TASCAM iM2 (1 Viewer)

Has anyone tried the TASCAM iM2 - effectively a compact plug-in microphone for a smart phone -
for recording bird calls?

Details here: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Tascam-iM2-microfone-recorder-digital/dp/B006BLEZD0

My proper sound-recording days are 20 years past and I am well out of touch; all I am after now is something wee with which to get evidence of a vagrant or unknown vocalisation. Would this suffice?

James

I guess that you are in a bit of a minority judging from the response. The following may be of use?

Perhaps you should be aware of the iM2 page of Tascam Europe site. Interestingly Tascam US has no such warning on its web site.

http://www.tascam.eu/en/im2.html

Several US stockists appear to have withdrawn it from sale at the moment, probably awaiting a further statement from the company. As you can see from the reviews, there are happy users who have benefitted from using this device on compatible Apple devices. The improvements tend to be in quality of the mics and pre-amps leading to better quality recordings and the ability to cope with louder sounds than the standard mics can cope with.

If I had a compatible Apple device (IOS 4) I might have been tempted myself to cut down on the stuff in my pockets (smaller than an LS-11), however, I would not have expected any improvement in volume or anything too major in directionality. So for your intended purpose, if you are purely looking for better quality rather than better isolation it may have some value. Personally though I think that something like the Tascam DR05 or Zoom H2 slightly more to buy but probably less hassle in the longer run would give you similar results to an iM2. Go to Tascam or other manufacturers websites and have a look at the user manuals - the one for the iM2 is definitely not up to the usual Tascam standard. http://tascam.com/content/downloads/products/719/im2_om_6-lang_va.pdf compared to say the DR05 http://tascam.com/content/downloads/products/558/e_dr-05_om_va.pdf

There are a number of previous threads in this forum on using an I-Phone or Android device for recording birdsong you may wish to read - there don't seem to be many firm conclusions or too much support.

Fabulous, thank you.