[febco]

Hi,
I am interested in recordind bird songs and general wildlife sounds.Olympus LS-10. It has a good set of features in a very compact package. It seems to retail between $280-$399USD. Have anyone used this machine for wildlife recording? Thank you.

Fernando

[Timedrifter]

Hi Fernando,
As you've got no joy here, I suggest one of the places to look is the Yahoo group Naturerecordists. There has been some very useful info posted recently. I have just ordered one myself on the basis of what I have learned from that group and other sources. Although a lot of people are still recommending Hi-MD, and some of these machines are fetching somewhat ridiculous prices, the technology is moving forward. The low noise characteristics of Hi-MD are unquestionably exceptional, but several flash recorders like the LS-10 are approaching (and sometimes equalling) those low noise levels, and importantly having much more friendly user interfaces. The ability to transfer files quickly and with no Sony imposed restrictions is a big plus. There are numerous other advantages that you will quickly discover if you start looking at specifications. Incidentally, YouTube is a good place to look also, particularly for how the different machines screens and menus look in operation. The recording demonstrations are of no real use to a nature recordist, but many snippets of useful information will be garnered.

Max

Originally Posted by febco

Hi,
I am interested in recordind bird songs and general wildlife sounds.Olympus LS-10. It has a good set of features in a very compact package. It seems to retail between $280-$399USD. Have anyone used this machine for wildlife recording? Thank you.

Fernando

[febco]

Max,
Thank you for your response. I did purchase the LS-10 on ebay for $299. It is a piece of art, very well made and it exudes great craftmanship. I have played with it a little bit but really have not tested properly on the field. I ordered an Olympus ME52 Noise Cancelling Unidirectional mike and I will test it soon. I intend to adapt it to some sort of small parabolic dish to enhance the reach.
I will check the Naturerecordist Yahoo group to learn more about how to record birdsongs. Thank's again.
Fernando

[Timedrifter]

Originally Posted by febco

Max,
I ordered an Olympus ME52 Noise Cancelling Unidirectional mike and I will test it soon. I intend to adapt it to some sort of small parabolic dish to enhance the reach.
Fernando

Hi again Fernando!
I too am extremely pleased with the LS-10.
I am only a beginner myself, but from the little I've learned so far, I think you will be limiting the quality of your recording quite severely with the above mike. To make it 'noise cancelling' the frequency response has been quite severely restricted, and using it with a p'dish would only amplify a poor quality signal rather than improve it. All the advantage you gained due to the quality of the recorder will be lost. One of the suggestions you will find quoted, is to spend approximately the same amount on the microphone setup as you do on the recorder (the more the better). You can of course find bargains here and there once you know what you're looking for.
You will probably find, once you start trawling Naturerecordists group and other similar sites, many suggestions for better suited mikes. I hope that someone on this forum more experienced than me, will comment on this post.
Good hunting
Max