Is the Tascam DR-05 any good? (1 Viewer)

As the title says. Is it any good to carry around to record bird calls and what windshield would you recommend.

Recorded as WAV but downsampled to 1200 MP3 for size reasons using Audacity. I leave it preset to 24 bit WAV at 96k sample rate but it is easy enough to set it to MP3 if thats what you want.

You decide - read your question, picked it up, I put on a Rycote windjammer, walked outside - stuck it on my wheely bin and pressed record - simples?

I do have a lot of birds in my front garden.....

It is fine for ambient birdsong for nearby birds. Note that I put it on the bin to avoid handling noise and for this type of recording left it on max recording volume. Clearly if you want to plug in an external microphone in the future there is a socket between the built in mics. The instructions are simple and if you have problems lots of people use this recorder for all sorts of things so someone can answer any questions. Good value - simple - and popular. There are 'better' recorders out there, but as a starter model it ticks a lot of boxes.

It records to Micro sd/sdhc cards but a 2Gb comes with it - just checked.

Owners manual http://tascam.com/content/downloads/products/558/6l_dr-05_om_vd.pdf

Full manual - if you need it: http://tascam.com/content/downloads/products/558/e_dr-05_rm_vc.pdf

There are lots of things that you don't need to know in these manuals so don't be put off - it really is simple to use.

Thanks for the replies. It certainly sounds good.

Just in case it is helpful, here are my comments on my recent use. I have been using my Tascam DR-05 for two years with reasonable results. I use the following settings because I submit some recordings to Xeno-Canto: 16 bit WAV, 44.1K sample, either auto record level or manually set record level to high, and low cut filter on. I usually record with the built-in mic. If it is very windy, I record with an external Olympus ME31 microphone with wind-reducing foam windscreen. Overall, it has been an inexpensive useful recorder. It is a bit larger and heavier, however, than some of the newer pocket-sized recorders, such as the Olympus LS-P2, which are handy to carry for everyday birding trips.