Suitable Microphone for Field Recording

[penguinpajamas]

Hey guys, so I'm really interested in the idea of getting a portable microphone for field recordings. I like the idea of sampling anything and everything for percussion as well as recording the ambient sound of a room or environment I'm in to lay in the background of a song. Are there any specific types of portable microphones I should aim for and others I should shy away from for this purpose? I'm looking at the Tascam DR-07MKII but the review seem to be catered towards recording jam session, music lessons, etc. Would this microphone still be suited for my desired purpose?

Thanks,
Charlie

[Samuel L. Jizzle]

I made some artwork to accompany this thread.

You're welcome.

[alpertt]

I haven't used tascam so i cannot compare, but zoom mics are decent enough for field recordings. (Except for dialogs, then a shotgun and/or lavalier is needed.)
You'll also need a deadcat in cases where sponge windshield is not enough.

Check which one better suits you.

I sometimes use Rode NTG 2 > IK Multimedia mic pre > Iphone. (You can adapt mic pre's jack to other phones with some reverse engineering.)
Also this gives 24/96 option and more portable (than carrying rode.)

[penguinpajamas]

Thanks for the advice and the beautiful picture. Out of curiosity, what exactly is a deadcat?

[chrk]

Out of curiosity, what exactly is a deadcat?

[slatepipe]

a deadcat is one of those furry things that stop the wind messing up your recordings i guess

i've used a sony ecm ds70p for years, which i record into a minidisc with (yeah, quite a long time). the mic and minidisc are still going strong and have yielded some great recordinga over the years.

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/4 ... SY300_.jpg

digital recorders nowadays will be more handy than a minidisc but i've never bothered upgrading as it all works fine.

the mic is great. watch out for cheap imitations. it's cheap anyway, less than 50 quid

[alpertt]

This.
Sponge windshield doesn't cancel enough wind noise, this does. (If it doesn't you'll need a boom pole, but mostly it does.)

I have no idea which sick minds find these names (deadcat, shotgun) though

[locojohn]

What's your budget, Charlie? RODE NT4 is a very good stereo condenser microphone for field recordings, can be powered by a battery, e.g. does not require external phantom power, and has a mini-jack connection cable. I've used it extensively before I upgraded to a much more expensive stuff. It is quiet (low noise floor) and produces very realistic stereo recordings.

Andrejs

[penguinpajamas]

Thanks for all the advice everyone. I think I'm probably going to stick with that Tascam I mentioned. I'm not focusing on spending an extensive period of time field recording, but rather sparingly just for the occasional sound I can throw in a song. With this, it'd be a waste for me to spend more than a couple hundred dollars on this.

[fallspring]

I bought the Rode NG2 and tried a load of adapters I am about to try the "IK Multimedia iRig Pre" Thanks for the help.

[andy c]

I have the DR 07 mk one I dont know if the mark two is different but you can get a lot of case noise. I picked up a tabletop camera tripod and a small circle of rubber to stand it on. Not that elegant but does the trick. I also have a Rode M3 that I use with it, not stereo but again does the trick.