krick75 Posted July 22, 2012 Report Share Posted July 22, 2012 Hi There, I am new to sound recorders, I shoot DSLR and I use a H4n for sound. It did the job so far but today I am very interested in upgrading my sound kit and get proper sound for interviews. I am interested in 2 different models and I am not sure they are comparable - SD722 used for $1400 ( no warraranty, HD of 40Gb early models, good condition, CF cards, firewire only for transfer) http://www.sounddevi...m/products/722/ - Fostex DC-R302 for $1199 ( new underwarranty, SD cards and usb transfer, can be used as an audiointerface on your mac, little gadget here and there for DSLR shooters but can be used as a mixer/ recorder separately) http://www.fostexint...DC-R302.shtml#2 So both products are interesting and I am not sure they are comparable. In terms of sound quality and preamps, would the 722 be much better than the new fostex? What kind of difference are we talking about, would it blow it away? Thanks for your help guys, much appreciated ! Ced Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angelo Waldron Posted July 22, 2012 Report Share Posted July 22, 2012 First post? Welcome to the Grumpy Room! Those 2 items are in different leagues. Not sure what you mean by 'compatible'? The files they make will be compatible. Fostex sounds good. SoundDevices sounds good. You wanna use AA batteries and SDHC cards? Or do you want to use rechargable battery pack and CF cards. Do you want a 3x2mixer/recorder which can be mounted under your camera, or do you want a stand alone 2 channel recorder. It's up to you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krick75 Posted July 22, 2012 Author Report Share Posted July 22, 2012 Hi Angelo, Where do you read compatible? I wrote comparable, like you said it seems like they are in different leagues. Would the SD preamp and built quality just blows away the fostex? Thank you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philip Perkins Posted July 22, 2012 Report Share Posted July 22, 2012 The Fostex is pretty good bang for buck, but the outputs are unbalanced and on RCA jacks. You COULD put together a little inline transformer box for it with XLR outputs if you are handy. The 722 is a great recorder, but 2 inputs not 3 and no TC. Is that ok? If you are going to work in the video audio biz sooner or later you'll need a recorder with TC--maybe save your $$ for a used 702T? I've seen them go for not much more than the 722 you mention. phil p Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angelo Waldron Posted July 22, 2012 Report Share Posted July 22, 2012 I guess I need reading glasses. I've seen the Fostex you are talking about....it's well made, build quality good. It's very small. New the SD722 is $2495. Fostex $1199. That means the SD is $1300 better build quality.. you get what you pay for.. You might want to look for a used SD702T or even used SD 702. They don't have the internal HD but Fostex doesn't either. Hard to 'Camparable" these 2 items Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrd456 Posted July 22, 2012 Report Share Posted July 22, 2012 I checked out the Fostex and thought it was "cheesy".You want a 702T.It will be working 30 yrs from now and if you want to sell it in the future,It should sell quickly. All this only holds true if you are in it as a career. J.D. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krick75 Posted July 22, 2012 Author Report Share Posted July 22, 2012 I checked out the Fostex and thought it was "cheesy".You want a 702T.It will be working 30 yrs from now and if you want to sell it in the future,It should sell quickly. All this only holds true if you are in it as a career. J.D. Thanks JD. Much appreciated feedback. I actually never used timecode on an audio device. Is it something I must have? And yes I am in it as a career ( DP not audio though). But good picture doesn't exist without good audio, right? Ced Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrd456 Posted July 22, 2012 Report Share Posted July 22, 2012 Yes,you'll want timecode as you progress. Check out the SD552 mixer that has 5 inputs and it records to an SD card with a TC stamp from an ext. TC source. It costs around $2,800-----learn to spend money and make your life easier.It has enough inputs to do most feature sound and it will take care of you deep into the future. J.D. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vincent R. Posted July 22, 2012 Report Share Posted July 22, 2012 I actually never used timecode on an audio device. Is it something I must have? It depends on the field of work. I know sound guys who work for the past 20 years in ENG audio who never ever had and have to deal with time code. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dominiquegreffard Posted July 22, 2012 Report Share Posted July 22, 2012 Yes,you'll want timecode as you progress. Check out the SD552 mixer that has 5 inputs and it records to an SD card with a TC stamp from an ext. TC source. It costs around $2,800-----learn to spend money and make your life easier.It has enough inputs to do most feature sound and it will take care of you deep into the future. J.D. While you re there, why don t u get a 4 track zaxcom nomad for 3600$. It s a beast that will grow with you for years. Buy once, cry once Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krick75 Posted July 23, 2012 Author Report Share Posted July 23, 2012 Well all these are great advices and I really appreciate it! Regarding timecode, I am a DP shooting a lot with DSLR and other cameras that don't use TC. I am not a sound engineer, I just want to own a nicer sound unit to replace my old noisy H4n... what am I really risking if I need TC down the road? I can sell the unit for cheap and upgrade to a 7xxT, at that point that would mean that I switch to become a sound engineer , right? I could also rent if it's just once in a while... Thoughts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevegrider Posted July 23, 2012 Report Share Posted July 23, 2012 I would buy the SD if I am choosing between the two. The SD appears to be a little more rugged between the two and build quality is extremely important. Having a timecode recorder is great, but there are many ways to sync without it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikefilosa Posted July 23, 2012 Report Share Posted July 23, 2012 Here's an idea - book a properly equipped audio guy on your shoots. It's what we do.... when we are not shooting ourselves in the foot. MF Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jesse Flaitz Posted July 23, 2012 Report Share Posted July 23, 2012 Thoughts? Am I getting this wrong here? $1200 for a 722 sounds pretty damn good to me IDK who is selling a 722 for $1200, but there is no reason not to buy it at that price if it's in full working order... If nothing else you could resell it for much more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krick75 Posted July 23, 2012 Author Report Share Posted July 23, 2012 Mike, totally the way to go. We try to work as much as possible with sound engineers. Sound is very importatnt to us, but sometimes clients come with a tight budget and unfortunately, sound is were people tends to cut. Pedantic, I know this is a very good price. I sent the payment online and I will believe only when i receive the machine and try it out. I has scratches and stuff but I don't care as long as the unit works. