Freesound Forums

Dear freesounders,

I love to make field recordings. I use a ZOOM H1 now. I would buy a Sony PCM D50 because it has a self noise of-93dB.
Because of my disability I can not lift / carry heavy equipment ( >1kg). Is the Sony is the best buy, and it is good enough for my purpose, recordings of nature. Is it realy better than Zoom? Max price € 600.,- $650.--

Please advise me. Who hase experience with that recorder? Thank you all. :lol:

Well - I got it recently, and I own Zoom H2 since a while, so perhaps I can share some thoughts.

My answer is - yes, yes and yes (-:

- Less noise than zoom, performs much better.
- Warmer presence than zoom (less ambiance bass too).
- More sensitive than zoom - get's better depth of ambiance details (far/close details separation).
- Somewhat better stereo separation on 120 degree angle (device is wider).
- Sounds much more naturally than zoom and most others (if not all).
- Can take/hold bigger sound pressure.
- Somewhat easier to use (bigger screen? Buttons? Philosophy of use?)

Some people say that it sounds too "edgy", but I haven't noticed it yet. Perhaps it depends on content. Try http://www.wingfieldaudio.com/portable-recorder-sound-samples.html and/or personalized search on freesound (user LG made a lot of recordings with this sony; it's his recordings what convinced me to buy this one, and not some "half-way" solution).

On the other hand:

- Is heavier and bigger than Zoom H2 (plus 4 batteries instead of 2, but works longer), so it is not so un-noticable.
- buy hairy windjammer for it; heard that from rode (2x cheaper) performs better than from sony; will get my own later.

Price should be below 600 euros (with windjammer).

*

Or - you could buy Soundman OKM II classic studio for your zoom. It's half priced, in-ear, ear-phone-like pair of microphones (think about A3 adapter, I don't know if zoom has such power), perfect for ambiance recordings. However these OKMs can't hold such sound pressure like sony (just found it out, but you probably don't have to deal with percs and gongs in 100-130dB environment). For field recordings - soundman performs even better, but also a little bit different.

@klankbleed

you'll find all the info you need to decide here: http://taperssection.com/index.php?PHPSESSID=70d764387a28d2556397f744c90ca3eb&board=11.0

Most these guys record live nusic, which is a bit different from nature, but the info on selfnoise, mic sensitivity, prices and the like is good.

The way I see it, the D50 is great but a bit bulky and expensive. With less expense you can get the M10 or the Olympus LS11 which are both great recorders, the latter even more portable than the M10

D

He fellow freesounders,

Thank for the message. I did study the recorder-files on internet and I think it will be the sony. Bit large but the Lg (user) files and the others on internet are great. I always loved LG's recordings.

Thanks for all your time and information.

Have a good weekend.

ps. I'll send you a message whene i've made the first recording outdoor. I will compare the Zoom H1 and the sony pcm d50 in the same file. And recorded at the same moment...

:lol: