Earlier this morning someone emailed me searching for a Zoom H1. I was able to track it down to Victor Litz Music center, and the person was able to order it. They have a few left if anyone is interested, here's the auction: Zoom H1 Portable Audio Recorder
I got a few emails about a recent product review post over at the Strobist blog. If you're getting into flash photography, the Strobist Blog is one you can't live without. The new product being reviewed is a Frio Cold shoe adapter. Cold shoe adapters are those small accessories that hasn't had an upgrade in design for quite some time, so there is a reason this new Frio Cold shoe is quite the talk right now. From the comments over at Strobist, it looks like it's going to be a hit. Not just designed for simple Flashes, but also for a ton of other accessories that require a cold shoe mount like shotgun microphones & LED lights. Something DSLR videographers could use on the DIY DSLR rigs. Check out more information over at the Strobist blog.
Someone asked me the other day about getting a bit more height on the Z96 DSLR LED Video light. I had a bit of insight on this item, but it wasn't available until 'now'. (Literally just now!). This is called the 'Power Arm' and it's a variable friction adjustable arm made out of Aluminum. Comes with a Shoe mount, but can be broken down to accept standard 1/4x20 threaded insert. If you look at the image with the hand, it's a decent size even folded up. Other images show off carrying the Z96 LED video light, so it's gotta be able to carry some weight. I have two in the mail which should arrive any day now, and hopefully get the hands on review of this new item. The reason I ordered two is because the images show some mounting options which looks like I can combine them together to gain quite a bit of distance. If combining these arms works out, it would be a good fit along with the Manfrotto 386B Nano Clamp.
Manfrotto Nano Clamp
This could prove to be a popular articulating arm that we'll see more of to carry those new EVF remote LCD Viewfinders, or something as simple as positioning your portable audio recorder further from the camera reducing that all annoying 'handling' noise. Similar accessories like this arm are discontinued everywhere, but i'm guessing their $150+ dollar price didn't make them very popular. I should have mine in soon to do some weight lifting tests, but you can only find these here: Aluminum Variable Friction Adjustable Power Arm
Damn, i've been catching Twitter pics and news clips about the Canon 60D in stock and shipping all day today. It's still a very rare find, but I managed to check out a few of my 'secret fishing holes' and it should drop in on Tuesday. Yeah, I tried to get it in earlier, but Jewish holiday they say.
Check out an early review @ https://nicolesyblog.com/2010/09/16/hands-on-with-the-canon-60d-first-impressions/ who shows off some of the in-camera filters. I think the 'Toy Camera' filter looked pretty good, and would be tons of fun in a Timelapse project. Curious if they stuck with the same Intervalometer as the T2i.
So i'm excited to see how this thing sizes up against it's 'older' siblings. I have another big event out of state that i'll be dragging this thing to, so I stocked up on the 32GB Transcend SDHC Class 10 Cards which is a deal right now.
I also noticed that the Zoom H1 and Tascam DR-08 only come with 2GB microSD cards. At the highest bitrate, i'm getting short of one hour total record time. If this this is going to be useful in a Catholic ceremony it's gotta run at least half a day! I managed to find some Sandisk 8GB microSD Cards for fairly cheap. With 8GB at the highest 96/24 I should be able to get close to 4 hours of total record time.
I got a tip about a new Tascam DR-03 Digital Portable audio recorder that looks similar to the DR-08 model. This product hasn't even been released yet. This model goes for fixed microphone positions over the flexible ones as the DR-08, and comes in cheaper than the Zoom H1. It's also advertised as a 'Solid State' recorder, so does this mean no MicroSD option? There was very little to no information about this recorder right now, so I emailed Tascam directly. After finding out The Tascam DR-03 only goes up to 48 KHz/24 bit compared to the DR-08's 96 KHz / 24bit, I lost some interest.
Although it's not the highest quality portable recorder, if you're not an Audiophile, even the compressed version of my Tascam vs Zoom H1 screwed up test wasn't all that bad. By the way, I did update the old article post with some Audio WAV samples for those who were asking. They are the large RAW files up to 80MB. So if you're looking for something in a slimmer profile than the Zoom H1, and don't mind the 48KHZ / 24bit audio, check out the new Tascam DR-03 SOLID STATE DIGITAL RECORDER .
