Portastudio question.

[DesertOkie]

I have been see tons of portastudios on craigslist and pawnshops. I believe from would be rockstars that need beer money. Sooo I figure they might be great for a wouldbe filmmaker.

I am planning on going with wireless lavs for sound so is this an option.

I mostly see older Tascam DP01s, can they compete with a new DR100?

Anyone have experience with them?

 

[Alcove Audio]

You're copmparing asparagus and bananas - two VERY different things.

The DP01 is a multitrack hard disk recorder intended for music demos. It has a rather large footprint and, although portable compared to most music gear, is not very practical as far as film/video production sound.

The DR-100mkII is also primarily aimed at musicians, but at least has features that lend it to production sound usage in addition to its small size.

 

[Chrisk]

As pointed out above they are designed to be sat on tables and operated by a static Sound Mixer. Could be OK for for studio style current affairs programmes/interviews or even reality programmes with a load of wireless lavs and a separate control room. This means you will need a separate boom op (with the corresponding two way cabling) if you want to do drama production.
The audio quality, as with anything aimed at bedroom musicians, will be consumer level. If you are doing a straight to youtube reality show you may of found a decent setup.

The key thing with broadcast sound gear is that it was designed for the job. Yes it does sound somewhat better but for me the key factor is that specialist kit makes my job easier allowing me to be quicker, more efficient and effective. Broke farmers don't pull ploughs with used Mondeos (though I'm pretty sure they may nip to the pub on their tractors).

 

[AcousticAl]

The DP-01 is limited to 16-bit, 44.1kHz recording (what they call "CD-quality" recording). This can pose a challenge. First, audio for digital video runs at a native 48k, so you'll have to convert before editing and that can create its own set of problems in the way of artifacts. Also, at the 16-bit limit, you really have to watch your record levels; you won't be utilizing all the bits, and below -12dB you're only using about 8 bits. That will put your sound at risk of falling apart should you have to push levels or add processing.

That, and the pre-amps aren't going to be great on the little Porta Studios.

While it may be a little more than you were wanting to spend, the DR-680 from TASCAM is worth a serious look for field-based, multi-track recording.