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Marantz PMD-706 Six Channel DSLR Recorder


dactylus

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Excellent to hear there's a new low cost option on its way. Wonder how the preamps (Bhutan perhaps?) compare to the DR70D/DR680Mk2 ... or indeed the F4/8 and MP3/6? Anyone here know how the last range of Marantz compared to their rivals (Tascam, Olympus, Sony etc)? Look forward to hearing more about it in any case, particularly how decent it sounds and the battery/powering setup. Presume no TC or dig sync cascade at this price ... ganging would be good though as would ... metadata?

Jez

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  • 3 months later...

Another multi channel audio recorder to bolt on the underside of a camera! SD (3), Tascam (3), Zoom (2), Marantz (1). I think aside from the misconception that good sound (for picture) is easy to do, camera ops have so many automated options on their kit now it's almost as if they need something else to do. I hope the next generation of pro audio kit includes tools and features to help professional sound folk provide some new and compelling reasons to be employed. The advances in timecode a metadata sharing are great but only applicable on certain types of production. I very much like having the dugan automix included in my 6 series firmware but I suspect this is as far as it will go for the 633. Whereas the advances (since the launch of the 6 series) of processor power could maybe give us somethings like:

~ Auto transcription, ideally in realtime, but at the end of day or between takes would be a start.

~ Non destructive DNR.

~ Wave form monitoring (even pretty cheap cameras now offer histograms and scopes).

~ A built in expresso maker :-)

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2 hours ago, daniel said:

Another multi channel audio recorder to bolt on the underside of a camera!


Another point to keep in mind, is all these "underside of camera" recorders are also a heck of a lot more user friendly to have in your bag while booming, than the old H4n / DR40 / etc that people used to use. 

So this is a good development for the low budget end of the market (student / indie / hobbist / etc filmmaking). 

2 hours ago, daniel said:

~ Non destructive DNR.

 


I expect just like how we saw automixers from being independent pieces of hardware, to incorporated with the recorders themselves, that in the future years to come we will also see the likes of CEDAR DNS2 not being just stand alone piece of gear but built into our recorders as well.

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4 minutes ago, IronFilm said:


Another point to keep in mind, is all these "underside of camera" recorders are also a heck of a lot more user friendly to have in your bag while booming, than the old H4n / DR40 / etc that people used to use. 

So this is a good development for the low budget end of the market (student / indie / hobbist / etc filmmaking). 


I expect just like how we saw automixers from being independent pieces of hardware, to incorporated with the recorders themselves, that in the future years to come we will also see the likes of CEDAR DNS2 not being just stand alone piece of gear but built into our recorders as well.

i think DNR is pretty obvious 1 to have if you can. But I was trying to think of other ways to make the most of advances in processor power. Perhaps 1 of the big advantages the MixPre series will have over earlier SD stuff is the ability to record and interface with a computer (simultaneously) where some of these advances will show up sooner than on the recorders themselves. Eg visual monitoring aids and transcription, maybe even translation. Basically if can be done with a laptop now, it's not inconceivable it will be possible to do it with just a recorder in the next 10 years. Eg some of things demonstrated with the latest version of izotope. Obviously screen size is an issue and there are only 3 recorders with screens anywhere big enough to this (X3, Nagra7, Pix series[video recorder]), that said, smart devices are already giving us separate displays.

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On 10/13/2017 at 2:33 AM, daniel said:

But I was trying to think of other ways to make the most of advances in processor power. Perhaps 1 of the big advantages the MixPre series will have over earlier SD stuff is the ability to record and interface with a computer (simultaneously) where some of these advances will show up sooner than on the recorders themselves. Eg visual monitoring aids and transcription, maybe even translation. Basically if can be done with a laptop now, it's not inconceivable it will be possible to do it with just a recorder in the next 10 years. Eg some of things demonstrated with the latest version of izotope.


I'm very surprised that that we don't have more options and more advanced options when it comes to computer recordings. 

Basically how it is now in 2017 is we have very limited options (such as BoomRecorder being one of the few options) that are hardly under active development at the moment. I guess the issue is that our niche (cart recordings for film, as realistically, you're not going to use a computer in your bag while also booming! Although maybe that will change, could use a Windows tablet?) as a far far too tiny niche to get much support for it from these fringe ideas we're discussing here.

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  • 5 weeks later...
12 hours ago, soundtrane said:

 

Well, there are hundreds of interfaces and plenty of software options to choose from. 


I meant on the software side it is just Metacorder or BoomRecorder, even though we have dozens (and yeah probably even hundreds, like you said) of hardware options.

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 I just got emailed a notification that finally this is in Stock at B&H:

 

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1340332-REG/marantz_professional_pmd_706_6_channel_dslr_recorder_recording/BI/E15

 

This might *maybe* just perhaps replace the Tascam DR70D as the best recorder at this price point for film shoots, as they are both priced the same at a teeny bit under US$300. 

 

Who is going to be brave an order one first? :-D


(not me, I already have an F4! But I might start recommending this to people starting out, once I've seen some reviews)

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I used the DR-70D quite a bit, my number one complaint is that the batteries and SD cards are behind a stupid plastic flap cover.

number two is the menu system which is rather difficult to understand/operate (who thought using a XLR symbol for phantom power is a good idea?)

otherwise it makes decent recordings for low-end jobs.

 

So hopefully the marantz does improve these points then it's already ahead.

It's also nice that they over two more channels or backup recordings on lower gain for three channels.

chris

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9 hours ago, chrismedr said:

I used the DR-70D quite a bit, my number one complaint is that the batteries and SD cards are behind a stupid plastic flap cover.

 


As you only need to access internal batteries/media once a day, this isn't a deal breaker to me. 

 

 

9 hours ago, chrismedr said:

It's also nice that they over two more channels or backup recordings on lower gain for three channels.

 


Four channels with the DR70D is sufficient for most low budget things, but having 6 is nice gravy on the top at the same sub $300 price!

BTW, your Tascam does also do safety track recording levels as well.

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Looking through the manual as a DR-70D user – very slight improvements over the DR-70D. Without hearing the preamps yet, I’d say the SD card slot on the side is best part, and the menu system, mix track, and gang control abilities also look nice. Good to see knobs designed for better leverage when fine-tuning. Only thing I dislike is the headphone out and volume control – when this is in a bag, they’re on the furthest part of the right panel.

 

Wondering why they included encryption. For clients who don’t pay?

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On 11/23/2017 at 11:13 AM, Daniel Ignacio said:

Looking through the manual as a DR-70D user


Yeah, if you already own a DR70D then I think this is certainly not for you, as the benefits is hardly worth the change.

 

At the bare minimum you should get the Zoom F4 (which is on sale today for only US$499!) or something even better. 

On 11/23/2017 at 11:13 AM, Daniel Ignacio said:

Wondering why they included encryption. For clients who don’t pay?


Haha! 

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