Field Recorder < $600

[Mikkel Nielsen]

Check out this post Alex:
replacing a zoom h4n with sony PCM D50 - Social Sound Design

[Pedantic Sound]

The H4N does not have very good pres. Running a cheap shotgun mic into the H4N pres will have a very bad signal to noise ratio. If you are just getting the H4N and shotgun I highly suggest investing in at least a single Sound Devices pre otherwise your dialogue tracks will be swimming in thermal noise.

Either that or go with the D50. The H4N is fine for line in recording and getting stereo recordings of loud environments, but not so good for dialogue recordings.

[Staccat0]

I don't have experience with the Sony, but I'm a big fan of the Marantz 661. I used it on a few student films when I was starting out. I definitely like it more than the Fostex FR2-LE (which I was gifted and own) and the H4N which I've used (junky pres, acceptable stereo mic).
The stereo mic on it sucks, but the heaphone out is clean and the pres are okay. It also has a few interesting features (you can set the gain and other things to presets)

If you need a place to get good signal off a shogun more than a good stereo mic check it out. In Austin you can rent one for a week for $20 If the opportunity to do so exists in your city, try the 661. It's interface is quirky and it's about $50 over your budget, but it has 2 clean-ish pres and a solid monitoring channel.

[DoctorG]

I've been researching one of these in the same price range. I'm going to get the Sony as it seems to be built better, has low noise and digital I/O. The XLR input is an option that I may consider in the future.

[insomaniac]

Originally Posted by Pedantic Sound

If you are just getting the H4N and shotgun I highly suggest investing in at least a single Sound Devices pre otherwise your dialogue tracks will be swimming in thermal noise.

This. I've been working with an SD 442 or 302 feeding an H4, and the results have been superb, especially compared with what I got when running the mics right into the H4.

[philper]

The D50 sounds very nice, but is a serious drag to use handheld or in a bag (with your hands on a boom). An alternative (w/ TC after a fashion) is a used Tascam HDP2.

phil p

[AxK]

Thanks everyone! I'll definitely check further into the D50, as that seems to be a good bet by everyone's standards. I'm willing to make some compromises in features for superior sound quality.

Again, all the feedback is much appreciated!

[Chippy569]

The Tascam DR-680 new is about at your pricerange (musician's friend has them for $630 new, plus a $40 off deal this week) and gets you 6 useable mic pres. If you need multiple channels, that appears to be a great bang for your buck. I just bought a used one, fedex can't get here soon enough.

[kingtut38]

If you need xlr's the olympus ls-100 is the one. If you don't it's hard to beat the Sony M10 at 200 bucks. The olympus is $300 to $400.