AV News 178 - November 2009
Sony PCM D50 - Portable Audio Recorder
Keith Scott FRPS
AV News Issue 177 August 2009 featured an interesting article by Lawrie
Little on page 17 concerning the Zoom H4n portable digital audio recorder.
No doubt several AV workers are already using this, or its predecessor model
H4, or another such similar piece of equipment, their advantage over large,
heavy and bulky field equipment is obvious. In recent years the availability of
small portable audio recorders has grown from barely a few to very many.
Some produced by well known and respected names with a long involvement
in professional audio, others by companies previously not associated with
sound recording. With the greater choice of models now available
competition between companies wishing to draw customers has resulted in
more attractive pricing and much improved convenience, quality and
specifications, although technical claims by some manufacturers should be
treated with caution if not mistrust.
Edirol, Korg, M-Audio, Marantz, Nagra, Olympus, Sony, Tascam, Yamaha
and Zoom amongst others, manufacture and market at least one and in some
cases three or four portable digital audio recorders, each with different
attributes that should be considered before deciding on which to purchase.
For many readers the price will
dictate choice, but where price is less
important then specification and build
quality
should
be
serious
considerations. Without doubt the two
most important factors with any
portable audio recording device are:
the sound quality and the ease of
which the equipment can be used in
the field, perhaps in difficult
situations. Next is the ruggedness or
durability of equipment. By the very
nature of field work your equipment
will suffer bumps and knocks, so you
must feel assured that your
equipment is designed and built to
withstand practical service.
For quite some time Sony have
produced their flagship portable
recorder, one of the very best
available named the PCM D1. This
recorder is aimed squarely at
professionals and priced accordingly.
Approaching this standard of quality
yet more affordable Sony produced
the PCM D50.
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