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tamoio Posted July 23, 2012 Report Share Posted July 23, 2012 The hair raises on the back of my neck whenever I post something here, but at the risk of incineration I will say this about the Fostex vs SD7xx: The two units are clearly apples and oranges. The Fostex is really designed for "OMBing" it with a DSLR or GH2, and for that purpose it is actually quite satisfactory. I wouldn't say the build is "cheesy"--the case is a single machined aluminum extrusion, its not up to SD construction standards but then, what is? The under-the-camera mounting feature works surprisingly well with the Canons, NIkons and Panasonics I've used it on. Once you get the connectors sorted out the remote function is extremely useful. By all means, if budget permits you should hire a well equipped sound person that has a TC solution (although sorting out TC into audio tracks in post is still a headache unless you are posting on AVID mc). If you are going to be shooting HDSLR style on your own or with one assistant the Fostex is not a bad little unit for significantly upping the quality of your audio. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philip Perkins Posted July 23, 2012 Report Share Posted July 23, 2012 Mike, totally the way to go. We try to work as much as possible with sound engineers. Sound is very importatnt to us, but sometimes clients come with a tight budget and unfortunately, sound is were people tends to cut. Pedantic, I know this is a very good price. I sent the payment online and I will believe only when i receive the machine and try it out. I has scratches and stuff but I don't care as long as the unit works. You'll always be able to sell the 722, unless it's broken, if you want to move up. That Fostex, maybe not so much. phil p Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krick75 Posted July 23, 2012 Author Report Share Posted July 23, 2012 I read that the hard drive can be hard on battery life. Would it make a significant improvement to update the machine to SSD? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrd456 Posted July 23, 2012 Report Share Posted July 23, 2012 The Fostex is "cheesy"---check out the switches---it has a 5 year life span before it starts to f%ck up--it is not professional. J.D. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RadoStefanov Posted July 23, 2012 Report Share Posted July 23, 2012 Yes. You cAn use cf to ide adapter.Sent from my LEO using Board Express Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tamoio Posted July 23, 2012 Report Share Posted July 23, 2012 The Fostex is "cheesy"---check out the switches---it has a 5 year life span before it starts to f%ck up--it is not professional. 5 years? I would suggest that the days of getting 5 years out of anything (except perhaps microphones and lenses) are now behind us, and I have a sneaking suspicion that 5 years from now nomads will make useful doorstops. But I digress. Here are a couple cheesecake shots of the "cheesy" Fostex dc-r302 mounted under a "cheesy" GH2 (like the one Coppola said he liked in the Zacuto blind test). Yes, by all means hire a sound person if you can afford it, buy a SD552 or what-the-heck why not a Nomad 6, but the Fostex was designed to work with HDSLRs and it does work quite well, and I suggest it might be a slightly more elegant solution than a SD302 out to the camera or maybe something like a H4n or Sony D50 or what have you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
studiomprd Posted July 23, 2012 Report Share Posted July 23, 2012 " I wrote comparable, like you said it seems like they are in different leagues. " there you go... asked and answered. Actually the answer is familiar: It Depends, but that Fostex is designed for you, you are exactly the target market! precisely! the SD is really designed primarily for an attentive operator, audio specialists... You'll also need more special accessories with it, particularly cables. So what camera should I buy, if I want to put you out of work?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philip Perkins Posted July 23, 2012 Report Share Posted July 23, 2012 I read that the hard drive can be hard on battery life. Would it make a significant improvement to update the machine to SSD? The SSD is expensive and has a smaller capacity. If the 722 you are looking at is several years old you probably want to replace the HD anyhow, which is an easy deal with SD's kit. Maybe save the expense of the SSD for the next recorder you get. A 722 will run a pretty long time on a smallish L mount battery. If you really want to save juice you can set the 722 to NOT record to the HD, ie to the CF only. phil p Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raviansound Posted July 3, 2013 Report Share Posted July 3, 2013 I just upgraded my H4n and purchased a DC-R302 from ebay. If I had the budget I would've bought a 702T, 744T or wait for the Nomad. The Fostex is a great little machine thats fits nicely in my soundbag together with my SD MixPre-D. Some issues I came across: - The line inputs are consumer line levels (−10 dBV) and my MixPre-D's line level outputs are +4 dBu. So those don't match up unfortunately. - There are no options for the limiter. Also the limiter is only a stereo bus limiter. Not an input limiter. - There is no pre-record mode unfortunately, which most recorders (even H4n) all do have. - Power: When pluggin in or out an external power supply the power of the recorder goes out! So when running on external power and the cables accendently get loose, you loose power. Other way around: If you are using battery's that run low and you plugin external power, the power goes out. Too bad! I will keep the Fostex for now and learn to work with these issues, untill I will buy a 702T, 744T or the Nomad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bash Posted July 3, 2013 Report Share Posted July 3, 2013 I happened to have a quick look at a 302 yesterday. The thing that worried me was that with the mic Ip gain set to 'lo', I could still, easily, make the IP overload light blink on. When I pushed my own vocal level only slightly louder I could hear the IP 'cracking' into overload. That would be a dealbreaker for me!!! Kindest, sb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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