[RNLD] Field equipment

Sat Nov 21 23:44:21 UTC 2015

Hi All,
Here are my two cents worth:
The Zoom Q8!!!!
It’s a small 4track recorder with two XLR inputs, in built crossed mikes, sound great. Seemingly this is a a great audio recorder. 

However, it also has High definition video, a built in wide angle lens, and is compact enough to get in real close to whoever you are recording, and is thus minimally obtrusive. 
And it’s pretty cheap.

The Canon mini-Legria is also another very compact flat video recorder/audio recorder. It also sounds great but I think the Zoom beats it, marginally, for sound.

So even if you interested only in the audio stream, if you can cope with the extra storage requirements, it seems silly to not be collecting meaningful information from visual cues (gesture, facial expressions, lip moments, eye gaze, etc.) when you can basically this extra information for free, given that the price of a zoom Q8 is in the same ball park as a a Zoom H6.
And the Zoom Q8 works (I think) as as an audio only recorder.
Cheers
Joe 

> On 22 Nov 2015, at 9:47 am, Anna Luisa Daigneault <annaluisa at livingtongues.org> wrote:
> 
> Hello all,
> 
> We recommend using Olympus LS-series recorders. Great quality, and portable for fieldwork. 
> 
> http://www.getolympus.com/us/en/audio/pcm-recorders.html?icn=topnav&ici=voicerecordersnav_music-recorders-image <http://www.getolympus.com/us/en/audio/pcm-recorders.html?icn=topnav&ici=voicerecordersnav_music-recorders-image>
> 
> 
> For computer-based recording (if a speaker is recording straight into a computer via USB mic headset), we recommend the Sennheiser PC 36 USB Headset
> 
> best wishes,
> 
> Anna Luisa
> 
> 
> 
> Anna Luisa Daigneault, M.Sc
> Development Officer & Latin America Projects Coordinator 
> Living Tongues Institute for Endangered Languages
> 
> Website <http://livingtongues.org/> | Facebook  <https://www.facebook.com/living.tongues/>| Twitter <https://twitter.com/livingtongues> | Youtube <https://www.youtube.com/user/EnduringVoices>
> 
> Archivo digital de la memoria yanesha 
> Arr añño'tena poeñotenaxhno yanesha
> www.yanesha.com <http://www.yanesha.com/>
> 
> 
> 
> On Fri, Nov 20, 2015 at 2:39 PM, Frank Seidel <frank.zidle at gmail.com <mailto:frank.zidle at gmail.com>> wrote:
> 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 <mailto: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 <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 <mailto:grant.aiton at my.jcu.edu.au>
> Web: www.jcu.edu.au/lcrc <http://www.jcu.edu.au/lcrc>
> 
> On Thu, Nov 19, 2015 at 5:36 PM, Julia Colleen Miller <julia.miller at anu.edu.au <mailto: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 <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 <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 <tel:%2B61%202%206125%206115> | dynamicsoflanguage.edu.au <http://www.dynamicsoflanguage.edu.au/> 
> 
>  
> 
> <image002.jpg>
> 
>  
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>  
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> From: Felicity Meakins [mailto:f.meakins at uq.edu.au <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 <mailto: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:
> 
>  
> 
> Edirol R-26 (+ higher end models) http://proav.roland.com/products/proav_r-26 <http://proav.roland.com/products/proav_r-26>/
> Zoom H-6 (+ higher end models) www.zoom.co.jp/products/field-video-recording/field-recording/h6-handy-recorder <http://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 <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 <tel:%2B61%207%203365%206799> | * f.meakins at uq.edu.au <mailto:f.meakins at uq.edu.au> |  
> 
> web http://languages-cultures.uq.edu.au/index.html?page=127733&pid=76074 <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 <tel:352.392.2183>
> Fax: 352.392.2435 <tel:352.392.2435>
> 

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