Pocket Sturdy Microphone

Question

I find recently, I plant a few portable recorders when location recording 8/10 times I'm using those recording for front in the mix, They are reliable, sturdy, durable and in comparison to alot of gear, often silent - ish.

Now with the new GOPRO camera due out, which is even smaller and more durable, and insanely good quality. Whats the microphone equivalent? That would be something which would be a no brainer purchase for me. Something I can throw in my bag, and record anywhere I go. Maybe not 100 foot under the water, or falling out a plane like the GOPRO. But as close to that as possible. :P

Thanks guys as always

Answer 1

I own the GoPro HD Hero2 camera and to be honest:

it's a fun camera, but the actual quality is not that good as you might think at first. The material is hard to grade, it tends to get noisy, doing recordings underwater gives you condensed water on the lens, etc.,etc.

Nevertheless I still like it.

That said, I think a cheap Zoom H2n is actually kinda the equivalent for audiogear: it offers you the chance to make recordings, that sound ok, even though it won't stay up against an expensive recorder. But it gives you usuable results and it's not that bad when it get's destroyed.

If you'd like to invest a little bit more, go with the Sony PCM-D50 as Nathan said.

I own a Zoom H1 and I don't hesitate putting it into places where I won't put my expensive gear into,eg. putting it directly under rails while trains are passing over it. (the recordings sound less exciting than I thought they would )

Answer 2

@CG, cameras can be isolated from the air or water as long as they have a high-quality porthole through which to see. Rendering the same level of protection to microphones will render them useless, as they need access to air in order to function. Your only solution is to buy a reasonably rugged all-in-one handheld field recorder (e.g., Sony PCM-D50) or use water-resistant mic capsules (e.g., Countryman lavs) to a remote field recorder, possibly in a dry bag. But neither will be, or can, be, weatherproof while in use.

Answer 3

Hi, thanks for the reply, yeah I understand, but you would still expect something with close to the same size / sturdyness / and quality from a pocket recorder. Instead of them all looking like early 90s cellphones. And the ones that can truly fit in your pocket without making you look suspiciously happy about recording are typically made from incredibly cheap plastic.

There seems to be a gap in the market for something truly compact, rugged, and of decent quality. Memory and power supplies have gotten so small that I'm not sure whats holding it back. The screen doesnt need to be massive. gopro have there thing down. Now to just find a portable recorder that was just as cool : )

Which probably exists and I just fail at googling btw

thanks