Zoom H1 Portable Audio Recorder
These bad boys have been in demand for some time now. Still hard to get at your big time retailers, but thanks to Greg R. for this hint. Greg just ordered one from this company and they mentioned they had a few more in as well. Greg writes in and unselfishly shares his find with the rest of you. It appears the same company that had a few in stock I posted about happened to get a few more in. Key words here people are 'A Few More'. If you're still hunting one down, you can check out the auction going on right now by following this link: Zoom H1 Handy Portable Digital Recorder
Another alternative showing just 3 available can be found here: Zoom H1 Handy Portable Digital Recorder
Tascam DR-08 vs. Zoom H1
First let's get into the right mindset about why i'm testing these two Ultra Portable recorders. If you're looking for the best audio recorder for your DSLR, then nothing beats bang for the buck than the Zoom H4n. That's not what this is about. The Zoom H4n is a great device that can support 90% of your audio needs, but there's going to be times when you can't go tethered and things have to be discreet. You'll have to go with a wireless setup and a LAV microphone. When it comes down to 'quality effective' wireless gear, you're looking at $600 dollars a pair. This is what 'this is' about.
These new Ultra portable recorders can act as a nice option instead of using a Wireless setup. For under $150 dollars you can have a truly effective source of audio that is not tethered to the camera operator, very discreet, and less prone to issues that can arise with wireless gear. I'm lovin' these things. Of course, these two products look like they are competitors in the same space and naturally everyone will wonder which way to go. Right now let's just talk strictly 'Form Factor' and size for use as a 'Body Pack'. I'm going to skip to the results and say in my book, Tascam is the clear winner.
They both record the same audio quality, so when used with a LAV microphone and thrown in a pocket, they are equally as effective. The Zoom is the winner for being cheaper, and having a tripod mount, possibly better microphone configuration, and a form factor designed to be used as a handheld microphone. If you're wondering about how you can mount a Tascam on your DSLR rig, a simple Cheap Shotgun Microphone Shock Mount would probably work well, and would be functional to dampen handling noise.
The Tascam DR-08 Portable Digital Audio Recorder is the winner for having a smaller profile which is more comfortable to be used as a 'body pack'. It will fit nicely in a pocket, or throw it into a cell phone case with a belt clip option. The Zoom H1, although can be used in the pocket, loses to the Tascam for this one feature. This is the one feature I'm looking for between these two items. So if your only plan is to use it as a 'body pack w/ LAV mic' go for the Tascam. Again, for the idea to replace a wireless body pack the audio is sufficient. Yes I know it doesn't compare to the Zoom H4n, but try sticking that in your pocket. For you Audiophiles, more audio tests and comparisons will be done soon.
[Update] Here's a video talking about the test, and the RAW files can be found in the links below. If you're wondering why one would be larger than the other, it's mainly because I started one recorder after the other, causing one file to run longer in time. You'll hear a bit of fumbling around as I get things setup, and clap several times for me to sync audio to the video. I did not want to cut, alter, convert, compress any of these files so as to keep things as original as possible for you to listen.
Download Tascam DR-08 RAW wav - file size 83MB
Download Zoom H1 RAW wav file - file size 77MB
Update: Cheapest price BHPHOTOVIDEO.com: Tascam DR-08 Portable Digital Audio Recorder
This is really getting out of hand. I haven't even touched Tuesdays, Wednesdays, or part of Thursday's mail bag and now it's Friday. I might be close to admitting that I have a serious problem of some type. I said 'close to admitting', i'm not ready to admit YET! LOL - Ok moving on, it's Friday and today's mail bag has a few nice items. One that i've been waiting on is the Redhead windscreens for the Zoom H1. After the Tascam DR-08 vs. Zoom H1 review i'll get to doing some Windscreen tests.
Thanks to Steve for coming out and strumming a few chords as an audio test of these two Ultra Portable Audio recorders. Unfortunately I screwed up big time. It was late, I was in a rush and just pulled everything out of the box and started recording. I sorta rushed with the lighting too, but that cheap 3 Piece lighting kit definitely came in handy - found here: http://cheesycam.com/new-800w-barndoor-softboxes-3pcs-lighting/
The Zoom H1 recorder right out of the box is set to it's highest recording level, while the Tascam DR-08 audio recorder was set to a much lower compressed version. I didn't find out until I got home which doesn't make this a fair fight. Still the Tascam DR-08 sounds pretty amazing with the audio compressed much lower than the Zoom H1. I'll be doing this test again but next time getting the settings better matched. Didn't want this simple test to go to waste, so I'll just post it up as an example of why using a portable audio recorder over the 'in camera Microphone' is always the better choice.
