Low cost USB interfaces to use with Audacity/Audition?

[webrunner5]

Buy the Tascam DR-60D MKII over the original one. It has better Pre Amps, and they are nearly the same money if you want to go that route.

[IronFilm]

7 hours ago, mercer said:

Originally, I planned on getting a Zoom H5 or H6 and a couple Zoom F1s for body and plant mics. But now would it make sense to look at a DR40 or DR60 (although the portability factor of the DR40 makes more sense for my needs) and some DR10Ls for body and plant mics?

A Zoom F4 is only marginally more expensive than an H6, but 100000x better. 
But if going the low low budget path, then get the Tascam DR60Dmk2 over the H6, better design and better audio quality. 

And take the DR10L over the F1 for bodypack recorders, the DR10L is noticeably smaller, which is a big thing for a bodypack of course!

2 hours ago, webrunner5 said:

Buy the Tascam DR-60D MKII over the original one. It has better Pre Amps, and they are nearly the same money if you want to go that route.

I agree. But even the DR60D mk1 sounds better over the H5/H6

7 hours ago, mercer said:

I assume a lot of folks use different brands for audio, but if the similar preamps will help unify the overall sound, I will stay with a single brand to simplify my work.

At this level there is 0% reason to stay within the same brand. Just pick the best product at each price point. 

 

[mercer]

7 hours ago, IronFilm said:

A Zoom F4 is only marginally more expensive than an H6, but 100000x better. 
But if going the low low budget path, then get the Tascam DR60Dmk2 over the H6, better design and better audio quality. 

And take the DR10L over the F1 for bodypack recorders, the DR10L is noticeably smaller, which is a big thing for a bodypack of course!

I agree. But even the DR60D mk1 sounds better over the H5/H6

At this level there is 0% reason to stay within the same brand. Just pick the best product at each price point. 

 

Thanks for the reply. Unfortunately, the F4 is just little bit out out of my price range right now and a little big for my camera bag. I have designed my projects to have little dialogue, so most dialogue scenes, the camera will be on sticks and I will be booming and operating audio, so I really need something small. I’ll most likely use the bodypack recordings in the final edit, but I really want to have a boom recording as well.

Honestly, I probably won’t get the H6 anyway, at close to $300 it’s a little too pricey for my budget right now. 

And I’m leaning toward the DR10Ls for the safety track... even though the F1s seem like a better fit for me with the cheaper price and the expansion modules... plus the build seems nicer?

I have a $750 budget and I need 3 body pack recorders and a field recorder.

[IronFilm]

5 hours ago, mercer said:

and a little big for my camera bag.

The Zoom F4 comes with a camera mounting bracket to attach it underneath the camera itself
 

5 hours ago, mercer said:

And I’m leaning toward the DR10Ls for the safety track... even though the F1s seem like a better fit for me with the cheaper price and the expansion modules... plus the build seems nicer?

The build of the DR10L is nicer, because smaller = better
Especially for bodypacks!
 

Also, the DR10L is cheaper when you grab it on sale. 

 

5 hours ago, mercer said:

and I will be booming and operating audio

Now I really  think you need an F4 rather than an H6!
 

5 hours ago, mercer said:

 I have a $750 budget and I need 3 body pack recorders and a field recorder.

150 x3 = 450
(wait for a sale)

Leaves $300, stretch it another fifty bucks and you've got yourself a secondhand F4 ?
 

[KnightsFan]

6 hours ago, mercer said:

Thanks for the reply. Unfortunately, the F4 is just little bit out out of my price range right now and a little big for my camera bag. I have designed my projects to have little dialogue, so most dialogue scenes, the camera will be on sticks and I will be booming and operating audio, so I really need something small.

I did a few scenes as the only crew person not too long ago. I had the camera on a tripod, and used a friction arm to position my F4 just under the monitor. One glance to check framing and levels. It worked pretty well overall, and I didn't have any issues with the size. It seems like you're set against the F4, but as a non-pro-audio guy I can tell you the quality difference between the F4 and DR60 II is quite apparent. And you can use the F4 as a USB interface, so you won't need a separate device for that--which, to be fair, applies to the H6 as well I believe.

If price is an issue, can you get by with just two bodypack recorders, and switch them between actors as necessary?

[IronFilm]

11 hours ago, KnightsFan said:

It seems like you're set against the F4, but as a non-pro-audio guy I can tell you the quality difference between the F4 and DR60 II is quite apparent.

And the Tascam DR60Dmk2 already has an edge over the H6 for audio quality (although a small one)

[mercer]

On 10/25/2018 at 12:49 PM, KnightsFan said:

I did a few scenes as the only crew person not too long ago. I had the camera on a tripod, and used a friction arm to position my F4 just under the monitor. One glance to check framing and levels. It worked pretty well overall, and I didn't have any issues with the size. It seems like you're set against the F4, but as a non-pro-audio guy I can tell you the quality difference between the F4 and DR60 II is quite apparent. And you can use the F4 as a USB interface, so you won't need a separate device for that--which, to be fair, applies to the H6 as well I believe.

If price is an issue, can you get by with just two bodypack recorders, and switch them between actors as necessary?

Sorry, I’ve been meaning to reply to this for a while, but haven’t had the chance to get into it.

So yes, there is no chance of me buying an F4. I am sure it is way better than the cheaper handheld models but for what I need, and the way I shoot, the F4 is just not possible. Not to mention, that $500 can go to so many other things. I don’t know if I can stress how no budget my film is. I would bet most people would laugh at me and not even bother making a movie if they knew how I was shooting. I’ve always been involved with DIY productions, so for me, it’s just another day. I intentionally designed my film to have the least amount of dialogue as humanly possible just due to audio disabilities. So, I need to be very thrifty with where I spend my money and time.

From last experiences, I’ve realize that close to 90% of the dialogue used will be captured with the bodypak recorders and lavaliers... so the field recorder and boom will mostly be back up/scratch audio. Hell, if I could ADR 50% as well as Hollywood does, then I wouldn’t even bother with on location sound other than an on camera shotgun mic.

So yeah... the F4 is just a bit much for my needs. One of my next films will be a contained thriller, with all static shots, so I will definitely look into an F4 or a MixPre3 for that film.

With that being said, since I will be buying an F4 sometime next year, would it make sense to get an H5 or H6 for this film, instead of the DR40, to better match the F4 for my next film?

[KnightsFan]

@mercer totally understand about budget, i'm often in the same boat.

I've never used the dr40 or h5, and I've only briefly used the h6. I don't have any sense of the quality difference. However, There is really no reason to stick with the same brand over time, it isn't like cameras with color science.

The only benefit i can think of for going with zoom now is if you plan to get any of those interchabgeable modules.

[IronFilm]

12 hours ago, mercer said:

With that being said, since I will be buying an F4 sometime next year, would it make sense to get an H5 or H6 for this film, instead of the DR40, to better match the F4 for my next film?

No. Buy yourself a Tascam DR60Dmk2 / DR70D instead if you're going the extreme ultra low budget path instead :-)
 

10 hours ago, KnightsFan said:

The only benefit i can think of for going with zoom now is if you plan to get any of those interchabgeable modules.

Which for most people are not really worth it anyway I reckon