera and i am talking, but i have aÂ Â little problem, my camera dosent have a mic input...

So, thereÂ i was, thinking of a solution when thisÂ brilliant idea:Â "and IfÂ i buy i digital audio recorder with a mic in, record the audioÂ with a mic when shooting and then tranfer the audio to my editing program and sync it with the video?"

yeah, that's my solution up there....but i need some help finding a audio recorder.

Anyone knows about a CHEAPÂ digital audio recorder, with usb connection and a mic imput for sale?

Thaks for all the help,
Caio S.P.

Posted 3 years ago #
shippocaio
Member

P.S.: If there are any TAPE recorder that can connect to the pc (which i belive dosent exist) it also can be used...

Thanks

Posted 3 years ago #
Don
Member

Â olympus has some nice ones

Posted 3 years ago #
shippocaio
Member

yeah...i saw some of them in circuitcity and bestbuy, but there are any below the $40s?

Posted 3 years ago #
augiecrazy8
Member

Â I bought a digital voice recorder by Sony for about $50... I've used it several times to record podcasts, and the sound quality is solid. Â I believe you can attach a lapel mic to an input on the recorder as well... that might be an option. Â I bought it at Best Buy.

Posted 3 years ago #
shippocaio
Member

i Found a RCA Recorder for $20 at frys.com...

Its the RCA RP5032.

what do you think about it?

Posted 3 years ago #
shippocaio
Member

dang....

the digital voice recorder dosent exist anymore....

any help?

Posted 3 years ago #
ralck
Member

A question...

How mobileÂ will youÂ need to beÂ inÂ theÂ video?Â Â If you will mainly just be standing stillÂ far away, you might be ableÂ to useÂ aÂ laptop with a programÂ like AudacityÂ toÂ record your audio.Â Â YouÂ can stillÂ use whatever microphone you were planningÂ toÂ use with theÂ digital audioÂ recorder,Â but you'll be ableÂ toÂ record in uncompressed WAVÂ which will be a bit higher quality thanÂ the mp3Â voiceÂ recordersÂ in your priceÂ range.

Let usÂ know howÂ it turnsÂ out. :)

Posted 3 years ago #
shippocaio
Member

hey, good idea...i did not think that...

thaks..

i will make some tests before shooting the documentary and i will see how that turns out..

:)

Posted 3 years ago #
Don
Member

Â I saw a canon zr 900 with mic inputs for $259.00 cdn.

how hard to hook up a mic to that and use it?

coasts about the same as a digital recorder...Â

Posted 3 years ago #
Roger
Member

I just picked up the RCA VR532oR for $40.
I'm hoping this will do the trick of letting me have a second audio source.

It has a built in USB connector, stereo pick up mike, mike and ear phone jacks, and runs on 2 "AAA" batteries.

I'm a little worried about only having 64kbps (for 34 hours recording time) but it does export as stereo WAV files.

Has anyone else used one of these or similar? How did it work out?

Posted 7 months ago #
Weddingmaster
Member

If your camera is far enough away that your lips can't be seen...just dub it in to your nle while editing. save yourself a lot of work. just record some ambient noise to make it realistic.

Harry

Give the Bride What She Wants!

Posted 7 months ago #
birdcat
Moderator

I have used a small Olympus recorder in the past - It records at 22.1 khz and that caused all sorts of problems with drift. Try recording a longer (20 minutes) piece on the recorder and your camera and see if you get the same issues I did (I needed to cut up and re-sync every 20 seconds or so).

Bruce Paul
7Squared Productions
http://www.7squared.com

Posted 7 months ago #
EarlC
Moderator

You'll be dealing with delay if you use a long cable on a wired digital recorder, and you'll have audio monitoring problems if you're the only person onset recording from either wired or wireless mics of any kind.

I use several Zoom H2 standalone digital recorders and have had NO sync issues on recording up to 2 hours with them. There's also a Zoom H1 and H4 model, and I believe prices range from around $100 to $299 with the H2 somewhere in the middle.

At distance, I wouldn't use the Zoom internal mics because the sound rejection at distance isn't good and you'll get a lot of ambience audio, room bounce, or outdoor issues. The internal mics work best at close mic situations such as podiums or on stands and adjusted for the sweet spots from loud speakers, etc.

Some people swear by them (me) and others swear at them, but I've honestly NOT had any issues with my H2 units that I cannot live with and the audio has always been better quality than on-camera, shotgun or boom mics.

Posted 7 months ago #
CraftersOfLight
Member

One of the things I have noticed about smaller low end recorders, like the Olympus, is though they are great for recording seminars and personal events they lack sound quality for video. Voices are off and in some cases like they are talking from the bottom of a jaror over a phone.

Definitely test before you use for a critical recording.

Life is not a guided tour nor a destination.
It is a journey. Take the time to enjoy your family, friends and surroundings.
Build memories. Share experiences. Travel at sight speed not light speed. (C)

Posted 7 months ago #
ophelia
Member

@Earl - Hi! Would you please post a photo of your rig for shooting & capturing w/ the H2? Thanks. BTW - do you use this in the field or only in-studio?

Posted 7 months ago #
composite1
Moderator

Hey Caio,

If you've got $100 bucks available get a Zoom H1. You'll definitely need a windjammer on it though because it's too sensitive without one. Wind Tech makes a good fuzzy one for $25, but you can make due with a couple of layers of leather car chamois until you can get a fuzzy. You'll also need a device to hand hold it like a small Joby because even in manual settings, it's too sensitive. I use one to sync audio with my point and shoot. It works really well, just use a clapper or a finger snap on camera while you're recording audio at the same time to set an audio marker and off you go.

There's also a review here @ VM done on the H1. Check out my comments as well.

Zoom H1_H1_Ultra_Portable_Digital_Audio

H.Wolfgang Porter, Composite Media Producer
Dreaded Enterprises Unlimited, Inc.
http://www.dreadedenterprises.com

Posted 7 months ago #
Tony Koretz
Member

Really "Cheap" sound recording options are to be avoided. Your sound is just as important as your picture. Getting a good stand alone sound recording device with a built in mic preamp that uses an XLR connection is a good investment. There are many suitable ones out there. I have and use a Marantz PMD661 and find it works well. A good quality mic is also important.

Posted 2 months ago #
Manuel
Member

I think that a good relation between price and performance in digital recorder is the ZOOM H2. it's very popular and cheap, have 4 built that you can use in many ways and you can record in different formats with different resolutions (Mp3, Wav)

I use it for sound effect and music recordings in some cases and i think is great.

Manuel

http://www.royaltyfreepianos.com

Posted 2 months ago #
MediaFish
Member

I have been the route of the cheap recorders - I now only use Zoom H4N's for any remote recording. Yes, they are pricey however just remember you get what you pay for.

Just my two cents for whatever that's worth.

Jeff
Media Fish Productions

Posted 2 months ago #