[RNLD] RE: Field equipment

Fri Nov 20 20:39:55 UTC 2015

Hello Felicity,

just my quick 50 cents worth. I would not worry so much about the preamps
in the Edirol-r26 or the Zoom H6 unless you need to record a lot of music
and want to avoid distortion owing to the mic signal overloading the
preamps (which results in distortion even though the recording level does
not exceed 0dB). But in terms of noise generation the Edirol might even
have a little less. In the end you would need to test it with the mics you
are using. The edirol has a good preamp for this type of recorder, imo. If
you need really good preamps and only do 1 mic (for stereo) or 2 channel
recordings, the Marantz PMD661 has the pest preamps of them all (It is also
more expensive). If you need the 4 xlr channels of the H6 because you
record a lot of conversation or some such *and* you need good preamps
because you want to do broadcast quality type recordings with film you
would need a separate preamp anyways. For this you need recorders that have
inputs with low line in type capabilities (I think both the r-26 as well as
the h6 have that). But here you open a whole different can of worms and
recording skills. In the end it all depends on what you want to do. It is
hard to give generic advice when one doesn't know what recording situations
are going to be targeted, but I hope this helps.

Best,

Frank

On Fri, Nov 20, 2015 at 1:59 PM, Grant Aiton <aiton.grant at gmail.com> wrote:

> There is also a direct XLR connector that wouldn't need the adapter
> referenced by Julia (it attaches directly to the Rode micon cable): micon
> to xlr
> http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/search?N=10730909&InitialSearch=yes&sts=pi
>
> This works with the Rode lavalier mics and the HS1 headset for sure, and
> likely other Rode mics. I have been using the Zoom H4n recorder with
> external microphones to very good results. I am using the Rode headset
> mostly (HS1), with the Rode lavalier as a more portable backup. I would be
> very interested to hear whether there are any advantages to the Zoom H5 or
> H6 compared to the H4. I always thought the extra features of the H5 and H6
> would be a bit excessive or unnecessary for linguistic fieldwork.
>
> Cheers,
> Grant
>
>
> --
>
> Grant Aiton, MSc
> PhD Candidate
> The Cairns Institute, Language and Culture Research Centre
> Building D3, James Cook University
> PO BOX 6811, CAIRNS, QLD 4870, Australia
> Email: grant.aiton at my.jcu.edu.au
> Web: www.jcu.edu.au/lcrc
>
> On Thu, Nov 19, 2015 at 5:36 PM, Julia Colleen Miller <
> julia.miller at anu.edu.au> wrote:
>
>> Hi All,
>>
>>
>>
>> RE: Zooms- Yes! We’ve just been using the H5, not upgrading to the H6
>> quite yet, but mostly because we have not been recording much music or
>> singing here and the H5 model has been really quite exceptional for speech
>> (well, yes, some singing, birdsong collection, as well as phonetic
>> analyses).
>>
>>
>>
>> Was worried about a bigger power drain in the H6 due to the new improved
>> colour viewer. And battery power is an issue in PNG. Probably less so for
>> you mob working in less-remote spots in Australia. The specs say 20 hours
>> of continuous recording, though I am a bit suspicious of this, as their
>> previous model would not record more than 4 or 5 hours, though this was in
>> extreme heat/humidity conditions and usually with phantom power turned on
>> for external head-mounted mics.
>>
>>
>>
>> As for XLR and the Rode mics, they offer these mini-to-XLR adapters, but
>> you would want to test what they do to the signal quality:
>> http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/387850-REG/Rode_VXLR_VXLR_Mono_Mini_Jack.html
>>
>>
>>
>> We have been using the Sennheiser 100 G3 wireless set up which has been
>> really great. The XLR connector is the configuration we use most for the
>> Zooms and Canon video cameras (like the XA20), but with the smaller
>> handicams, the mini connector works fine, too.
>>
>>
>>
>> I might purchase a Rode for the Centre and test it out. A locally-made,
>> less expensive option is always a good thing… if the quality and
>> interoperability is similar. Same goes for the H6.
>>
>>
>>
>> Cheers,
>>
>> Julia
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> *Dr Julia Colleen Miller*
>>
>> Senior Data Manager
>>
>> http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8827-3825
>>
>>
>>
>> ARC Centre of Excellence for the Dynamics of Language
>>
>> College of Asia and the Pacific | The Australian National University
>>
>> Tel:  +61 2 6125 6115 | dynamicsoflanguage.edu.au
>> <http://www.dynamicsoflanguage.edu.au/>
>>
>>
>>
>> [image: The Dynamics of Language Logo]
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> *From:* Felicity Meakins [mailto:f.meakins at uq.edu.au]
>> *Sent:* Thursday, 19 November 2015 10:00 AM
>> *To:* r-n-l-d <r-n-l-d at unimelb.edu.au>
>> *Subject:* [RNLD] Field equipment
>>
>>
>>
>> Hi all,
>>
>>
>>
>> I wanted a bit of advice on recording devices and mikes.
>>
>>
>>
>> I have been using an Edirol R-09 forever which has been fine but they are
>> only minijack input not XLR so I was thinking of changing. The options seem
>> to be:
>>
>>
>>
>>    1. Edirol R-26 (+ higher end models)
>>    http://proav.roland.com/products/proav_r-26/
>>    2. Zoom H-6 (+ higher end models)
>>    www.zoom.co.jp/products/field-video-recording/field-recording/h6-handy-recorder
>>
>> Anyway advice would be good. I have heard the preamps in the Zoom are
>> better. This is the kind of difference I would like to know about.
>>
>>
>>
>> Second, I’m looking at different mikes. I need a wireless set up. I have
>> a really nice Sennheisser set up which I like a lot but there is a RODE
>> alternative that is cheaper. Some filmmakers have recommended it to me but
>> I need an XLR version. Anyone have any advice on that:
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1115091-REG/rode_rodlnk_fm_rodelink_wireless_filmmaker_kit.html
>>
>>
>>
>> Same goes with RODE lapel mikes. I would prefer an XLR set up.
>>
>>
>>
>> Any advice would be great!
>>
>>
>>
>> Felicity
>>
>> _________________________________________
>>
>> FELICITY MEAKINS  | ARC Senior Research Fellow (DECRA) |
>>
>> Centre of Excellence for the Dynamics of Language (CoEDL)
>>
>> Linguistics | School of Languages and Cultures | University of
>> Queensland |
>>
>> Brisbane QLD 4072 | AUSTRALIA
>>
>> RM 410D | Gordon Greenwood Bldg (32) |
>>
>> ' +61 7 3365 3114 | ' +61 411 404 546 | 7 +61 7 3365 6799 | *
>> f.meakins at uq.edu.au |
>>
>> web http://languages-cultures.uq.edu.au/index.html?page=127733&pid=76074
>>
>>
>>
>
>

-- 
Frank Seidel, Ph.D.
University of Florida
Center for African Studies at the University of Florida
427 Grinter Hall - PO Box 115560
Gainesville, FL 32611-5560
Tel: 352.392.2183
Fax: 352.392.2435
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